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Sunoo fat-shamed by ENHYPEN? Fans fear bandmates' jokes made him lose confidence

Korean fans of ENHYPEN and Sunoo, K-ENGENE, have argued that 'chubby' is taken as a compliment in the culture

K-pop group ENHYPEN members have come under fire for apparently fat-shaming fellow bandmate Kim Sunoo. Fans of the boy band worldwide are not treading lightly on the fact that other band members constantly talk about Sunoo's eating habits and weight. Sunoo recently started trending on Twitter after fans started discussing his alleged body-shaming. Twitter was later flooded with Sunoo appreciation tweets and body-positivity posts about him.  

ENHYPEN is a fairly new Korean boy band that came about from the survival show I-LAND, which had earned global popularity. The show was produced by BigHit Entertainment and CJ E&M Entertainment. The final seven members of the show formed the band and it includes Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki. As their fandom ENGENE grows in size day by day, each of their actions is susceptible to intense scrutinization by fans.

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International fans were quick to point out on Twitter that Sunoo appeared to be less confident about himself than when he debuted last year - a change for which they blamed the constant jokes about his weight by the band members. According to AllKPop, some fans reminded of instances were Sunoo was compared to Baymax from 'Big Hero 6' or the members made fun of his cheeks. The fans believe that Sunoo looked visibly uncomfortable in such situations, eventually leading to his insecurity. 

While Sunoo's fans flooded Twitter with his appreciation posts, a section of ENGENE from Korea also defended the other ENHYPEN members. In an elaborate statement, they argued that the English translation and subtitles during the interviews might make their remarks towards Sunoo seem like fat-shaming. But, their comments were actually cute jokes that are part of innocent friendship. Fans further added that calling someone chubby is actually perceived as a compliment in Korean culture. 

"If Sunoo was sad, Sunoo would say it out loud, right? The other members really love him and will speak up if one member is bullied," a statement by K-ENGENE said. 

"We should love all ENHYPEN members equally without bringing others down!! Without Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo and Niki ENHYPEN will not be ENHYPEN!! So please love them and support them equally. Let's protect them at all cost!!#enhypendiamond," a Korean fan tweeted sharing the statement.  

Another fan said, "Intl-engenes thinking that sunghOon is bOdy sh@miNg sunOo guys u should shut up now even the non- engenes pls stop attacking enha and i asked my friend about this she is korean so here's the explanation"

Meanwhile, let us take a look at all the Sunoo appreciation posts across Twitter. 

"Here’s a smiling sunoo to cleanse your tl," a fan tweeted a cute smiling photo of Sunoo. Another said, "It’s sunno’s birthday month and I hope he is spending it with his friends and family. He deserves the whole world and so much happiness. Hope he knows that engenes will always be by his side sending him love." 

"My sunoo you deserve all the good and beautiful things in the world, i just wish your heart would always be happy," a third fan tweeted. "Sunoo is the most talented person in the world, i’m so proud of him, he is so cool and beautiful, is the best boy in the universe, sunoo is unique, he is sweet and is adorable, sunoo i love you and i’ll support u ever !" one fan gushed about Sunoo.