“Idol School” Lee Hae In Writes Letter To Fans Regarding Her Unfair Elimination From The Show
Previously, the chief producer of Mnet’s survival show Idol School was sentenced to one year in prison. One contestant in particular, Lee Hae In, recently wrote a letter to fans regarding her elimination from the show.
Hi friends! Hope you all had a good lunch time. I spent some time thinking and decided that it would be best for me to come talk to you. So here I am, writing this where we usually communicate.I know you all got really emotional for me, maybe even more than I got. I hope everyone is okay. I hope no one is worrying too much about me. Because, to tell you the truth, I’m actually doing okay!I feel like I’ve really grown stronger through all the time we spent together. And I know that at times, I was praised more than I deserved. Likewise, at times, I was treated unfairly. But I decided to think of all those times as life. We all go through those different moments of life, don’t we?
— Lee Hae In
She expressed that those moments taught her how to prioritize the way she should live her life.
And those moments have taught me so much. Everything I learned, I still value to this day. And what I learned through those moments gave me a sense of direction, as to what I should be doing with my life and what I should be prioritizing. So I want to look at it more as a learning experience.You know how it’s hard to stay happy forever? It’s also hard to stay sad forever. So I think we can let this all pass too. One day, we’ll be able to look back on this and say, ‘Yeah, we went through that. Remember?’
— Lee Hae In
She shared a memory from the show, revealing how grateful she was for all the fans that came to support her.
For the past few days, I’ve had a lot of thoughts come and go… but I want to share a memory that I have from my ‘Idol School’ days. I remember the fans who were sitting in the front row of the audience on the last day of the shoot. I remember feeling very relieved after recognizing those familiar faces in the dark. It made me less nervous and I felt so grateful.I also used to go watch broadcast shoots. Before I experienced it for myself, I had no idea. But once I started going to watch different shows, I realized it takes a lot of time and energy. It’s exhausting, being on your feet all day and waiting endlessly. So I know those of you who came to that last shoot had it tougher than I did in my waiting room. I’d like to take a moment now to really thank you for having supported me that way.
— Lee Hae In
She admitted that she felt horrible every time fans picked her to support because she felt that she had to take responsibility for the disappointment she had caused.
It used to break my heart that I had to keep apologizing to my fans who chose me, who picked me to support. It broke my heart that I had to keep you all waiting for so long. After every missed opportunity, when I had to go back to being a trainee, I felt horrible because I felt like it’s my fault for having chosen to appear on those survival shows. And I felt like I had to take responsibility for the disappointment that I’ve put you through. But it was the toughest when you apologized to me about the final result.
— Lee Hae In
It was only after she left the show that she realized that she had been receiving an overwhelming amount of love from her fans.
I didn’t know when I was on set, but once I left the show, I realized how much love I had been receiving. I realized how many people put in the effort to be there for me. I’m sorry that I couldn’t see that right after the elimination. I was too caught up in my own feelings that I didn’t see how painful it must have been for you too. Even during the years that you all became convinced that something was weird and took action about it, I don’t think I had faith in myself. I almost felt like I got eliminated because my rank actually dropped that rapidly.
— Lee Hae In
She revealed that she finally felt free from this part of her life and thanked her fans for trusting her all this time.
So… thank you so much for having trusted me even during those low points that I’ve hit. Thank you for encouraging me no matter what, and for making me trust and push myself again. I’m honestly speechless with so much appreciation.For the past two days, I’ve received so many phone calls and messages. And with everyone telling me congratulations for having been #1, I feel like the frustration that built up in the past 4 years have really poured out of me. And now that it’s all gone, I feel so free.
— Lee Hae In
She ended the letter by thanking her fans for having faith in her and that she was sorry for realizing that so late.
And I feel like every time I came to the mic, I either cried or had bad news to share. But maybe, of all the things, I wanted to hear ‘Congratulations’ the most. I wanted to share good news when I had them. You have all been the reason that I could create good news for myself and achieve things to be congratulated about. So thank you for having faith in me, I will not let you down. I will become even stronger and I will reciprocate that love with results. Please, stay healthy and have a fantastic weekend.I guess my point today is…I’m super late to say this, but thank you so much for making me #1, my loves. I’m so sorry that it took me so long to realize that.
— Lee Hae In
During the show, she started off as one of the more popular contestants. However, starting from episode five, her position continued to drop until she was eliminated during the finale.
After the show finally went under investigation for vote manipulation, Lee shared shocking stories about the show in her PD Note interview. Despite her long journey, she persevered and made her solo debut in November 2020.
Best of luck to Lee Hae In!
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