KPop Idols are Human Too
[Applause]
like most 15 year olds i am a kpop fan
kpop has been a huge part of my life
i’ve been to two concerts have purchased
a lot of merchandise and albums and have
dedicated days to just watching videos
of them online
why am i willing to dedicate myself to
be fans of these
unknown figures why do i like them so
much
well they inspire me they bring me
comfort
witnessing them go through the various
hardships that comes with being a part
of the kpop industry
them giving their 100 in all that they
do and always pushing themselves to be
better
has reminded me that dreams do come true
even if it seems a little out of your
reach even if the journey there is tough
it has motivated me through some of my
dark times and as a fan their constant
gratitude towards our support makes us
feel
appreciated comforted
they work hard for their fans in order
to pay back all the love that we show
them
their dedication to their craft and
appreciation for their fans is just
something that i admire about them
and as public figures they are role
models to those who are struggling
whether they are struggling to reach
their goal or if they just have a lot on
their plate at the moment
they remind us all that we need to
remember our why
the reason we started on our journey to
push ourselves to go further
and to never forget the people who got
us to where we are
but what happens when this admiration
turns into
obsession sassing fans
obsessive fans who stalk all engage in
creepy criminal-like activities that is
an invasion of privacy
these kinds of overly enthusiastic fans
would do anything
just to get their idols attention i’ve
had stories and have witness fans
calling idols in the middle of their
live stream following them to their
homes
mobbing them in the middle of the
airport not even giving them the space
to walk
these fans will do anything to obtain
personal information about the idols be
their phone numbers home address family
details or
their daily schedules these actions
would
make the idol feel very uncomfortable
and if the idol comes too close into
contact with such a fan
they can be put into a dangerous
situation
nyon from popular girl group twice once
had an obsessive german fan who would
send gifts and letters to the group’s
dormitory
and once got on the same flight as sir
he approached her and threatened to kill
her when she
just tried to get away from him scary
right
as public figures they do have the right
to privacy and personal space
such behavior from the public people who
call themselves fans
is honestly terrifying
is being a fan of and i don’t mean that
we can ignore their right to privacy and
personal space
loving your idols does not give you a
free pass to stock public figures
we as fans need to remember that there
is a line that we cannot cross
that we need to respect our idols
nowadays it’s kind of a norm for k-pop
idols to have that slim
thin media perfect body type but what
happens when you deviate from this norm
wendy from girl group red velvet in 2015
experienced a more notable weight gain
but it wasn’t that bad she just looked a
little more chubby than usual
she looked like any regular healthy girl
you would see on the street
yet she was heavily criticized mocked
shamed and caught fed by the public just
for being a little chubby
now wendy as a public figure obviously
heard these comments and
she wanted to try to win back their
favor so she went on an extreme diet
a blended cabbage and apple for
breakfast and pumpkin juice for lunch
nothing else for a full day worth of
activities
now she successfully lost weight of
course given that intense diet
but the public wasn’t satisfied they
continued to hoard her with hurtful
comments
calling her ugly scary for looking so
thin
who are the ones who drove her to this
point in the first place
who were the ones who made us go on such
an extreme unhealthy diet
risking her health just to look good in
front of the camera
wendy’s story is just one out of many
out there
even if it doesn’t pertain to the idol’s
looks
our comments and responses to our idols
action essentially
end up dictating the way they live we
expect them to live up to our
unrealistic expectations
and when they don’t we criticize them
we hate on them we send them hurtful
comments just because they didn’t live
up to our standards
this kind of toxic culture and mentality
is very harmful to the idols mental
health
because they feel the need to listen to
us they feel the need to satisfy
us and our insatiable desires
and this isn’t right this being a fan of
and i don’t mean that we own their lives
that we get to dictate how they live
does being a fan of and i don’t mean
that we can ignore all rules and
boundaries
invade their personal space invade their
personal privacy as if it meant
nothing to them
well obviously no this issue definitely
isn’t unique to kpop but it is in a way
more
severe one of the reasons is because of
the different values in korean society
as compared to western society
korean society places a lot of pressure
on these idols
treating them as objects rather than
humans
fans expect idols to replicate their
extensive investment of time and money
through displays of devotion to the
point where idols can’t even date
because this seems to take their
attention away from their fans
mental health is still a taboo subject
in korea despite the slow change that we
are seeing
kpop idols are desensitized from opening
up about their mental health or their
struggles like we would do
and this makes it harder for them to get
the help and support that they
need instead they are expected to meet
this extremely high moral standard just
so kpop can have this safe and wholesome
image
and for the sake of their careers they
have no choice but to comply to these
unreasonable demands public figures are
supposed to be positive influencers
right
but is that really the case we see now
companies train idols to be the perfect
performer with the perfect personality
that is marketable to the public
but the public’s expectation that these
idols have to be perfect
pushes them to do bad things in order to
cope with the demands
the public wanted wendy to have the
perfect body and this drove her to
unhealthy eating habits
this is not the example we want to set
for our youth today
we can’t expect these public figures to
be the perfect role models while
simultaneously pushing them towards
these unhealthy habits because they are
trying to cope up with the expectations
that we are setting upon them
if i have to be frank i’m really tired
of this toxic k-pop culture
where fans treat their idols like robots
and not humans
where idols are being blatantly
disrespected and overworked where the
idols feelings are ignored despite all
the hurt they experienced
because of comments people hiding behind
the screen ascending
there are idols who have lost their
lives as a result of this
former effects member surly took her
life at age 25 in
october 2019 she had to constantly deal
with
malicious hate speech from netizens who
bashed her just because she expressed
views that defied
korea’s social norms and tender ideals
shiny member jonghyun took his life at
age 27 in december 2017
after a long battle with depression and
suicidal thoughts
he felt like he was going up against the
world when he was just a
artist trying to perform trying to live
his dream
yes when these idols signed up for the
jobs they knew what they were getting
themselves into
they knew about the stress and hardships
that will come with being an idol but
that doesn’t make this kind of situation
acceptable
if we see these public figures as
positive influences
and role models we should amplify those
positive qualities other than
contributing to the negativity the harsh
treatment standard judgment and
expectations we have for these idols
should not
exist in the first place
at the end of the day all of us are
humans
these idols they’re humans so we should
treat them as such
thank you