In such a nation heavily influenced by Confucianism as Korea, personality is placed at the top

priority when evaluating one person, especially public figures.

Albeit their talent and popularity, Kpop idols can be severely stoned for their allegedly

disrespectful actions toward their seniors.

Here are 4 idols whose reputation was negatively affected by these accusations.

1.

Seunghoon (WINNER) was said to try to hit Ilhoon (BTOB)

As Seunghoon appeared on the show Idol Radio with Ilhoon from BTOB, he drew mixed opinions

from netizens with his so-called inappropriate action.

While the duo was excitedly chatting with each other, in a moment of “excessive enthusiasm”,

Seunghoon held the script scroll and hit Ilhoon on the head twice, making Ilhoon a little

back off.

As the show was on live, a wave of fierce criticism from Kpop fans immediately came

to him.

Although Seunghoon is two years older than Ilhoon, Ilhoon is still considered his senior

for having debuted with BTOB two years before WINNER, which calls for a certain level of

respect and etiquette in Korean society.

As a result, many Korean netizens expressed displeasure with Seunghoon’s action and

demanded an apology.

They said he was so inconsiderate and disrespectful to his senior, which is strictly forbidden

in Korean tradition and culture, and also claimed that as a public figure, Seunghoon

should have been a lot more careful with his actions.

Later, Seunghoon had to personally apologize for this incident on his social media account

and affirmed that he would try to be a more complete artist in the future.

He also explained that since he had a close relationship with Ilhoon, he just wanted to

hype up the atmosphere of the show in a humorous way.

While some thought that Seunghoon hitting his senior was intolerable and he should apologize

to Ilhoon in person instead of posting on social media, others made allowances for his

actions since they believed he did not have any ill intention at all.

2.

Sunghoon (ENHYPEN) was said to greet his seniors half-heartedly

In mid-November 2021, a video of ENHYPEN’s Sunghoon greeting other artists went viral

on the Internet, as netizens accused him of not treating respectfully to his senior TWICE.

Specifically, on the latest episode of “Music Bank” broadcast on November 12, TWICE performed

their new title track “SCIENTIST” and also had an interview with Sunghoon and Wonyoung.

However, netizens noticed that after finishing the interview, Sunghoon only bobbed his head

to greet TWICE instead of bowing like Wonyoung did.

This situation made many netizens feel uncomfortable as TWICE is a major senior who debuted 5 years

before Sunghoon yet they still politely bowed to greet him, while Sunghoon was said to only

nod his head with a so-called superficial attitude.

Some even sarcastically said that he seemed to have a serious problem with his back, since

he couldn’t bow properly or at least put a smile on his face.

They claimed that Sunghoon should have had a more professional attitude and displayed

more respect to other idols.

Notably, Korean netizens also looked into some other MusicBank interviews to prove that

TWICE was not the only artist that Sunghoon greeted in a half-hearted way.

The visual of ENHYPEN was also said to fail to bow properly after interviews with 2 other

groups, LIGHTSUM and The Boyz.

However, fans have come to defend Sunghoon, saying that as the studio was too small and

cramped, bowing lower could cause him to collide with other idols and that Sunghoon was just

trying to avoid an awkward situation

Still, many others believe that Sunghoon needs to improve his greetings and behave more sincerely

to avoid further controversy in the future.

3.

Lovelyz was said to disrespect RED VELVET and INFINITE

After the Inkigayo music show in early July 2019, Lovelyz members received intense criticism

from the online community for allegedly acting disrespectfully towards senior Red Velvet.

Specifically, while Red Velvet had a greeting gesture and Yeri even kindly bowed to greet

them many times, Lovelyz just turned their faces away and had an indifferent expression

toward their seniors.

Though Lovelyz’s supporters defended that the stage was quite crowded and the members

might not notice Red Velvet were greeting them, many netizens believed that this explanation

seemed irrational and the group’s action was intolerable.

Back in 2016, Lovelyz was also accused of having disrespectful manners at the concert

of their seniors in the same company- INFINITE.

It was said that the members plugged their ears in the middle of the performance, brought

in bags of chips when food and drinks were clearly banned, threw Inspirit slogans on

the floor then sat on them and left all their trash at their seats.

Netizens angrily said that the girls failed to keep a basic level of respect and did not

deserve to be invited to the concert.

However, some fans who attended the same event defended the group, saying that Lovelyz might

have been misunderstood since they were with their manager the whole time and there was

no way the company would let this incident happen.

4.

BLACKPINK was said to not even greet BTS

So, even BLACKPINK couldn’t escape the disrespectful controversy early in their career but different

from other cases, they were promptly vindicated.

Specifically, after the 2018 MBC Plus x Genie Music Awards, a video of BTS members returning

to their seats was circulated on various social media platforms and captured the attention

of many netizens.

However, the “spotlight” of the clip belonged to BLACKPINK members, who were spotted sitting

still while the other groups were respectfully bowing to greet BTS.

Many people expressed their doubts and wondered why the girls did not stand up though their

seniors were right in front of them.

However, many people have pointed out evidence to clear the accusation.

Accordingly, they said BLACKPINK had a problem with their costumes at the award and had difficulty

moving with those inconvenient outfits, therefore, they had to sit still in order to protect

their image.

Later, after fixing the fits, BlackPink still bowed to BTS members thus clearing all disrespectful

attitude controversies.

Although respecting seniors is a time-honored and beautiful tradition of not only the Kpop

industry but also the Korean culture, perhaps netizens should pay more attention when accusing

artists to avoid putting wrong blame on idols.

So, do you think these idols really have attitude problems or some people were just being overly

sensitive?