(G)I-DLE’s Soyeon was recently criticized for her attitude and neglect of her duties as an idol. A famous fan of hers on X (formerly Twitter) spoke up to complain about Soyeon’s lack of communication.
They noted that for a period of 390 days, she had only posted on Dear. U Bubble a total of 23 times. Dear U. Bubble is a paid service for fans to subscribe to, where they can receive exclusive messages from their idol. Although it is already May, in 2024, she had only posted once on Bubble. The fan noted that she was completely absent from Bubble for 5 months out of the 13-month period.
| Nate Pann
They were the most upset that Soyeon did not post anything on the group’s anniversary as well on May 2, 2024. Usually idols thank their fans during their anniversary. The fan continued to list out their thoughts, wondering why Soyeon was so neglectful. According to her, other fans had long since left the fandom, frustrated at Soyeon’s neglect.
“Is it a mental illness to hope for your idol to communicate with you? I tried all sorts of methods to get my friends to stay in the fandom, but except for me, everyone has already left. Everyone ignored my begging, even though I’m the one who monitors your activities the most. You appeared in a 20-minute-long behind-the-scenes video for all of 40 seconds, and all you had to say was that you wanted to get off work quick.”
— Love_f0r_SY
The fan was extremely hurt, as they had never once asked her to do anything burdensome, such as to do more individual livestreams. However, they were upset that while Soyeon continued to complain about her boredom on her sub-account for Instagram, she had never once come to post on Bubble.
They ended their rant with a sentence that summed it up — “Soyeon, you’re an idol first and foremost, before you are a producer. Communicate a little.”
Communication between idols and fans are an important part of their duties as an idol. An idol needs to cover many aspects, not just sing and perform. The difference between an idol and singer is very clear in South Korea, with the idol culture being a deep-rooted one. Many feel that this fan is valid in their concerns about Soyeon’s neglect of the fandom.
