Apink Fan Heavily Criticizes Son Naeun’s Decision To Not Partake In The Group’s Special Album Promotions
It’s been some time since we last saw a full 6-member comeback from veteran girl group Apink—so when media outlet OSEN confirmed their full group comeback for February 2022, Pink Pandas (Apink fans) couldn’t help but get excited about the upcoming promotions.
This was especially exciting news for fans because of Son Naeun‘s previously shocking move to YG Entertainment back in May 2021. Ever since her move to a different agency, Apink fans’ concerns started to grow, as they wondered about the future of the 6-member girl group.
With reports of the girl group’s upcoming full member comeback, Pink Pandas all over the nation began to rejoice—but their excitement was short-lived as Apink’s agency IST Entertainment (previously Play M Entertainment) recently shared a disappointing update.
According to the label, Son Naeun would not be joining the rest of the members for the upcoming album promotions due to conflicts with her “next project.” While she will be participating in the album jacket and music video, she will not be partaking in the other comeback activities “due to the sudden failure to adjust schedules.”
And while the news came as a surprise to many, it was the response of Apink fans that has started to make headlines. According to numerous online communities, Pink Pandas have begun to express their deep frustrations regarding Son Naeun’s decision to pull out from the group’s promotions.
One particular fan recently created a discussion board, where they revealed their honest thoughts on Son Naeun’s inability to join the other 5 Apink members. The post titled, “We Have Shielded Son Naeun So Many F*cking Times” has started to create waves on the online community forum, as it currently holds over 300,000 views.
The fan started off the post by sharing the exact moments when Apink fans shielded Son Naeun throughout her career, including the times when she would “dance lazily” or the time when she was the only member without dyed hair “because of [her] drama.” However, the fan made it crystal clear that they were done protecting and shielding Son Naeun.
When you danced lazily we shielded you, when we were together and you didn’t speak, we shielded you then too.
When all the other members dyed their hair, but you were the only one who didn’t because of your drama filming, we protected you then too.
Even when everyone around me scolded me for liking Apink, we told them that we knew the sincerity of Son Naeun so we shielded you then too.
But this time, I don’t think we can shield you.
— Anonymous online netizen
The netizen continued their rant-filled post by sharing that truth be told, they wanted to “blame the company [YG Entertainment]” for the sudden decision. It was after they read the statement, however, that the fan realized it wasn’t YG Entertainment’s decision, but rather Son Naeun’s—which is why they were more disappointed.
Of course, YG Entertainment probably had something to do with the decision. (Honestly, I wanted to blame the company ha but after reading the statement, I realized it was fully her decision hahaha)
The comeback has been in the works for the past few months and finally, it was decided that the comeback would be in February. News articles were released, but suddenly you can’t join because of conflicts? YG Entertainment definitely did something, but Son Naeun most likely agreed to it, which is why we are so disappointed.
— Anonymous online netizen
They concluded their post by sharing that Son Naeun’s decision is not just irresponsible, but it’s “rude to the members and the agency.”
I can’t believe there’s something more important than Apink…
Even if you were only promoting for two weeks and working for 2 weeks, or if you missed a couple of activities because you were busy—we would have understood.
But instead, you firmly came out saying you can’t. It’s irresponsible and rude to the members and the agency.
We are really disappointed.
— Anonymous online netizen
The post, which went viral online, began to receive hundreds of comments that agreed with the original poster’s sentiments, as other netizens and fans began to share their disappointment about Son Naeun’s sudden announcement as well.
- “She can’t even act well, so I don’t understand why she is being so stubborn about acting..? Jung Eunji, who is busy with variety program activities, acting, and her singing duties, can do it all and she’s way better at acting. If Jung Eunji said something like this, I would understand it.”
- “Even I can go around saying that I have love for something. You have to show it through your actions, not your words. If you moved agencies, you should know out of all of us that it’s important to show it through your actions.”
- “I feel bad for their agency…it seems like they poured a lot of resources into this album but suddenly hahahaha they go and do this.”
- “The fact that she used her ‘next project’ as an excuse means she’s prioritizing her acting career over Apink. If she’s going to act like this, why did she say she would continue promoting with Apink even after moving agencies. She shouldn’t have said that. If she’s not giving false hope, then I don’t know what this is.”
- “Look at 2AM and learn from them. When they all signed contracts, they put 2AM’s promotions as their priority. Even if you do individual promotions, you need to have some decency.”
Son Naeun has been busy filming for her new tvN series Ghost Doctor, as she acts alongside Rain, Kim Bum, and Uee. The K-Drama is scheduled to end its broadcast at the end of February 2022.
Apink, on the other hand, will be making their highly anticipated special comeback to celebrate their recent 10 year anniversary sometime in February 2022. They are slated to actively promote their comeback with numerous different activities.
