A long breakdown of everything that’s wrong with the situation
First I want to make clear that this is all not entirely Cube’s fault. I’m also blaming the psychotic fans who started this whole mess. I don’t want to say it’s all of fans based domestically in South Korea. But the fact is that majority of the hate and backlash came from kfans.
First of all, Cube made the mistake of not talking to their artists.
Rumors came out that Hyuna and Hyojong were dating, and Cube denied them. So the couple took it upon themselves to confirm their relationship of TWO YEARS. Now I just wanna point out that they’ve been dating that long without letting it get in the way of their careers. So they decide to share a part of their lives with their fans and they’re getting heat for it? Okay.
Anyway, Cube should have confirmed with them before making a statement. That’s how this mess started. Kfans got pissy claiming they were “financially and emotionally traumatized” while shutting down fan sites and boycotting E’Dawn. How can you call yourself a fan and demand a member of the group be removed just for being happy?
Cube put Hyuna and Hyojong on hiatus because of this so called “dating scandal.” They cancelled Triple-H promotions right in the middle of their comeback. Hyojong produced the title track and helped make the album for Pentagon’s recent comeback. He wasn’t able to participate at all. And a day after the comeback, he and Hyuna are kicked out.
What’s more, it’s implied that Cube didn’t discuss it with the couple, and they found out the same way we did. Through online articles. How do you think they felt about that bullshit?
But then Cube saw their stock market drop faster than a collapsed building and retracted their statement. We’re not idiots, Cube. We see you realizing you fucked up. But hey, this gives us a week to convey how furious we are as fans.
Moving on. In the midst of all this, Cube experienced more dating rumors. Pentagon’s Hui and Yuto were caught up in rumors with fellow labelmates from girl groups (G)I-DLE and CLC respectively. Then BTOB’s Sungjae was tossed into rumors with a member of girl group DIA, to which he quickly shut fans down in a very sassy BTOB way. Point is, these rumors all happened within a week’s time after Hyuna and Hyojong confirmed their relationship.
These idols are not your toys. They’re people just like the rest of us. You can’t treat them like dolls on strings attached to your fingers. They aren’t slaves. THEY ARE NOT YOURS.
I’ll take a moment to bring up BTS’ recent comeback. Their title track IDOL was said to be controversial, and a lot of fans have actually disregarded the hidden message in this song. You can’t control an idol’s life.
It seems as if international fans are way more forgiving and happy to hear if an idol is dating. For whatever reason, kfans are generally dissolved in some delusion that they have the opportunity that they’ll be together with their favorite idols. While anything is possible, you can’t let your jealousy control what you say and do.
By listening to the few antis instead of the mass fan base, Cube has essentially brought several people’s’ careers into jeopardy. Not only with their stock market continue to drop until the mess is fixed, and of course decide the fate of Hyuna and Hyojong’s careers, but they’ll also inevitably drag down the rest of their artists with them. The consequences of Cube’s decisions should not affect their other artists, but they will regardless. Collateral damage.
In light of this scandal, I want to point out several other cases that share similarities.
Super Junior’s Sungmin got married on 2014, and fans boycotted him when SUJU was making their comeback just this past year. Class A bullshit.
U-Kiss’ Eli got married and had a baby. People jumped shit on him for it. For fucking what?
People jumped on FT Island’s Minhwan after he got married and had a child. His fellow members had nothing but support for him.
I don’t understand what the fucking problem is with dating. Most companies don’t have dating restrictions but they want to punish artists for dating anyway. Even JYP thinks it’s bullshit and his company has a three year dating ban. Like, when EXO was on his late show, they were terrified to even say the word “dating.” JYP got on the fans saying “you can’t expect them to be single forever.” And he’s absolutely fucking right.
When Monsta X was touring in America recently and they were asked about dating, they all denied and I.M even said “That’s a dangerous question.”
Shit like this has idols terrified of having a normal life outside of their careers. That’s not fair to them after all of the hard work they do just to give us fans some sort of entertainment. They love their job and their fans, so why can’t we love them and support them in return without looking like a bunch of stuck up bitches?
Idk man. I have a lot of issues with this. I’ve only been into kpop for two years and I’ve seen so much heartbreak and bullshit that it kills me. I wish I could do something to change the way things are but by myself that’s impossible. We need to stand together as fandoms to help show our idols that they don’t need to be afraid of us. They shouldn’t be punished for being in love and having children.
