KUALA LUMPUR: Popular entertainment magazine The Hollywood Reporter recently published its October edition which featured K-Pop phenomenon BTS on its cover that was accompanied by an article on the seven-member music group.
But it seems that many fans were disappointed by what was printed in the cover story, according to Koreaboo.
Apparently, what was written had rubbed fans, or Army as the fandom is known, the wrong way as they allegedly accused The Hollywood Reporter of spreading misinformation about BTS, misquoting member RM and perpetuating stereotypes of the K-Pop industry.
Fans from other K-Pop fandoms had also expressed their outrage including Shawols or fans of the music group Shinee.
The article was said to describe K-Pop as “part Motown, part Hunger Games” and its trainee programmes as militant “training camps”.
A passage from the article apparently read: “Thousands of wannabe K-pop stars compete at regular American Idol-style cattle calls. Those lucky enough to make it to the next level spend years learning their craft inside secretive K-pop training camps, where they’re sometimes subjected to dangerous diets, strict social rules (no dating), grueling rehearsal schedules and mandated plastic surgery and skin-whitening procedures.”
The tragic passing of Shinee member Jonghyun was also used to illustrate how brutal the K-Pop industry could be.
A further passage went: “Only the best of the best wind up in an actual K-pop band — while some don’t survive at all. In 2017, the industry drew intense scrutiny after a member of SHINee, another popular K-pop band, took his own life, writing in his suicide note that he felt ‘broken on the inside’.”
Some fans from around the world wrote online that the stereotypical portrayal of the K-Pop industry was an ongoing trend in the media that needed to end.
Many also expressed their strong dissatisfaction with the mention of Jonghyun as they deemed it unnecessary, insensitive and disrespectful.