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?

Dec 24 , 2021

5 K-pop stars who had to say sorry unnecessarily, including, from left, NCT’s Winwin, BTS’ Jungkook and Monsta X’s Hyungwon. Photos: @wwiinn_7/Instagram, Getty Images, @coenffl/Instagram

X1’s Lee Han-gyul and Nam Do-hyon said sorry when it emerged the Produce X 101 reality TV show that launched them had been rigged – but it wasn’t their fault

NCT 127 apologised for singing their song Earthquake when tremors hit Jeju while Monsta X’s Hyungwon said it was a ‘mistake’ to meet up with former member Wonho

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.

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

1. NCT 127: for singing their new song

K-pop group NCT 127 at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, or MAMA, in Paju, South Korea, on December 11. Photo: AP

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

Should BTS’ Jungkook be allowed friends? Photo: @bts_twt/Twitter

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.

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

Like Jungkook, Winwin was criticised for hanging out with friends. Photo: @wwiinn_7/Instagram