Fans Upset At Alleged Mistreatment Of Kep1er’s Center In Last Japanese Comeback
Kep1er is making a comeback and not all fans are happy about it.
Formed through the Mnet survival program Girls Planet 999, they are a temporary group made up of the top nine contestants on the show.
9th place went to Xiaoting, 8th to Mashiro, 7th to Hikaru, 6th to Yeseo, 5th to Youngeun, 4th to Dayeon, 3rd to Yujin, 2nd to Huening Bahiyyih, and 1st to Chaehyun.
This made Chaehyun the center of Kep1er. As such, she was assigned the privilege of being positioned in the middle of their group photos and given the highlights in songs—or at least that was what was promised.
On April 8, the girl group released a teaser for their first and likely last Japanese album, Kep1going, since their contract will be ending on July 3, 2024.
In the teaser posted on their social media accounts, each of the girls had their time in the spotlight. Some, however, were on screen much less than the others.
Most notably, their center, Chaehyun, was positioned at the very back of their group photo.
It confused fans who immediately took to social media to air out their concerns.
so why’s the centre… nowhere near the centre… pic.twitter.com/r9L7GxJgqa
— lenis 🫧 KICK-START 22.04 (@tioterz) April 7, 2024
They made an important distinction that they were not mad that Youngeun specifically was at the center of this poster but that Chaehyun was pushed backwards.
"their last jp cb and still fighting over the center position" bc that's chaehyun's OFFICIAL position? op is not even mad at youngeun not even chaeroms. we are mad that ch was pushed to the back ONCE AGAIN y'all are dumb af https://t.co/A9NOwBIAVi
— 🥀 (@exp1ergen) April 7, 2024
Amma needs everyone to calm the fck down. We can be happy about youngeun center and question why Chaehyun barely gets treated as the center. She rightfully got that position. They literally pushed her to the right far in the back. That makes no sense. It's not fair. https://t.co/jmybfLjBaO
— june ✨️ (@XIAOERAZ) April 7, 2024
According to them, this was not the first time she has been mistreated when it comes to receiving screentime. Though the center is her rightful place, she is still often “pushed back.”
The comments and quotes are pissing me off.
1.) Yes, Kep1er has a confirmed center. Confirmed by the company, variety shows, dispatch, the leader, and Chaehyun herself.2.) If it were Wonyoung or Zhang Hao that were constantly pushed to the back for 3 yrs then- https://t.co/MnAvVhKKnJ pic.twitter.com/teMDlJr5i6
— 히에🦁리키🍓 ゆらゆら+Straight Line (@HiyyihRicky) April 7, 2024
i was like “but isnt xiaoting in the middle?” but then i remembered the centers supposed to be chaehyun i hate wakeone pic.twitter.com/0RAqAY39c5 https://t.co/wt06EGFhML
— gabriel (@c7efairy) April 8, 2024
stop playing dumb in the replys, chaehyun is not even treated as the center even in korean comebacks… wake up https://t.co/7hHW69mvt0
— lily ɴ/α (@nakobafora) April 7, 2024
One fan put together a compilation of photoshoots where she was positioned at the edge of the official photos.
this is proof how bad chaehyun’s treatment as center in every kep1er’s KOREAN and JAPANESE released since debut. chaeroms will never complained if shes treated as she should be for her rightful position, hope that helps yall to understand why we complain https://t.co/eiG5qyPllm pic.twitter.com/T6CEjtbTMX
— 🦕 (@zb1hanbin_) April 8, 2024
Some guessed that her lack of center time is a reason why Kep1er has not been able to grow in popularity. They claimed that Chaehyun has not been supported by the company despite proof from Girls Planet 999 that she is the most popular member, thus failing to capture their target market.
keplians and non fans finally finding out why keplers career ended up the way it did 😭 p01 is the most popular in korea p02 the most popular internationally and w1 push anyone but them lmao but its alr ig. ive reached this peace of mind knowing its over in a few days https://t.co/vyc5m1060o
— 🦁ྀི (@bubblehiyyih) April 9, 2024
At the end of the day, they simply want to support Chaehyun in her official role as center.
chaehyun is a perfect center btw and yall trying to discredit her will never work pic.twitter.com/m1palguovz
— glamrock neo (@hiyyeonie) April 7, 2024
Kep1er’s first Japanese album, Ke1going, will be released on May 8, 2024.
