Kpop Companies, Wonho, and Why Y'all Need to STOP

Alright y'all, we're finally having this conversation. Truthfully, I've been avoiding talking about this for quite some time and even as I'm writing this I'd still rather crab walk to work then talk about it. For one, I have an irrational fear of being doxxed by irate, 14-year-old Knets and losing my job, so that has kept me pretty far from any Kpop related topics. Second, I have always hated all of the fake, worship-y dialogue surrounding idols, their companies, and their fandoms and I find these discussions impossible to have without feeling like I'm slowly losing my mind. I'm also still reconciling my enjoyment of Kpop with the never-ending cultural appropriation but that's neither here nor there. With all of these in mind, it would be super easy for me to completely disengage and never weigh in on anything but, as you all know, that isn't me. I will never be that girl that just passively consumes content and as long as I'm putting my own personal money into this industry, some stuff needs to be addressed. By stuff of course, I mean the constant, ever-present toxicity and virulent abuse perpetuated by the companies and fandoms of Kpop. Let's call it out.

Let me start by saying this: Kpop is a lot of fun. Most of the music is the kind of high production, upbeat pop and r&b that I've grown to love, complete with the clean choreography and amazing looks that most Kpop groups have become known for. There's a lot to love and appreciate about these artists and it's impossible not to respect the hard work and training that goes into the music and performances. However, it's difficult to enjoy the music without thinking about all of the tomfoolery and shenanigans that surrounds the music. Tomfoolery and shenanigans, that often turns into big, dramatic career ending scandals, complete with fake ass company statements, multi-day, stan-driven doxing campaigns, and forced apologies by largely innocent idols. The most recent and most frustrating of these debacles is the situation with Wonho of Monsta X.

For some background, Monsta X was formed through the reality competition show No.Mercy (a messed-up concept that I'll get into on a different post) and consists of.... well CONSISTED OF... seven members (in my bias order): Jooheon, Shownu, Hyungwon, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Wonho, and I.M.. They typically make upbeat, black inspired pop or smooth, black inspired ballads and the group is well known for their intricate choreography and high energy rapping. On October 31st, Starship Entertainment announced that member Wonho would be leaving Monsta X amid "financial mismanagement" allegations with the understanding that Wonho's leaving was his own decision and will ultimately protect the image of the group.

*OBNOXIOUSLY LOUD HAND CLAP*

sis....

To be honest I don't even know where to start with this pure, unfiltered garbaggio. First of all, there is no way Wonho just happily skipped into Starship offices and handed in his resignation. It's just not realistic. You do not wake up and "amicably" exit a group that you fought to get on. A group that you spent 4 years singing and performing under and if Starship Entertainment valued their idols as people, they would've had that in mind before they let him leave like that (read: strong-armed him out of Monsta X and his contract). Speaking of Starship, while they are dead wrong, what they've done is so normal among kpop companies that it really isn't shocking. This whole culture of abandoning your artists and throwing them under the bus at the mere HINT of trouble is mad gross and it's done just to protect the "image" of their groups and their company. Sis, what "image" is that? The only "image" I have of Monsta X now, is that they're a group under a company that sees them as disposable like... good job I GUESS. And then when you think of how A) these people have been with these companies for years, some of them since they were kids and B) kpop "scandals" and "controversies" are so ubiquitous and frivolous that it wouldn't even make sense to acknowledge most of them, it just gets even worse. I mean, what the hell kind of scandal is "he maybe owes someone, somewhere some money?". Surely that isn't a big enough scandal to ruin someone's career and especially not with other, bigger artists getting away with much worse (Seungri is out and about, folks.)

 And yes, I understand that there is a culture and history to Kpop that I as an American fan simply cannot understand, but I don't think this kind of exploitation is part of that culture. Especially when these punishments and ill-treatment are not always uniform across the board. At this point it's representative of an industry that disregards the source of it's power, falsely believing that they would survive without their idols and then... there's the fandoms.

It isn't a bad thing to be a fan of a group or an artist. It isn't bad to see a performer, like their music, and support them. That's normal and natural and for as long as there have been performers, there have been fans of those performers. I say this, so you understand that a lot of people in kpop fandoms are not fans in the healthy sense. They are obsessed stans that have devoted entirely too much time and projected too much of their self image onto groups. There is no reason you should be starting and participating in entire campaigns to bully regular citizens off the internet for kpop opinions. No justification at all. Not only is it a waste of your time, but none of your favs would like or encourage this shit. I know Namjoon wouldn't want that. There is also a good bit of delusion that many stans seem to have regarding their favs that is honestly pretty terrifying to watch. The obsession, bordering on worship, includes imagining your favs are talking to you through their every move or action, fighting with other fans because you have randomly decided you hate an entire member of the group and anyone who like that member must be destroyed, and a multitude of other corny and weird behavior. It's also very off-putting and cannot be good for your mental health and general well-being so stop it. Get some help.

There are so many things about the Kpop industry that need to be addressed. So many things should be fixed for the betterment of the idols and the fans. I couldn't even begin to describe just how much should change and honestly, I don't even know if I'm equipped to tackle all of that. What I do know is that at the end of the day it's supposed to be music and art. A source of enjoyment for fans all over the world. While there is still great stuff being made, the industry producing it just grows more toxic with each new "scandal".