How Seunghan’s departure from boy band Riize highlights the danger of K-pop’s global appeal

In the case of South Korea-based American rapper-singer Jessi, her contract was terminated by her agency after she received severe backlash for not intervening when a male teenage fan was attacked in front of her by her male acquaintance in October.

Even in these more morally gray cases, there are nuanced responses from international fans, who are at least open to understanding why a woman might choose to walk away when she sees a man engaging in physical violence.

Some Chinese fans have described the English-speaking K-pop community’s dismay over Seunghan’s departure as “white people controlling their cultural superiority over Asians,” but it would be too simplistic to frame this as an “East versus West ‘-debate.

However, it is true that modern society is consumerist by nature. So consumption, or the lack thereof, is the simplest way in which people can express their values. Fans want to support idols and companies that align with their values.

As K-pop becomes increasingly popular worldwide, with deliberate efforts to market it to an international audience, the industry will face value systems that differ vastly from its more conservative instincts.

In general, idols in East Asia, especially the young ones, have traditionally been marketed as romantic fantasies for fans. Fans in these markets have come to expect their idols to maintain an image of themselves as single and available in return for their loyalty and support.

In other words, don’t go out, and if you do, don’t get caught.

In contrast, teen pop stars from past to present in the English-language music scene simply haven’t been burdened with the same expectations.

American singer Justin Timberlake was in a relationship with American pop star Britney Spears during his NSync days. English singer Harry Styles was openly dating English presenter Caroline Flack and American pop star Taylor Swift at the height of One Direction’s fame.

Any suggestion that these idols are adhering to a dating ban would be seen as a gross violation of their personal freedoms by the stars themselves, their music labels and fans.

Riize is a particularly thorny act in this regard. In a rare move for K-pop, the band made their debut in collaboration with US label RCA Records, underscoring their global ambitions from the start.

These contradictory attitudes hurt the companies and ultimately the idols. There have been calls in the international K-pop community to boycott SM Entertainment and their artists to protest Seunghan’s removal from Riize.

Some international K-pop retailers, including Singapore’s Krmerch, have temporarily halted imports of Riize releases to show their displeasure over the way Seunghan was treated.

It’s a difficult situation to navigate, and I sympathize with the company’s employees who are tasked with coming up with solutions, but the least they can do is roll out airtight crisis communications.

But Seunghan’s departure was handled terribly by SM Entertainment. A 30 year old company, as established and experienced as it is, should know very well that it could not have made a single decision that would have satisfied all its fans.