CALL OUT POST TO BIGHIT AND ARMY
I’ll mainly be focusing on the excuses that people love to bring up, and then some.
Here I go:
Excuse 001: The Visual
It’s cultural relativism when Jin gets called “fat/pig”, both by BigHit and workers, and by “fans” as a form of “enderment”, even though he’s time and time shown that he gets hurt by these things. But everyone was hellbent on trashing him when he called Jimin “fat” in a DISSING GAME; even after he apologised. Seokjin is not someone who’s fully confident in his visuals. The way he stood in his predebut photos clearly shows someone who LACKED confidence. Again, ARMY can catch a glimpse of this insecurity in Jin’s last solo VLIVE about his choppy bangs and dieting, even after all these years. Being marketed by BigHit as a “visual” does not mean that Seokjin feels this way about himself.
I understand that Jin was not vocally-strong, thus is promoted as a visual and did not get many lines during the early stages of BTS. Fine. The least BigHit could have done was actually promote him as a VISUAL during debut. Which they barely did. Not on variety shows, not on dramas, not on solo work, not in their own MVs, not on their own products. If Jin is to be promoted as a VISUAL, then AT LEAST give him screentime. SOMETHING a “visual” should get. If beauty is SO big in Korea, then why is BigHit not promoting it/him (a la centre/face)? Never have I seen a company, through my 12+ years in kpop, not promote their visual, EVER. Secondly, it’s completely unprofessional to go through their OWN products, and NOT realise that a MEMBER is cut out/missing (in addition to the two prominent examples floating around, there’s another official photobook where his whole being is covered by Jungkook; you can only make out his leg).
Excuse 002: The Vocal
Seokjin’s vocals have been up for debate, and I understand that. As I mentioned before, his lack of lines in the early stages of BTS is understandable. BUT he’s a VOCAL. He’s not a part of a dance team, he’s not a part of a band, and he’s not a part of an acting troupe. He’s a part of an idol group where HE IS A VOCAL. If he was a part of any of the aforementioned groups and didn’t get to sing, then that’s understandable. The lack of lines, as a vocal, in an idol group…IS NOT. He has proven multiple times that he can hold his own to the rest of the members, and has improved immensely. He’s proven multple times that he’s often the MOST STABLE in their lives WHILE dancing just as hard as the rest of the members (don’t give me bullshit about how much harder dance-line dances. They follow a choreagraphy. And if they can’t sing and dance at the same time, then they must realise that they need to alter their own performance to mitigate that problem). Ballads? BTS’ discography has multiple ballads and slow-tempo songs: Spring Day, Butterfly, Hold Me Tight, et cetera, to name a few. Yet, once again, he GETS THE LEAST NUMBER OF LINES. So I don’t understand why some fans and BigHit’s producers claim that Seokjin’s voice is only suited for ballads yet not give him more lines. ANOTHER THING. BigHit’s producers are garbage. If someone is paid to produce music for artists, then they should be qualified to create music that suits their consumers (BTS/who ever buys and uses their music). Producers are working FOR artists. It doesn’t matter if his voice doesn’t “match” the style of the song. That’s bullshit and shows how “good” (read: bad) BigHit’s producers actually are. If BigHit’s producers produced music FOR their artists, Seokjin’s voice will fit the style.
If y'all want to play, then let me focus on Spring Day LIVE specifically. In this song, Seokjin had the most lines live, and has clearly shown that he can handle the dancing and the singing. So why is that his voice is NOT the majority in the audio file??? Why ONLY live? The general public (GP) don’t care for MVs and lives. Fans do. When the GP listen to the audio, the belief of Seokjin as someone who is lacking in vocals/untalented/only the “face” continues to be promoted (indrectly) by BigHit. This impacts his popularity, and definitely his self-worth in the team (listen to “Awake” you blind troglodytes).
Excuse 003: The Hyung
In relation to self-worth, and self-esteem, this brings us to another point. There’s the belief that because Seokjin is the oldest, and that he is a grown man, he doesn’t need help and/or that he doesn’t get affected by what BigHit and ARMY does and say. Yes, he’s a grown man but he’s also a grown man bound by a contract. Many people are mentioning how he should speak up about these ongoing issues, yet they are blind to the fact that (legally) he may not have the right to speak up and/or leave. Additionally (mentioned by Jimin), Seokjin is someone who keeps his feelings to himself . He also doesn’t show his displeasure (also mentioned by himself and other members). The lack of response and interest for, and the lack of experience. opportunity, and knowledge acquired by, Seokjin also impacts how he sees himself as a contributing member in BTS, thus affecting his willingness to speak up for himself. He possibly CAN’T and WON’T (for many reasons) speak up. This is why it is important for fans to speak up about BigHit’s problems.
