Chinese fans mixed reactions to South Korean showbiz industry scandals
BEIJING: The topic of former Big Bang member Seungri’s scandal has become a major trending topic on Chinese social media, leading to more than 623,000 discussions and 360 million views on Sina Weibo, not only due to the huge influence of K-pop culture in China, but also because the watershed scandal seems to be just the tip of the iceberg.
The scandal shocked both fans and celebrities around the world. Among those calling for a change in the industry were fans who were trying to deal with their disillusionment towards their idols.
“I hope Big Bang will not separate because of this scandal, but his deeds are unforgiveable. My morality as an ordinary person comes before my role as his fan,” netizen Nideyanjinghuixiao wrote on Zhihu, a Chinese Q&A website, about Seungri.
Some fans of the singer, however, are still standing by him.
According to allkpop.com, about 200 Indonesian fans gathered together in Jakarta on Mar 17 to show their support for Seungri. In addition, on Sina Weibo the topic ‘innocent Seungri’ has been created by loyal fans to go with posts trying to change people’s opinion of him.
“This is understandable. After so many years of affection and devotion, it is hard to accept the reality. They are still trying hard to tell themselves the scandal is fake news,” Zhang Ziwei, a Chinese fan of Seungri, told the Global Times.
“But they are only a small group of people, I know most of his fans have left, including me.”
Zhang also noted that the scandal has not only left her feeling deeply hurt, but she was also attacked because of her fandom.
“We are being stigmatized because of our idol and the behaviour of a small group of extreme fans. However, we are actually numb with disappointment over the scandal and from attacks by others… I think learning about the dark side of the K-pop industry has caused people to react much stronger than usual,” she added.