5 ridiculous K-pop apologies, from NCT 127’s Earthquake joke to Winwin and BTS’ Jungkook hanging out with female friends, did these Korean idols really need to say sorry in public?

Any K-pop star signs an unwritten contract okaying a lifetime of abject scrutiny. An idol is condemned to being cruelly and completely exposed to a public only too willing to praise or criticise, at their whim. So it’s no surprise that when some stars have been caught making “mistakes”, big apologies have been in order. But were they really necessary?

Because sometimes, South Korea’s intense fan culture forces idols to apologise despite not really having done anything wrong, even for, say, what they post on Instagram. From hanging out with friends to decisions out of their control, K-pop idols have apologised for some ridiculous reasons in the past.

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Here are five times that K-pop idols seemingly apologised unnecessarily

1. NCT 127: for singing their new song

Recently, members of NCT 127 (a subunit of boy band NCT) came under fire for – shock, horror – singing and dancing to their new song, Earthquake, during a live broadcast they were holding to celebrate the release of their latest album, “Universe”.

OK, there’s context: during the show, an alert rang for a 4.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Jeju Island, prompting member Doyoung to shout the word “earthquake”, prompting other members to sing and dance to the song.

Many criticised the members for “having fun with a natural disaster that could have threatened people’s lives”, and the members posted apologies to their Instagram stories shortly after, promising to act more carefully in the future. Though natural disasters should never be taken lightly, this might have been more of a case of bad luck and timing for the group.

2. BTS’ Jungkook: for hanging out with a female friend

During BTS’ holiday in 2019, CCTV images were leaked showing Jungkook spending time with a female friend, Lee Mi-joo, immediately sparking dating rumours between the two. BTS’ agency, Big Hit Entertainment, denied the rumours and Lee had to issue a statement herself on Instagram shutting down the chat. Big Hit Entertainment even sued the person who leaked the photos, for violation of personal information and defamation.

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On BTS’ Bon Voyage 4, the fourth season of their travelling reality show, Jungkook had a segment where he personally apologised to fans, saying, “I’m very sorry to the fans. I still feel guilty about it”, and ending with a promise to not let the fans down. Despite having done no harm, Jungkook evidently showed a lot of care for his fans’ feelings.

3. NCT’s Winwin: also for hanging out with female friends

In the same vein, Chinese NCT member Winwin also took some flak when, earlier this year, he was spotted spending time with two of his female friends in China. The trio was seen sharing a meal before heading to a gaming centre late at night, and Winwin was spotted smoking a cigarette later on his way home.

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Though he received his fair share of criticism, fans were divided. While some were disappointed by his behaviour – particularly his smoking – others claimed that Winwin was an adult and didn’t really do anything wrong. Nonetheless, the singer still apologised directly to fans via the LYSN app, explaining that he got together with some Chinese opera classmates and saying, “I really feel very sorry for making everyone worry”.

4. Monsta X’s Hyungwon: for spending time with a former member

Early in 2020, Monsta X’s six current members were seen sharing a meal with former member Wonho, who left the group in 2019 but still remains signed under the same agency, Starship Entertainment. Though a lot of fans were happy to see the original seven members interact and have a good time, some felt otherwise, criticising the current members for maintaining contact with Wonho.

Hyungwon, one of the members, released a statement soon after and apologised on behalf of the group. Though he didn’t mention the photos explicitly, the content of the statement made fans believe it was a direct response to said photos. He said that “[he’s] so so sorry. The reason in the end is that we were being complacent”, and that the members would “reflect on [their] mistakes”. Understandably, people were divided on whether this apology was necessary.

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5. X1’s Nam Do-hyon and Lee Han-gyul: for decisions made by their company

After it was revealed that the votes for Mnet’s 2020 survival show Produce X 101 which fostered the boy band X1 were rigged, it was decided by the companies representing the band’s members that the group would disband. Two members in particular, Nam Do-hyon and Lee Han-gyul from MBK Entertainment, took to their Instagrams to personally say sorry to fans. The two apologised for the sudden upsetting news, despite the disbandment being the companies’ decision, not the members’.

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Fans were angered, feeling that the group’s disbandment was unjustified, even trending the #FightForX1 hashtag on Twitter. The two members’ apologies in particular were received with confusion and sympathy from fans who felt the members themselves had done nothing wrong.

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