When we see K-pop stars singing and dancing on stage, we think of K-pop as a positive industry that spreads happiness through music. However, that’s not always the case. The goal of entertainment companies is to make as much money as they can in profits, so they use K-pop idols to brainwash fans into developing abnormal obsessions with their idols, which can lead to dangerous behavior. 

Here are some reasons why the K-pop industry is toxic. 

K-pop promotes an unrealistic beauty standard that harms us

When we look to idealized K-pop stars as role models, we are gradually brainwashed into thinking that we should look like them. Because of this, many young girls develop anxiety about our appearance and low self-esteem as we think we don’t look pretty enough. Moreover, teens body shame their friends, classmates, and even strangers online, thinking that they should be as skinny and as pretty as K-pop idols. Sadly, this beauty anxiety not only affects our mental health but also physical health.

Many K-pop fans starve themselves and get surgery because they think they aren’t skinny or pretty enough because they have been body-shamed. 

However, we forget that K-pop idols have worked impossibly hard to maintain their superficial perfection, and oftentimes, the images we see of these stars are still pumped through filters. Fans who have developed an obsession with these unrealistic beauty standards need help with their mental health. 

K-pop fans are obsessed

Many fans are so obsessed with K-pop idols that they develop parasocial relationships with them, which means they fantasize to an extreme level about having some sort of relationship with these stars. This is not simply the fault of lonely and obsessed fans, however. As it turns out the entertainment companies behind K-pop stars encourage this obsession. 

For instance, to make fans feel special and to earn more money, some companies use paid social apps, like the app Bubble, for fans to talk “directly” to their idols. These social apps make fans feel like they are talking with the idol one-on-one, when in reality the idol is sending messages to millions of fans at the same time. 

Furthermore, the K-pop industry also normalizes calling idols “husbands” or “wives”. Obsessed fans can come to feel like they have a romantic relationship with the idol. This is also a reason why whenever fans find out K-pop idols are dating, they go crazy and start cyberbullying whoever their idol is dating. 

For example, Karina from the K-pop group Aespa announced that she was dating Korean actor Lee Hee-wook. When she did, netizens criticized and cyberbullied them so badly that Karina broke up with Lee Hee-wook and sent an apology letter to her fans for “letting them down.”

Fans feel entitled to this behavior because of toxic K-pop culture and entertainment companies that set no boundaries between fans and idols. They encourage fan obsession, as criticism and cyberbullying increases an idols’ popularity, which benefits entertainment companies. 

Clearly K-pop culture creates an unhealthy and abnormal obsession among fans that harms the fans, the idols, and society as a whole. 

Toxic fandoms

Every successful K-pop group and every idol has their own devoted fandom. On the internet, these fans gang up and work as a group, almost like political parties. Unfortunately, when admiration turns to obsession, online harassment and cyberbullying get bad. 

Online platforms like Twitter and Instagram have become places to spread hate, false information, and even death threats. 

For example, during a live show, Dahyun from the group Twice, skipped an ad of a music video by Lisa from Blackpink, sparking a serious online fight between Once (the fandom for Twice) and Blinks (the fandom for Blackpink). Despite Dahyun having no bad intentions, the fight got so bad that some toxic Blinks doxxed a fan account of Twice on Twitter. They hacked the account and leaked the private information of the fan account administrator online. This fan had a breakdown and fainted and had to be sent to a nearby hospital.   

Despite online hooliganism getting worse, entertainment companies never try to stop these online fights because they prioritize profit over everything else. They never take action when it comes to cyberbullying and death threats, and even choose to ignore the toxicity online. This has caused multiple K-pop fans to commit suicide or inflict self-harm due to cyberbullying and harrassment. 

Fans normalize attacking other K-pop idols and their fans as supporting the idols that they like. Sadly, this cyberbullying and hate mongering has only gotten worse. 

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As a K-pop fan, K-pop brings me a lot of happiness. However, at the same time, the toxicity of the K-pop industry has created obsessed fans and fandoms, unhealthy beauty standards, and cyberbullying and body-shaming online. Behind the dreamy and saccharine image of K-pop stars is an industry of manipulation and toxic culture that is dangerous for fans.