Earlier this month, South Korean star Lee Hyori deleted her Instagram account after being criticised by Chinese fans when she allegedly made light of the name “Mao” on a Korean TV programme, Hangout with Yoo . In a statement, she said, “I will stop using Instagram. It isn’t necessarily because of the recent issue (although that did influence this decision somewhat), but this was a platform where I wanted to communicate with fans since I don’t promote very often and my fans were suffering from a lack of updates. It turns out, this platform is harder than I thought and it has its ways of worrying you here and there. I will consider a different way of communicating with my fans.” BTS concerts are back ... this time on TV Apart from Lee Hyori, there are a surprising number of Korean idols who avoid social media. Here are some of them: Gong Yoo View this post on Instagram A post shared by 공유 공지철 (@gongyoo79) on Jun 10, 2016 at 4:39am PDT Gong Yoo, Goblin in the K-drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God , also doesn’t use social media. He described the platforms as a “poison” as people can feel deprived when they see someone with something that they cannot afford. He said he doesn’t want to give or to feel unnecessary deprivation, and as such was reluctant to open his own online accounts. From Goblin to My Mister, 5 of the best Korean May-to-December romances Song Joong-ki View this post on Instagram A post shared by 송중기 (@joongkibigboss) on Jan 20, 2018 at 9:19pm PST Surprisingly, actor Song Joong-ki said he is “technologically illiterate”. And that’s it – that’s the public reason the huge star, famed for many roles on the big and small screen, including the hit series Descendants of the Sun , gives for staying away from social media. Instead, admirers have to make do with the dozens of fan accounts that have been created in his name (none of which are verified). Song-Song couple to Hrithik Roshan: 4 of Asia’s most expensive divorces Chungha Kim Chung-ha’s debut came in 2016 as a member of girl band I.O.I. View this post on Instagram 광고 촬영 #SnapShot ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ @peoplecar1 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #청하 #CHUNGHA #피플카 #카셰어링 A post shared by 청하 CHUNG HA (@chungha_official) on Sep 3, 2020 at 1:04am PDT After her debut, she said she “has many worries and fears that she might not be able to handle malicious comments”. Also, she said she only wants to use social media when she can understand the responsibilities of being such a public figure. Currently, the Instagram account in her name is managed by her entertainment company. 5 things to know about Chungha, the rising K-pop singer and waacking star Shinee’s Minho View this post on Instagram A post shared by 샤이니(SHINee) Official (@shinee) on Aug 6, 2020 at 8:04am PDT Choi Min-ho is the only member of the band who doesn’t have his own Instagram account. He said he’s “not confident in managing SNSs” (social networking services) and “doesn’t want to spend time” on something he’s not confident with. Taemin, from the same group, also avoided having a personal account for a while, but finally opened one in 2019. Why is K-pop’s Taemin, of SHINee and SuperM, nicknamed ‘Magic Hands’? Gang Dong-won View this post on Instagram A post shared by 강동원 FanPage (@chamdw) on Aug 9, 2020 at 12:16am PDT While it’s been a long time since Gang Dong-won debuted, he has never opened personal social media accounts. He said he “doesn’t have stories to share personally” and he thinks “there might be limitations to communicate through social media as everyone has a different set of personalities”. Block B’s P.O View this post on Instagram A post shared by P.O (@pyojihoon_official) on Jul 1, 2020 at 11:07pm PDT Like Song Joong-ki, P.O calls himself “technologically illiterate”. Even the bio on his official Instagram account says “P.O doesn’t know how to manage SNS. (Company runs by itself)”. He also described himself as an emotional person and he says he doesn’t want to open the door to showing unnecessary emotions by opening a personal account. Want more stories like this? Sign up here . Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .