Imagine you are working hard and dedicating yourself to your work, then suddenly one day
you find yourself accused of having no shame just because some of the things you do were
said to make netizens irritated.
These 3 idols are the best example of that situation:
1.
Jessica was said to sell herself short to a Chinese group for money
Currently, a Chinese audition program, Sisters Who Make Waves Season 3 with the participation
of Jessica, has grabbed massive attention from Korean netizens.
Sisters Who Make Waves is the hit show from Mango TV, which invites 30 female celebrities
to compete with each other and choose the 5 most talented ones under the judges’ decisions
and fans’ vote to debut.
According to the local media, in the last recording of the show, Jessica has ranked
top 2 on the final rankings.
With this high position, some leaked information predicts that she will re-debut with other
4 members to form a 5-member group.
Eventhough this is just a rumor on social media, many people still believe that there
is a high chance Jessica will re-debut.
The fact that Jessica is now back as an idol after nearly 8 years since leaving SM Entertainment
to pursue a business career surprised many people and their reactions were not very positive.
Up to now, loads of social platforms have exploded with mixed opinions from Korean netizens.
On one hand, most of them criticized Jessica because they believed she’s greedy for money
after being involved with a scammer and in debt.
Some even said that it is unacceptable and seems like she has no shame and is selling
herself short while she used to be a bright representative of Kpop idols gen2.
Apart from that, they also pointed out that Jessica is now 35 years old, which is not
an appropriate age to debut as an idol.
You can easily spot comments mocking Jessica, saying that she people should call her new
group “ajumma group” instead of “girl group”
Since leaving SNSD, Jessica has been under criticism and now, according to Kpop stans,
she can have more haters from Korea when re-debut in a Chinese group because Chinese and Korean
netizens are known to not get on well with each other.
On the other hand, Jessica’s fans still came to defend that there’s nothing to feel
embarrassed about as Jessica can absolutely do whatever she wants, as long as it helps
her earn money and makes her happy.
Plus, there’s no way Jessica’s desperate for money as she is the richest former member
of SNSD who owns a whole fashion business.
Many also added that they will support Jessica continuously with her new career path in China
and hope that netizens would stop bashing her for things that happened in the past.
2.
IU was said to shamelessly follow the Lolita concept
On October 23th 2015, as soon as IU’s mini-album Chat-Shire went on release, IU - the Kpop’s
sweetheart with an innocent image and vocal talents was mired in pedophilia controversy
with regards to two songs "Twenty-three" and "Zeze".
Twenty-three, inspired by the concept of Alice in Wonderland, quickly aroused the curiosity
of the public thanks to its uniqueness and novelty.
However, the scene with the milk bottle then faced accusations of using the “lolita”
concept, in which childlike elements are sexualized.
Particularly, in the MV, IU was seen sucking on a baby bottle, singing about wanting to
be a child forever and later pouring the formula bottle over a doll’s head while singing
about the desire to be a grown woman.
Upon that, viewers of Twenty-three were divided into two camps of opinion.
One did not regret criticizing IU because they thought that this image had an impure
connotation to it while the others, especially who are on the cusp of 23 themselves, defended
that perhaps “Twenty-three” was indeed IU’s way of telling the media and public
that they did not know who she truly was as well as IU herself probably did not know either.
Besides, in response to such allegations of sexual imagery and pedophilia themes in Twenty-three,
the director, Yong Seok Choi uploaded his explanation on his own Facebook page on November
7.
He said that in fact, he used that scene to express the contradictory content of the lyrics
in an organic way but if they were to pour water on IU, it would have been a problem
if the scene wasn’t shot correctly, so he decided to pour milk on the doll instead.
While this matter has not yet subsided, the other song, Zeze, also came under fire when
netizens realized it expressed its taste for the sexualization of a five-year-old protagonist
of the novel “My Sweet Orange Tree”.
The issue has consumed attention for days and has even made its way into Western media
publication The Guardian.
The song “Zeze,” written from the viewpoint of the orange tree, includes lyrics that some
claim are sexually suggestive, such as: “You’re very naive, but certainly sly” “You might
seem transparent like a young child, but something about you is dirty” and “tomorrow night,
will you come see me again.”
Explaining that, IU said Zeze in her song is innocent but cruel in some aspects and
has many paradoxes, and that’s why she found him very charming and sexy.
However, in the novel, which is featured in the Korean sixth-grade curriculum, Zeze is
an imaginative 5-year-old boy who is physically abused by his family and comes to befriend
an orange tree.
It was IU's statement about the "sexiness" of the 5-year-old boy that sparked much debate
because these words were considered extremely inappropriate.
Not to mention, IU was also said to went the extra mile when drawing an illustration of
Zeze wearing net socks with no pants on and posing provocatively on the album cover.
While IU was facing harsh criticism from tons of Korean commenters, some defended her by
emphasizing the importance of young starlets’ freedom of artistic expression, claiming that
a line must be drawn when it comes to literary interpretation suggestive of pedophilia.
Many others also pointed out that the public was too strict on IU and treated her unfairly
when they self-imposed their thoughts, understandings and interpretations on her images.
After days of endless headlines about “Zeze,” IU eventually issued an official apology for
not only her misunderstanding about Zeze but also her using the word “sexy” to describe
a child.
Despite going through such unpredicted scandals, IU now still is regarded as the Korean nation’s
little sister with an innocent image and her benevolence when constantly joining domestic
artists to raise a huge amount of money for charity.
3.
Kim Garam was said to try to get back in Le Sserafim
Even before debut, Kim Garam was constantly accused of school violence towards other students.
The controversy about this problem has become a hot topic on the Internet which gained massive
attention from netizens.
At that time, Garam was under fire, leading to her halting all promotion activities with
LE SSERAFIM.
However, just a short time after that, she was caught participating in other fan activities
when a fan posted a photo of LE SSERAFIM's "Fearless" album with the signatures of all
6 members, and updated Garam's latest situation: "For Garam's fans, I think she goes to the
company to practice.
She must not have changed anything, don't worry".
In addition, another fan also posted on Twitter to show off the album signed by Garam.
When these photos spread on social media, many netizens immediately flocked to criticize
Garam for being so shameless to the point that she still had the gut to continue to
promote with Le Sserafim and acted like nothing happened.
Some also expressed their disappointment to the fans who still supported Garam and felt
bad for them being fans of a bully.
Actually, her agency first wants the problem settled down by keeping silent, and then finds
a way to help Garam come back.
However, due to netizens’ pressure, on June twentieth, Source Music resorted to making
a decision to terminate the exclusive contract with Garam as after a long time they cannot
bring any valid evidence, which proves Garam is innocent.
Besides, Source Music also apologized to fans and informed them that LE SSERAFIM will continue
their activities as a five-member group.
So, do you think these idols really have no shame or some netizens were just being so
toxic?