Netizens are divided over fans turning off their lightsticks during EXO Chen’s performance at recent concert
Appearing on stage in Korea for the first time in 2 years, EXO’s Chen received cold reactions from many fans.
On August 20th, the concert “SMTOWN LIVE 2022: SMCU EXPRESS @HUMAN CITY_SUWON” took place at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Korea. This is SM Entertainment’s offline family concert held in Korea for the first time in about 5 years since 2017, thus drawing much attention from fans.
In particular, in various Korean online communities after the concert, many fans who attended the concert attracted attention by revealing the on-site reaction to the performance of EXO’s Chen.
Earlier, in January 2020, Chen broke the news of his sudden marriage to his non-celebrity girlfriend and her premarital pregnancy. After that, he became a father of two children. The male idol welcomed his second child at the beginning of this year following his first daughter three months after the marriage announcement.
At the time, Chen was criticized by plenty of Korean fans for his unusual move as a member of a top boy group. Since then, many fans who used to support Chen have turned their backs on him, announced a boycott against him, and constantly asked him to leave EXO.
At the SM’s concert, many fans’ attitude toward Chen was still cold. Those who went to the concert have shared photos that showed the significant difference in on-site reactions between Chen and other singers on social media or online communities.
In particular, two photos showing the difference in fans’ reactions to the stages of Chen and fellow EXO member D.O., have become a trending topic among netizens.
When Chen appeared, many fans turned off the lightsticks and didn’t cheer for him. However, when D.O. went on stage after Chen’s performance was over, fans all turned their lightsticks back on.
After the concert, Korean netizens had mixed reactions to what happened. Some expressed critical opinions, saying that the fans were being petty. Meanwhile, there were also netizens who understood the fans’ behavior towards Chen.
- No matter how much you dislike him, turning off the lightsticks was a bit much
- Honestly, what the fans did was bizarre and low-level fandom culture
- Aren’t most EXO members over 30 now? Why are fans treating marriage like it’s a crime?
- At least the fans didn’t leave the venue. They were nice enough.
- We didn’t tell others to turn off the lightsticks during Chen’s. We just turned it off because we didn’t want to cheer for him
- It’s not like fans were booing him, so what’s the problem?
- Well they didn’t curse him though
- Idols are human but fans have emotions too. They can support whoever they want.
Source: insight
