What do you think about Seunghan's depature from RIIZE?

Quote from foreveraespaaa

I think the whole situation is bizarre there’s no way he was kicked out for what we know there has to be more to the story! And to debut him as a soloist which is not what fans have asked for? SM have handled this so wrong! To add him back into the group after months in hiatus only to kick him out again a day later something is seriously wrong behind the scenes

I don't even know where the "kicked out" or "forced on hiatus" allegations came from. I'm not sure why people don't consider that maybe he wanted to go on hiatus and that he actually wanted to leave RIIZE after seeing that a lot of the group's fans hated him.

Unless he truly doesn't care, it was good for him to go on hiatus than to potentially face hostile fans and angry protestors as he performs.

Imagine SM encouraged him to keep promoting with the group despite all the drama and controversy. The narrative would be that SM failed to protect him and prioritized overworking him during a time when he should be resting and healing.

People are acting like Seunghan had completely zero say in what he wanted to do with his career, which seems exaggerative. I think Seunghan and SM likely worked out a solution that was best for him, considering that he obviously cares about the hate he was getting. He wasn't going to continue with the group when a huge portion of the fanbase would be hateful towards him.

So with all things considered, his upcoming debut as a soloist under a big company like SM might very well be the best solution for him. Forcing him back into a group to perform in front of antis just isn't it, as much as I would have liked for RIIZE to be OT7.

It's a sad situation all around, but the boycotting and negativity surrounding his solo debut does more harm than good.

Quote from CaraFIMIE

Absolutely ridiculous.

I actually will never forgive SM (or SME, who cares) for that. He did nothing uncommon. He smoked sure (not really a good thing) but a lot of people his age (at the time) do that also. Regardless, that is not a valid reason to ruin his hopes and dreams.

I personally don't think the pictures he took of him and his girlfriend (at the time) are that big of a deal, but in a conservative country like South Korea, they'll definitely find it off-putting to know that a guy took pictures of himself being cuddly and intimate with his girlfriend in bed.

He was looking into the camera for some of those pics, and it gave off the impression that he was bragging or being smug about it. I don't see it as problematic or cancel-worthy, but I can see how many Koreans do.

But how do we know it was SM that forced him on hiatus or, as some people say, kicked him out? Or maybe Seunghan actually chose to take some time off? If SM pushed him to promote during a troubling time and he had to perform in front of his haters, people would say SM mistreated him and failed to protect him.

Now he's set for a solo debut under SM, which is probably the best outcome aside from rejoining RIIZE. He himself apparently made the decision not to rejoin, so if that's the case, we should respect that. Things could have been worse. SM could have kept him in the dungeon, he might have had to join a smaller company that wouldn't have the resources to promote him as well, etc. This might be the best-case scenario.

Quote from stxr

You actually think they care about their artists, think again, its sm we are talking about

I think the truth is somewhere in the middle, not the extreme takes that fans often push. Plenty of successful SM idols have opted to renew their contracts with SM, so as much as the fans criticize companies, the idols themselves have a different perspective. It’s not a black-and-white situation.

Sure, SM could have handled some things better, but I think it’s a disservice to assume the company played a role in every decision the artist made. It infantilizes idols and perpetuates the stereotype that idols are overly manufactured, thoughtless beings who do whatever they’re told.

ARMYS often portray their boys as independent, strong-willed men who do what they want regardless of what the company thinks, and I feel like this is an empowering perspective. I think people should take a page from ARMYS’ playbook and do this for their faves.