Excuse 004: The Being
Moving on, I’ll focus on the health of Seokjin and BTS. It is understandable that many fans worry about the health of BTS. A lot of fans don’t want BTS to overwork and stress themselves out. That is why we don’t want them to overwork. That is why we don’t want them to go on extreme diets. That is why we seek feedback from BigHit in regards to their health status; to make sure their healthy physically, emotionally, and mentally. That is why the debatability of Seokjin’s injury is laughable. In photos and fancams of the event, Jin has shown discomfort and signs of pain in his neck. Fans were clearly worried about him. Yet BigHit did not even try to explain the situation to fans; to either refute or give some sort of relief to them. The lack of feedback from BigHit is disrespectful to fans. The only feedback, thus far, ARMY has received about Seokjin is by the other members (sparingly) and by Seokjin himself. BigHit is oh so willing to provide feedback about everyone else but him. BigHit has been doing this for a LONG time. They continue to ignore what a lot (albeit, a minority) of Jin fans say.
Furthermore, although we worry about BTS’ health. It is important to understand that the shelf-life of idols is VERY SHORT. Many idols (including BTS?) have alluded to/mentioned the fact that they would rather, willingly overwork themselves than to get no work, because IT IS their livelihood. Their personal popularity is just as, if not more, important than the group popularity. Their own popularity is what gets them work and opportunities. WORK = MONEY
Excuse 005: The Divergence and The Finale
Every single CB has been beyond frustrating. I don’t mind people having biases, that’s completely normal. But to turn a blind eye to a BLATANT problem. That’s just sad. Seokjin’s popularity and well-being is being affected by it. When Jin stans bring up this ongoing problem with BigHit, they’re labelled as antis, troublemakers, and not true ARMY. We’re always being told to just support and love him and BTS, and show more appreciation. We DO that. Many Jin stans have been doing that for YEARS. We’re done shutting up. Stop trying to shut us up. The lack of interest and outright ignorance displayed by ARMY is appalling. This clearly shows how much some fans actually care for BTS, as a whole. This kind of behaviour from some fans continue to escalate the discrepancy in popularity between members and promotes competition. It is THIS imbalance in popularity between members that BigHit sees. They’re a company. They see this lack of response and interest in him (an issue BigHit created by themselves, and a problem that ARMYs propagate) that results in Seokjin’s: reduced presence in their music, reduced presence in their products, and reduced popularity amongst fans (new and old). This is just an ongoing cycle that BigHit and ARMY has created themselves/ourselves.
Don’t try to bring in the problems of other members or other groups (i.e. “this member got hate for ABC, this member got laughed at for XYZ”). Stop derailing the argument. That’s a logical fallacy I don’t have time to deal with. This isn’t about them. This is about the MISTREATMENT of Seokjin, by BigHit and by ARMY.
Remember children, at the end of the day BTS is a product. NOT a family, to BigHit. BTS, however, is a “family”, and source of happiness to many fans. So tell me why members would upset about what Jin stans are doing? Because members won’t get as many lines? Because Jin stans will upset the other members? Because Jin stans are hurting BigHit? Because Jin stans are creating a rift between fans? OR is it because “fans” can’t even show decent respect for Jin stans and Jin? Are they, and fans not a “family”? Family protect and love family. BTS has shown time and time again how much they love and support Seokjin in his endeavors, and how much they want his voice and input in the art they produce. To see “fans” discourage Jin and his fans is disheartening and disappointing.
BigHit AND ARMY needs to recognize that there’s a problem. This may be difficult for a lot of ARMYs to understand. But if you replace the position Seokjin is in with your fave, how do you feel? Try to be respectful and show some empathy.
We’re consumers of BTS and BigHit. We have a say in what we consume, and the right to critique BigHit and BTS. That does NOT make someone’s argument invalid or someone a hater. Criticism is NOT hate. Criticism promotes change and growth. That shows maturity, and respect for BTS as artists, and as grown capable men.
TLDR: LOVE and SUPPORT KIM SEOK JIN. LOVE BTS. We’re not hating. Stop being so transparent and open your goddamn eyes.
I don’t want this to get lost. I don’t care about the notes. I just want people to understand.
