K-pop Star Forced to Apologize to Furious Fans for... Having a Boyfriend

Today in Parasocial Fans Need to Calm Down, let’s take a journey to South Korea. The world of K-pop is a fascinating and fraught ecosystem where the fan is always right and the star is subject to all manner of jackassery. As any fan of these idols can tell you, being part of the K-pop industrial complex is stressful in a way that makes Hollywood look like a spa retreat. Case in point: Karina.

She’s a 23-year-old singer and member of the band Aespa. The foursome debuted in 2020 and had a major-selling album last year. Karina, real name Yu Ji-min, was first scouted by an SM Entertainment representative during her teens. She trained for about four years before debuting with Aespa, where she’s often positioned as the leader of the group. She’s also part of a supergroup called Got the Beat, put together by SM.

Karina is now embroiled in scandal because… okay, let’s be real here. This is a mess and not a real issue, except for in the world of parasocial fandoms and the K-pop industry’s penchant for pandering to the worst people alive. Last month, it was rumoured that Karina was dating the actor Lee Jae-wook. An unhinged subset of Aespa fans responded by harassing Karina and Jae-wook online, calling her a slut and a liar, and hiring a truck to drive to SM’s headquarters and broadcast the message, ‘Is the love given to you by your fans not enough?’

Karina's Chinese fandom urges her to apologize for betraying themhttps://t.co/bqXyADl20P pic.twitter.com/c5rHlgRnTh

— pannchoa (@pannchoa) March 4, 2024

One website noted how one ‘fan’ (read: incel loser) ranted about spending ‘$400,000 NTD (approximately $12,700 USD) stanning asepa. I’ve never been to an offline fansign. I’m not planning on buying merchandise anymore. I don’t want to keep anything.’ Again, this is because a woman they’ve never met before is dating someone.

Now, Karina has taken to Instagram with a handwritten note of apology for ‘surprising you [fans] greatly] with the news. She wrote (this has been translated from English by the website Asian Junkie):

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KARINA (@katarinabluu)

Hello, this is Karina.
First, I apologize for surprising you greatly, and I wound up [writing this] late because I feel very cautious towards the MYs [aespa’s fans] who must have been very surprised.
I know very well how disappointed the MYs who have supported me up until now must be, and I also know that they are feeling upset while thinking back on the things we’ve said to one another. I feel even more sorry because I, too, understand those feelings all too well.
I wound up writing this letter in the hopes of conveying my feelings even a little bit.
Even though I’m worried that this [letter] may hurt [MYs] one more time, the reason I’m taking the risk and writing this is because I wanted to convey that I am sincerely sorry to the fans who gifted me with the warmest winter of my life from the moment I debuted.
Starting now, I want to do a good job filling the places where MYs have been wounded. I have always been sincere towards MYs, and even now, each and every one of you is truly precious to me.
Although this letter may be too short to express all of my feelings, thank you for reading it. In the future, I want to show you a more mature side, without disappointing MYs, as I work even harder in my activities.
MYs, please make sure to eat well, and let’s meet one another in good shape. I’m sorry, and I’m very grateful.

This poor woman.

Alas, this is not uncommon in the world of K-pop and East Asian celebrity. Pop stars in South Korea and Japan work in an immensely high-pressure business with long hours, low pay, and basically no barriers around their private lives. It was once common practice for agencies to ban new stars from dating altogether because they want to foster the idea that these idols are completely accessible, in reality and fantasy, to their fans. It’s a depressingly universal trait to see certain fans go haywire and conspiratorial when their favourite reminds them that they date other people, but the level of control exerted over the likes of K-pop singers is especially insulting and unfair.

I’ve seen some fans online insist that this must have come from anti-fans or K-pop haters, but given how much this toxicity permeates every aspect of this industry, both in and outside of South Korea, I think the problem is far worse than a few bad apples in the barrel. K-pop agencies and these training camps have horrendous reputations and are not wild about treating workers with basic respect. To foster that kind of environment then demand these idols do everything the most abhorrent minority of ‘fans’ desire cannot lead to good things. The history of idols experiencing depression and attempting or completing suicide also speaks for itself.

Just get over yourselves, you weird losers, and find another hobby.