Hello everyone, I am the owner of StarrySkyhk, a Hong Kong fansite dedicated to Chaeyeon, our feather of IZ*ONE. I saw this blog post yesterday and cannot stop myself but to think of ways to spread the information and thoughts further. I hope this translation can spread further, allowing the public and other WIZ*ONEs to know more about the current situation of our beloved babies. They deserve so much more and there is no way to express how heartbroken I am feeling with the mistreatment towards IZ*ONE. Please spend a few minutes to read the following translated blog post, originally written by a Taiwan WIZ*ONE (韓劇阿揪西). As we are facing the disbandment of a temporary group, fans' disappointment are inevitable, but IZ*ONE's disbandment resulted in their aggressive reaction. Many people simplified this into "Fans felt too devastated, causing troubles due to disbandment". But is this matter truly that simple? In order to understand why the fanclub became so agitated, let us trace back to their recent activities: December 2020
January 2021
February 2021
March 2021
There was no trend of disbandment from December last year to early March this year with such an active schedule. Fans were more convinced that there will be contract extension especially when there was no official statement stating that the concert happening 1.5 months before the end of contract was in fact the farewell stage. (Who would have their farewell stage more than a month before disbandment? Who would hold 2 days of concert when it's online with neither space restriction nor limit on the number of people?) For the past few months, whenever facing fans' question related to contract extension, members of IZ*ONE would always keep a smile on their face and ask their fans to be patient. CHAEWON even comforted fans with her composition "Slow Journey", telling fans not to worry. Journey can be slow, but accidents always come quickly. 2021.3.10 CJ E&M, the parent company, which put together "IZ*ONE Plan", ignored the child company Swing Enm. which has been managing IZ*ONE's schedule, and released news on MNET with the following 3 main points:
However, CJ E&M looked past the entertainment - Swing Enm., which actually manages IZ*ONE, as well as Daum cafe which has been a way to communication with fans. They completely avoided all words related to disbandment and end of contract, using their own way to release an unclear statement, causing fans great dissatisfaction and worry. They were unsure whether this was a strategy to boost ticket sales, or a true disbandment notice. Soon after this, IZ*ONE Japan official website released a short intriguing notice: "MNET Korea released a statement related to the end of activity today... Please keep supporting the 12 members in the future." It feels like partners in Japan were also informed unilaterally. CHAEYEON uploaded a fan letter saying "I am very sorry, I love you all very much." the same night. Fanclub's inside information that day: Seems like some company(s) went against their words regarding contract extension, causing the forceful and sudden announcement of disbandment. (Fans began to guess which company(s) they were, rumours pointed towards Starship and Yuehua) 2021.03.11 The Fan union in Korea released their first statement, the main points are summarised as below:
Fanclub's inside information that day: It is true that company(s) went against their words, but it was not Starship, the fanclub has never listed the company(s) involved. Members of the fan union has begun to engage with each company, trying to understand the situation and seeking solutions. 2021.03.12 The Fan union released their second statement, the main points are summarised as below:
The fanclub raised 30 million won for broadcasting vehicle to be used, global fans had different viewpoints regarding this remonstrance. 2021.03.13 The first day of online concert was held as planned, when members logged into online chatroom prior to the concert. There was no hint of it being a farewell concert given the setup of the concert and members' condition, right until towards the end of the concert. Camera revealed leader EUNBI for less than a second, who bursted into tears right before encore stage. The atmosphere took a twist after this scene was brought to global fans' attention. During the encore stage, members were sobbing and choking when delivering their unprepared farewell speech... Fanclub's inside information that day: Similar to the situation back in 2019, the fan union has been working through all possibilities, doing everything they can to avoid IZ*ONE's disbandment. Although they could not receive confirmation from all companies, it felt like the order came from CJ group instead of CJ E&M. Facing this sudden disbandment, companies of individual members and CJ E&M have been trying to pass the buck to each other. 2021.03.14 The second day of online concert was held as planned, but members were not messing around in the chatroom before it started. Opening speech was given under a slightly awkward atmosphere with members forcing a smile (who would plan 2 days of farewell concert?). You would have thought that members would be less emotional after yesterday's concert, but that was far from the truth... The encore stage turned into an hour of torture, with members crying their eyes out, crying bitterly, sobbing, choking until they went speechless, until cameramen were unable to record. There were no joyful tears, but tears of being wronged and mistreated. This got fans questioning the reasons behind the disbandment of such popular idols with underaged teenagers. If our hearts are aching as their fans, how would it feel if we were to be their family members? On the same day, the Fan union released their third statement, the main points are summarised as below:
Fanclub's inside information that day: Since there was no chance to extend members' contract with CJ E&M, the fanclub has been looking for other ways to allow the continuation of 12 members as a group. They were also working on the release of farewell songs as they had no idea that the previous comeback "One-reeler" was their last album. Currently, CJ E&M would want to see fans saying goodbye to IZ*ONE accordingly after their last concert, but the fanclub insisted that all fans should keep their faith, giving up now would mean immediate lost. Due to the fact that representatives of the fanclub were still in the process of understanding the standpoint of each company, may all fans please stop picking on and attacking individual companies. Other news from a Korean blog post:
2021.03.15 Fanclub's inside information The fanclub will work towards the reformation of IZ*ONE, whilst recruiting fans who are good at Chinese, English and Japanese to support their future work. They are also working on crowdfunding, but this is under careful consideration as it might become the target of scammer. In 2019, there were plans to buy each member's contract by crowdfunding, and transferring these contract to a specific company which agreed to do so. However, this was unsuccessful due to over-budget, as the contract of IZ*ONE stated that members are not allowed to transfer to another company, unless that company is in partnership with the entertainment. If you are not a WIZ*ONE who pays attention to IZ*ONE's news everyday, it's hard to keep track of this matter. It is easy to simplify it into "Irrational fans causing disruption as IZ*ONE faces disbandment due to the end of their contracts". It would be a shame if this marks the end of IZ*ONE. Fans of a temporary group would have predicted and been prepared for disbandment. Fans would have been able to accept joyful tears, emotional tears, tears as they are reluctant to end the group. But this does not include members' suffering tears or them being unfairly treated. Fans were looking for a farewell concert, not a rushed decision to "be farewelled" at a concert. What went wrong between this complicated relationship between the 8 companies, resulting in these girls' falling apart on stage in front of their fans? The truth is still hidden under adults as they shirk responsibilities. The aggressive fans are not fighting because they have lost themselves, but are going against CJ E&M's disrespect towards idols and fans, in order to honour the idols. You may as well not participate and not take this seriously, but please do not discourage this group of proactive fans. Like it was mentioned in Mr. Queen, they are purely having a noble faith. Isn't this special co-existence of idols and fans the attractiveness of KPOP? As an uncle fan who has been into KPOP for nearly 10 years, I have followed groups which were popular, unpopular, experienced substitutions, got hurt, got bullied, disbanded, failed to transform, turned against their company. Yet, I have never seen a group being treated so cruelly. If you agree that the 12 girls have brought to you laughter and joy, and that they deserve a happier ending, please repost this so that people can know more. Thank you for your time. Please feel free to repost and spread the news.
#OurParallelUniverseContinues #ThankYouIZONE Big thank you to the blog post owner for allowing me to translate and repost.
Disclaimer: facts were taken from the original blog post and the fan union, please handle them carefully.
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