Fan outrage over mistreatments was one of the big concerns in the past. Now it feels a lot more subdued in comparison. If you search "mistreatment" in the forum you'll see it was a popular topic in 2021. Now it's 2025 and there's been many instances, such as SM mistreating Taeyeon and Wendy, Starship posting DF of Yujin, VCHA's self-harm experience working for JYPE America, Gaeun's SA by Madein's CEO, HYBE staff mocking Jungkook for an Instagram post. It doesn't get the same traction as before. I think kpop fans were more outraged at Starbucks than at kpop companies. Do you think kpop fans have realized that kpop is just for entertainment/escaping reality and trying to "change the industry" as LSF Yunjin once said is never meant to happen. Fans may have adopted a more pragmatic view, recognizing the entertainment nature of kpop and the limitations of fan action in influencing powerful companies and the only result is getting emotionally drained. Even if fan outrage seems less pronounced, the issues of mistreatment and exploitation within the kpop industry remain serious but it's just part of life that the majority of injustices remain unsolved.
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The scariest thing is how quickly people forget
The VCHA and Madein controversies. You can have thousands of articles about Hanni walking in the airport, a thousand comments about LSFs singing ability. But news with actual victims, that should get more coverage, it goes to the memory hole.