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Did YOUNITE's Hyunseung apologize? Fans slam idol over past sexualization of TWICE's Chaeyoung

Fans say 'Kick Out Hyunseung' after an old photo resurfaces where the YOUNITE member uses Japanese word with sexual connotations for TWICE's Chaeyoung

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Of late, with K-pop’s international growth, the size of their fandoms has grown too. With more international fans, there is more attention to the things that go down in the K-pop community, making it difficult for idols to get away with bad behavior, especially if there is proof of it floating around. Fans are rightfully calling out idols for their present or past wrongdoings without being worried about being hated or trolled online.

Such is the case for rookie idol Hyunseung from the Brand New Music boy group YOUNITE. YOUNITE made its debut in April of 2022 with nine members and has so far released two mini-albums: ‘Youni-Birth’ and ‘Youni-Q’ over the last four months. On August 19, a fan posted an old photo of the group’s main dancer, Hyunseung, calling him out for his past wrongful actions involving TWICE’s Chaeyoung.

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Hyunseung accused of sexualizing Chaeyoung

In the photo released online, Hyunseung can be seen looking skywards with a sticker of the TWICE member placed above his head. From what fans are saying about the photo, they assume that the YOUNITE member was implicating that he was looking up Chaeyoung’s skirt. Onces (fans of TWICE) are calling Hyunseung for “sexualizing” Chaeyoung with the photograph. Not only that but fans noticed that Hyunseung captioned the photograph with "Kimochi" - a Japanese word that is mostly used in Japanese Adult Videos (JAV) and has a sexual connotation.

The OP (Original Poster) said, “Look at the way he's filming himself with that angle under Twice Chaeyoung.” They added, “It was my first time hearing about him so I looked it up and found that he is the guy from Brand New Music. The same group Eunsang from Produce is from.” After the post went viral on Twitter, fans started calling Hyunseung out for his past wrongful actions against Chaeyoung demanding an apology from him. Other fans are claiming this to be an act of sexual assault as they ask his label to kick the idol out of his group.

Brand New Music issues statement

In response to the allegations made against Hyunseung, the label Brand New Music released a curt statement. According to the label, the photo of Hyunseung has been synthesized with malicious intent against him. The label said, “Recently, images of our artist have been floating around on social media that have been identified as maliciously synthetic posts.” The label added that they will take strong legal measures against the spread of false information about their artists.

'We want a proper apology,' say TWICE fans

However, one Japanese fan tried to further contextualize the rage against Hyunseung as they explained, “Kimochi is not just used for porn. It is a basic expression when we feel about something emotionally, either a happy feeling, comfortable, disgusting, pleasant, sad etc. So it's more meaning of feeling.” The fan explained, “But people outside Japan (not just in Korea, but around the world) who watch JAV usually will use this words for a dirty joke because Japanese porn stars always said "kimochi" when they are having sex (coz sex make people feels good).” Another fan said, “When Korean guys say kimochi they are referring to how it is said a lot in Japanese porn.” One more fan said, “He's an early 2000s liner he was def old enough to know better lmao. I hadn't heard of the group until just now and now I have no want to tbh.”

One fan of TWICE said, “S0ojin and G@ram were kicked out for büllying alleagtions from when they were in school. They payed the saltiest price for accuses that weren't even 100% sure while you have the proof of the abuse in front of you and you still choose to defend it.” One fan said, “Chaeyoung was still a minor when he did that which is absolutely disgusting and nasty, he cant get away with this at all? chaeyoung doesn't deserve this!! we want a proper statement and apology on this issue immediately!! APOLOGIZE TO CHAEYOUNG!” One more fan said, “ABSOLUTY DISGUSTING. I can't deal with this. How yall just accept this kind of sh**ty disturbing behaviour. I'm actually sick to my stomach.” In response to the label's statement, one more fan said, "Don't refuse! At that time, Chaeyoung was still underage! But here you are denying it! Don't protect him! APOLOGIZE TO CHAEYOUNG." One fan said, "Disgusting company. Tolerating its artist's inappropriate behavior. KICK HYUNSEUNG FROM YOUNITE APOLOGIZE TO CHAEYOUNG #KICK_OUT_HYUNSEUNG @YOUNITE_twt @BN_Music PROTECT CHAEYOUNG! #JYPE_PROTECT_CHAEYOUNG @JYPETWICE @jypnation." One more fan said, "IT IS NOT OKAY TO SEXUALIZE SOMEONE !! EVEN IF THE PICTURE IS OLD, CHAEYOUNG WAS A MINOR THERE !! APOLOGIZE TO CHAEYOUNG."

 Disclaimer: This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.