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'7Fates': 'Free Jungkook' trends as BTS star's webtoon character 'Zeha' is shown as gay

Jungkook's Zeha is also shown to have led a shady life because of his tattoos which has made some fans angry

Fans everywhere were excited when it was reported that Hybe had partnered up with Naver for webtoons (digital comics) that were modeled by their artists. We have original webtoons of BTS, TXT and Enhypen that have started releasing weekly. ARMY especially were eager for ‘7Fates: Chakho’ which shows the BTS members as the legendary tiger-hunters of Joseon Dynasty in a modern and fantasy set-up. And with its release, the characters have gone viral for all kinds of reasons. 

While we have characters like Hwan who is based on Jin trending for how handsome he looks just like the ‘Worldwide Handsome’ BTS member, Jungkook’s Zeha has the fandom torn. On January 14, when the first episode of ‘7Fates: Chakho’ was released, many ARMY noticed that the characters were not really BTS members. The global K-pop group has just modeled for it with the characters taking on only some of their appearance traits or characteristics. However, many are not happy with the way Zeha has been portrayed.

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Fandom divided over Jungkook’s 'Zeha'

Jungkook fans especially are very protective of the youngest BTS member as he has often come under fire for his tattoos which are seen as ‘dirty’ in South Korea, and is romantically linked with other BTS members. And so, with these two points being used as the base of his ‘7Fates’ character, ARMY had a lot to say. ‘Free Jungkook’ started trending when some fans pointed out that his character Zeha is described with “tattoos all over his body [which] looked like he used to lead a shady life.” He is then shown to be gay as he has feelings for Dogeon who is based on BTS’ leader, RM.

Some fans feel that the webtoon creators are taking a dig at Jungkook’s tattoos and the fact that he is often ‘shipped’ with other BTS members. And with Hybe approving the webtoon and this particular storyline, ARMY is further enraged to see them disrespecting their artist. However, other fans feel that those who are trending ‘Free Jungkook’ are overreacting, telling them to separate fact from fiction. They explain that the BTS members themselves have approved the webtoon and so Jungkook would have spoken up had he not liked Zeha’s storyline. They also feel that these fans are being homophobic as Zeha provides gay representation in a mainstream webtoon.

'It's a fictional character'

Some angry fans made tweets like, “What kind of sh*tty fukrey is this mf hybe ???? And some so called army's still supporting this sh!!t fcakivg b!tch wrf ya'll r jk anti company stans,” and “They think we are mad coz Taekook aren't shown as lovers! HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT FICTION. I am GLAD Taekook weren't lovers in that Sh!t webtoon,I want RESPECT for them & their relationship. I don't want them be used as queer bait to disrespect a whole community.” Another ARMY added, “Jeon Jungkook being used as a shipping tool by his company in that sh*tty webtoon and people hyping that sh*t up!! Wow just wow, I'm speechless. Y'all don't respect him as a human being.”

However some fans think that it is no big deal, “It's a fictional character ffs!! No need to #FREEJUNGKOOK from anywhere. He's surely absolutely aware of what's happening and he would definitely voice out if he doesn't like anything. Give him that much credit and stop this sh!t rn!” Another posted, “Wth is the “hybe respect jungkook” and “#FREEJUNGKOOK” thing? yall fr mad cus his character might be gay? chako was approved by bts and jungkook even showed support towards the story multiple times. if he thought something was wrong with it, he wouldve said so. grow tf up.” One fan pointed out, “Jungkook is a GROWN man. he loves his character, and definitely is aware of zeha’s storyline in the story they literally helped develop. i promise you he doesn’t need freeing from anything. so what if his character likes men? y’all are just coming off as homophobic.”

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