5 K-Pop Idols Who Have Gotten Boycotted By Their Fans
Some K-Pop idols have run into situations that didn’t make their fans particularly happy, as some idols have even gotten boycotted by their fans. Here’s a list of a few K-Pop idols who ran into this situation.
1. Chen (EXO)
Chen made a sudden announcement in 2020 when he revealed that he was going to get married and become a father. While a lot of fans were supportive of Chen, several Korean fans decided to boycott against him.
Some fans even created new social media accounts and fan sites requesting for Chen to withdraw from EXO, stating things like, “This site will be a place to work together to plan different ways to have Chen withdraw from EXO due to his decision to taint the image of the group. Please join our site and give us your opinions”.
All of this didn’t have much effect, as SM Entertainment soon released a statement saying that Chen would be staying in EXO.
2. Kwangjin (Former member of N.Flying)
Kwangjin faced major backlash after an online community user accused him of sexually assaulting fans, seducing them, dating fansite masters, and more.
Since his debut, he dated fans by seducing them, sexually assaulted them, badmouthed his members and company to fans, and said things like ‘I don’t want to be a singer, I’d rather just go to the army,’ or ‘The base is convenient because I only need to move my fingers around.’ The worst thing was when he said, ‘There are other girls who are meant to go to the brothels,’ to a fan. A public figure using a word that the average person doesn’t even use to a fan?
— Online community user
After this, more people started sharing their experiences of interacting with Kwangjin.
I was so embarrassed that I didn’t even talk about it until now. Around last winter, Kwon who was not even my bias kept flirting with me at fansign events, asking me out and telling me not to date my boyfriend. During one fansign, the tables were set particularly close. He was saying let’s be in a fake relationship and then he said no, let’s be in a real relationship instead and while he was saying this, he locked my knees between his legs and bounced them. I’m getting the shivers just thinking about it again. That’s sexual assault, you jerk. If you did that in front of 100 people at a fansign, I can’t imagine how he normally treated his fans.
— Former fan of Kwangjin
After this got revealed, many fans began boycotting Kwangjin’s activities and demanded him to leave the group. Not long after, Kwangjin voluntarily left the group.
3. Moon Hee Jun (Former member of H.O.T)
In 2017, fans of Moon Hee Jun decided to boycott all of his activities as they were outraged at him for multiple reasons. One of the reasons behind the boycott was Moon Hee Jun’s alleged rude behavior towards his fans. One fan came out and revealed that Moon Hee Jun once gave a rude response when she told him that she couldn’t attend an event of his due to work.
Why are you working at a company that doesn’t even give you days off?
— Moon Hee Jun
4. Sungmin & Kangin (Super Junior)
This situation is a little different, as some fans of Super Junior once boycotted all of the group’s activities, and stated that it would end when Kangin and Sungmin were removed from the group.
We petition for Kangin and Sungmin to be kicked out of Super Junior. Please note that all of the fans who participated in the entirety of this statement gathered solely for the purpose of removing the two members.
— Super Junior Fans
Fans were protesting because Kangin and Sungmin were involved in some past controversies. Sungmin got criticized in the past by fans for mishandling the announcement and process of his marriage.
Kangin has gotten criticized for multiple incidents of drunk driving, as well as allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. Kangin ultimately withdrew from Super Junior in 2019.