Netizens Express Concern About The Treatment Of LE SSERAFIM’s Garam By Fans Following Her Pre-Debut Controversy
Although the debut of HYBE‘s newest girl group LE SSERAFIM has been highly anticipated for months, the days leading up to the moment were shrouded by controversy. After releasing the concept photos for member Garam, the idol was swept up in bullying allegations.
Very quickly after the accusations arose, HYBE shared a statement on Source Music‘s official Twitter account. HYBE stated that through their own investigation, all of the accusations made against Kim Garam were false, and they would take legal action.
After the rumors were denied, the group continued their preparation and debuted at the start of May with their first EP “Fearless.” Since the group’s debut, the members have gained the attention of fans worldwide for their visuals, charisma, and performance skills.
As the group is currently promoting their debut track, the members have been attending various promotions and schedules and interacting with fans. However, one Reddit user started a forum raising concerns about the treatment of Garam by some Korean netizens. In various social media clips, the user pointed out how all the members seemed to have support from fans, but this didn’t apply to Garam.
One of the clips shows the group walking to a schedule. While the members are met with cheers and the media, when Garam got out of the car, the reaction was very different, and it fell silent.
it pisses me off the way the went on silence then there's dreamworld screamed her name (garam's fs) pic.twitter.com/w49ZR6ylhX
— 16 (@kazuhastival) May 6, 2022
In another thread on the post, the user shared a moment where the members were doing aegyo for fans. While members Kazuha and Yunjin received cheers from the crowd and the RTs were full of praise on the tweets…
윤진이 핫걸임 … ㄷㄷ pic.twitter.com/9jUAlO49gT
— 체리 (@cherrymywk) May 6, 2022
카즈하 갸루피스 ✌🏻✌🏻 pic.twitter.com/JdLHgqGjCp
— 체리 (@cherrymywk) May 6, 2022
The crowd notably went silent for Garam, and some of the Korean comments centered around the word “Bully.”
가람이 근본 토끼 맞지 ㅇㅇ 🐰 pic.twitter.com/qqgJlerSNc
— 체리 (@cherrymywk) May 6, 2022
Many international fans raised confusion about why Garam was being treated this way, even though the company had refuted the claims. The members were even asked about it during their debut showcase, where both Chaewon and Garam explained that the issue was still being dealt with by their agency.
It is difficult for me to speak about it at the moment. I will strive to show my best side as part of LE SSERAFIM.
— Garam
On the forum, international netizens had mixed responses to the videos. Some netizens shared that it probably would’ve been better for HYBE and Source Music to delay the group’s debut until the accusations were completely sorted out. They also pointed out that the company should’ve done more to protect Garam as a minor.
Others shared their sympathy for the idol who is living her dream of being an idol but the controversy has overshadowed it.
Since the initial statement from HYBE and the members’ comments at the showcase, the company and group haven’t addressed the allegations.
You can read the initial statement from HYBE about the allegations below.
HYBE Releases Statement Denying Accusations Against LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam
