Culture
Your K-Pop Idol Will Never **** You
Not everyone abandoned former Big Bang member Seungri when he was probed for the Burning Sun scandal. Hundreds of Indonesian fans gathered at the country’s busiest business district and announced their unwavering support for the disgraced ex-idol.
Indonesian Twitter was also a cesspool at that time. Despite the growing evidence reported by multiple reputable South Korean news sites, many fans said they were still sceptical about Seungri’s involvement in police bribery, prostitution, and other scandals. According to some, the reporting was “exaggerated”, and that their beloved idol “isn’t like that.”
Naturally, the offline gathering and online show of support infuriated many people. Fellow Kpop fans and even regular people made fun of them. They were called, among other things, “crazy” and “brainless.”
Two years after the investigation, in August 2021, Seungri was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail. Many “fans” were angry and accused the military of being corrupt and trying to sully the reputation of their beloved scumbag. Many even stated that they would keep waiting in the hopes that Seungri will return to the entertainment industry after his release. These fans conveniently muted the victims’ voices in this case, perhaps even accusing some of them as liars.
All these unnecessary commotions despite the fact that the rate for fake sexual assaults and rape allegations is low; between 2 to 10%. The statistic for unreported crimes in this category is much higher in comparison.
These fans are vilifying the women who came forward with allegations of assault or drugging at the club; women whose sexually explicit videos and photos were shared in a group chat without their knowledge or consent. For the sake of one man, all of their pain, shame, and trauma were dismissed. The one who ruined their life in the first place.
“Apologise for nothing”
Another idol was caught up in a women-related scandal the same month as Seungri’s sentencing. Lucas of NCT was accused of stealing from, cheating on, and gaslighting his alleged ex-lovers. Of course, many fans defended him, believing that the accusations were false. Despite only knowing him through curated social media posts and digital content, they said things like “He isn’t like that” and “That’s not the Lucas we know.”
SM Entertainment, the agency that managed NCT, finally addressed the controversy in a statement. Lucas also posted a handwritten apology on his Instagram before going on a long hiatus.
Then, after months of silence, he suddenly posted a black and white picture of an ocean, and fans went ballistic. Many rejoiced over the potential of a WayV comeback as well as the release of sub-unit single “Jalapeno”, which was postponed due to the controversy. Lucas’ sudden return to the social media platform signals his innocence to these fans. Several die-hard fans even begin slandering the accusers and fellow fans who denounced Lucas after the scandal broke.
They believe they are the winner in this situation. Although there’s never any competition at all.
However, neither Lucas nor SM Entertainment have actually released any follow-up statement regarding the scandal. It’s worth noting that both of the official statements implied that something did happen. When accusations are wrong, SM usually issues a statement stating so and takes legal action to protect their artists. It’s unclear whether SM will take a similar stance in this case. Thus, it’s still too soon to welcome Lucas back as if he is innocent.
But apparently, for many, he is always innocent and his apology was a martyr’s act.
Cult-like fandom
K-Pop fandom, just like any other fandom such as football, is prone to cult-like behaviour; deifying their idols as if they were perfect and could never do anything wrong.
When their idols are involved in a scandal, it’s never their fault; it’s a trap set by the evil South Korean media and antis! When there is irrefutable evidence, it is fabricated! When they are wrong, we still defend them because there must be a reason! When they acknowledge and apologise for their wrongdoings, we applaud them!
Our idols could never be wrong and if they are, go back to the start of this sentence! But it only applies to our idols. Other idols can be wrong and evil. And for that, we pity their fans.
But why would anyone go to such lengths for people they’ve never met?
The late cultural theorist Mark Fisher once argued about the passion of a fan in his blog post:
This is the only kind of ‘love’ that has real philosophical implications, the passion capable of shaking us out of sensus communis.
A strong passion that defies common sense, also marked by attachment and devotion.
K-Pop idols provide escapism and motivation in life for many fans (Jenol and Pazil, 2020). Understandably, they want these idols to be perfect; no one wants to admit that they worship a criminal, cheater, leecher, or a bad person in general. They have to protect this image of perfection at least until they are no longer part of the fandom. Even if there is nothing in it for them other than curated content consumed on their tiny phone screens.
In short, they don’t want to lose what may be their only source of happiness, even if it’s based on deception. Sometimes we become attached to something because it makes us feel good rather than because it’s really good.
They often forget that, despite everything, these idols are still human beings with flaws. And it’s okay to call them out when they make mistakes, as Fisher pointed out:
There is a strong relationship between the Fan and the critic. The best critics do not pretend to offer value-neutral judgements from nowhere — as Nietzsche, Marx, Freud and Lacan have shown in their different ways, no such place exists, although the fantasy position of something like Analytic Philosophy is to pretend that it does.
It’s impossible for fans to see the “true” face of their idols in a parasocial relationship. They can, however, offer criticism based on the values that these idols promote, or simply on basic human decency. Never let the smoke of burning passion blind you to inhumanities.
