DAY6’s Jae Reveals One Of The Harshest Realities Of Being An Idol

DAY6‘s Jae recently gave a crash course in becoming a K-Pop idol to Twitch streamer CodeMiko. He led her through some vocal exercises and some of the basic rules of being an idol, including one segment where he tested her on her reaction to hypothetical, but shocking scenarios.

Jae presented Miko with a hypothetical situation that starts off with something very common for idols but ended with a twist.

It’s been a hard day. A crowd of people are saying, ‘Oh, Miko! I love you!’ And you’re like, ‘Oh, thank you so much!’ You’re taking their letters. All of a sudden, someone comes up and they slap you across the face. What do you do?

— Jae

Miko was shocked by the scenario and hesitated for a moment before giving an answer most people would give: “I mean, I’d punch them back.” However, as someone who’s been a K-Pop idol for over six years now, Jae explained that a reaction like that would blow up on the internet. He even came up with some posts that may come out of that situation, like “CodeMiko Punches Fan In The Face For No Reason” and “CodeMiko Is Belligerently Violent.”

Miko then changed her answer and said that she could try turning the slap into a high five or give the fan money. But even that could be spun in a negative way, such as showing ignorance or leading to speculations of substance abuse. Finally, Miko asked what anyone is supposed to do in that situation and questions if they’re just supposed to smile. Jae confirmed that that’s the only right way to respond: smile and walk away like nothing happened.

When asked if anyone had ever slapped him before, Jae answered, “Of course.” He even said it was a common occurrence for him.

You will get a lot of things that happen because people want reactions out of you. And those clips go viral. People will spit on you, they will throw things at you, they will hit you if they can. They will do all kinds of things to you. But what do you do? You’re a public figure. You chose this route. The thing you’re gonna hear if you retaliate — ’cause there have been people that retaliated — is, ‘You chose this route. No one else chose it for you. Behave the way you should behave. You’re an idol. You’re supposed to be looked up upon. You don’t make mistakes. You don’t have an opinion. You’re a product.

— Jae

Miko asked Jae whether an idol could just retaliate and then say it’s their “brand,” being a “bad boy.” But Jae pointed out that it would affect the “team” and that such an act would be seen as selfish. Near the end of Jae’s crash course, Miko’s takeaway was, “Don’t have an opinion, smile, and […] just stay neutral,” and Jae confirmed that’s the best course of action for an idol.

Jae has previously spoken out about the tense relationship between companies and idols, such as a lack of support for his solo projects. He was also criticized by netizens after a comment made on his Twitch stream blew out of proportion. The harsh realities of being a K-Pop idol have significantly affected Jae, but his fans will continue to support him through all his projects. Check out his most recent release, “mom cut fruit,” below.