[Sportschosun reporter mj.cho] A fan who had supported a star for 16 <a href="https://comicvibe.com/20-years-later-v-for-vendetta-is-as-prescient-as-ever/” title=”20 years later, V For Vendetta is as prescient as ever”>years eventually declared they were leaving the fandom, while a fansite that had steadfastly supported a star for 20 years shut down. As singer Heo Young-saeng and T.O.P, formerly of BigBang, have successively faced allegations of deceiving fans, perceptions of the relationship between celebrities and fans are changing. More fans are speaking up for their right to have their time and effort respected, rather than offering stars unconditional devotion.
On the 5th, Fan A, who had supported Heo Young-saeng, formerly of the group SS501, for 16 years, announced on social media that they were ending their fan activities.
Fan A, who ran Heo Young-saeng’s fan page “Forever Young,” shared their long-held hurt, saying, “It’s amazing to me, too, that the old rumor about opening a birthday café making you leave the fandom has turned out to be true.”
It began with a café event held on the 3rd to celebrate Heo Young-saeng’s birthday. Fan A spent about six months and their own money preparing the birthday café. Three months before the event, Fan A had also asked the agency whether Heo Young-saeng might be able to visit.
At the time, however, Heo Young-saeng’s side responded that since many fans were holding birthday cafés at various locations, it would be difficult for him to visit one particular event.
Fan A accepted this. But the situation changed when, on the 2nd, the day before his birthday, Heo Young-saeng announced that he had rented a separate café himself to meet fans. Fan A wrapped up the event they had prepared earlier than planned and went to the location where Heo Young-saeng was.
Fan A claimed, however, that they heard something unexpected there. According to Fan A, Heo Young-saeng mentioned their birthday café and said words to the effect of, “But you kept asking me to come.” Fan A expressed dismay that, despite never personally asking him repeatedly to visit, they might have come across in front of the other fans as someone who had pressured him to come.
What Fan A took issue with was not simply the fact that Heo Young-saeng had not visited their birthday café. Rather, they felt that the care and effort they had put into preparing it over a long time had not been sufficiently respected. “I’m tired of this being the best way to express it,” Fan A said, bringing 16 years of fan activities to an end.
Around the same time, T.O.P was also at odds with longtime fans.
CHOISEUNGHYUN.COM, a fansite that had supported T.O.P for about 20 years, announced on the 9th of last month that it was shutting down. The news came as a shock because it was a prominent fansite that had been active since around BigBang’s debut in 2006.
The site’s operators took issue with the lack of communication between T.O.P and his agency, as well as what they saw as the agency’s evasion of responsibility. They claimed that the agency had relied on fans’ voluntary efforts even for work it should have handled, including album promotion, communicating with fans, and responding to overseas fans.
They also stressed that fans had not simply turned away because they disapproved of the singer’s private life or romantic relationship. Fans had willingly devoted time and money to an artist they liked, but they objected to their devotion being taken for granted. As the controversy grew, T.O.P’s agency, TOPSPOT PICTURES, issued an official apology on the 10th of last month.
The agency acknowledged that it had not communicated sufficiently with fans and promised to reflect their opinions in its operations going forward.
About three weeks after the fansite shut down, T.O.P also issued a statement on the 1st. He expressed his gratitude to the fans who had trusted and supported him for so long, emphasizing that he did not take their love for granted. He also apologized to the site’s operators and fans who had been hurt.
But on the following day, the 2nd, another heated debate broke out when T.O.P visited a birthday café organized by fans with his partner, Nana. Some criticized him for bringing his partner to a space the fans had decorated themselves, calling it inconsiderate, while others argued that celebrating a birthday with a partner in a publicly acknowledged relationship was not something to criticize.
It cannot be definitively said that bringing a partner along for the visit was wrong in itself. Still, some viewed T.O.P.’s actions with disappointment given that the visit came just after he had apologized following a dispute with longtime fans over communication.
What the cases involving Heo Young-saeng and T.O.P had in common was that fans publicly challenged attitudes that seemed to take their devotion for granted.
In the past, idol fandoms were seen as groups that continually showered the stars they liked with love and sometimes put up with unreasonable situations. Buying multiple copies of albums, traveling to attend concerts, and preparing birthday cafés and exhibitions were all done in the name of fans’ voluntary love. But the fact that devotion is voluntary does not erase the value of the time and effort invested in it.
Fans are now beginning to set clear boundaries even with the stars they like. This does not mean they want to control an artist’s private life or have every demand met. They are asking, at the very least, that their feelings not be taken lightly and that they be treated with respect and consideration in the course of communication.
The role of fandom is changing, too. In the past, fans put up with uncomfortable situations for the stars they liked; now they publicly call out problems and demand improvements. They may even choose to stop supporting a star if their concerns are not addressed. In other words, a star’s fame no longer guarantees unconditional loyalty from fans.
Of course, being a fan does not give someone the right to dictate a star’s personal choices. Artists are free to date and protect their privacy, and fans are free to stop spending their time and money on them.
Ultimately, what matters is respecting one another’s choices and boundaries. Liking a star does not mean fans have to understand and accept everything that star does. Fans are no longer people who simply give their love unilaterally; they are individuals who want to be respected in return for the love they give.
Fan devotion is not a privilege granted to stars. Some say that before a longtime fan walks away, what is needed may be not a grand gesture of repayment but an attitude that does not take that devotion for granted.
Reporter mj.cho | mj.cho@sportschosun.com
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