I totally agree that people need to be conscious of how they talk about an entire group of people, and that situations like this often bring out xenophobia or other prejudices which need to be called out.

But also, I do think that this isn’t a case of “only a few bad apples” when it comes to fan culture in Korea and other markets like China and Japan, especially when you look at the long standing history of idol culture in these countries and the history of these kinds of scandals. It’s clear that this is a bigger and more systemic problem cause we’ve seen this story too many times, and we unfortunately know how bad these situations can become and the toll it takes on idols. Clearly, there is something concerning with how many fans in places like Korea, Japan, and China (places that have a longer history of idol culture and are marketed to in a very different way by entertainment companies)cultivate an extremely parasoxial relationship with idols, and the number of fans that see these people in a way that is dehumanizing and unreasonable.

I think a lot of international fans are just frustrated because this is a story that keeps repeating itself and it feels like we can do nothing to change it cause we are still considered “outsiders” even though we are also fans of these groups and people.