Is MHJ "ruining" kpop?

[RussianRoulette]

I know the title sounds harsh but hear me out:

I'm seeing this discussion on twitter: But do you feel like MHJ(/NJZ/Tokkis/Bunnies) have started to "ruin" kpop?

This discussion started online when kpop fans started to complain that ever since MHJ made her accusations about plagiarism that no group can release anything now in days without being accused of plagiarizing NJZ.

I know this morning Hearts2Hearts were being accused of plagiarizing NJZ due to the fact that both groups have representative emojis/animals for the members.

NJZ very very VERY much did not invent kpop groups members having representative emojis. Some people say NCT started the trend, but it's been around for years and even back in the day Shinee even had representative emoticons before emoji's were even a thing.

People are starting to get annoyed with how every new group is accused of copying NJZ. Some people are saying music genres don't seem to exist anymore.

An example I saw someone give is: After Blackpink debuted there was a strong rise in girl crush in kpop (Everglow, CLC with Hobgoblin, ITZY a bit with their teen crush concept, etc). We also have just kpop genres in general such as that "christian horse girl" genre of kpop music. People are saying its annoying/hypocritical that back then the groups that debuted with similar concepts were never seen as plagiarizing but now in days they are.

While a lot of this frustration is coming from non-hybe group kpop fans getting annoyed of constant plagiarism, people are also starting to get fed up with the constant attacking towards Illit and Le Sserafim.

I know recently people(/Tokki's) were accusing LSF's CRAZY of plagiarizing Charlie XCX's brat album and people got into a frenzy online saying both musicians make music of the same genre and this isn't plagiarism.

LSF also got accused of plagiarizing Sabrina Carpenter today by people (/Tokki's). It ended up backfiring and they ended up pissing off the entire Sabrina Carpenter fandom who were quick to point out the Sabrina photos they were accusing were copied were fake/photoshop/ai and they got mad at Tokki's for dragging them/Sabrina into unnecessary drama.

Overall: I feel like this main complaint is that due to MHJ/NJZ/the fanbase people feel like they are ruining kpop due to the fact that plagiarism accusations are now being thrown around left and right, and people feel the word "plagiarism" has lost it's original meaning.

What are your thoughts on this?​

 

[Polaris_Tae]

idt it's her/NJZ/Tokki's specifically that's sucking all the fun out of the fandom culture. Though their stage parents aren't helping this case either...

I'm of the opinion that it's the parasocial fans and people abusing the legal system (like we've seen via a certain subsection of NJZ fans) and reporting literally the smallest things to anyone and everyone. These systems are in place for legitimate concerns, abusing them is just going to take up public resources away from the people who actually need it.

Then there's the filing suits on their behalf. Like... several of them are no longer minors. If they want to file a suit, then they can do it themselves. Though I'm 99% sure that it's been shown that those rich NJZ fans (team tokki or whatever) are working alongside MHJ. So perhaps NJZ approved re: the filing those suits all along and just didn't want to put their name to it (since iirc, a lot of these suits were pre-ADOR defection)

 

[hatmixx]

I mean there are plenty of people ruining kpop XD Best just to focus on the good ones

 

[tokki]

tokkis are definitely a loud fandom when it comes to this stuff but it's been happening forever tbh - I do think it's hilarious that as a fandom they've crowned themselves the plagiarism police though when MHJ has heavily borrowed from other artists for her works

 

[SirTim0thy]

Every batch has a risk of some bad apples.

It can be a disheartening reality at times, and not without its consequences, however I'm not letting that stop me from finding joy where I can.

 

[Chiharu]

did these people just become kpop stans...as someone who has been into kpop since 2013, this stuff is not at all knew and not at all caused by MHJ/Tokkis

 

[choively]

These dramas are soooo needed in KPOP *wishing for more* but the toxicityness aren't needed > o < !!

 

[Bchip]

I don't think so. If Armys and Blinks didn't ruin k-pop (and lord knows they tried ) i don't think NewJeans fans will.

The Le Sserafim/Sabrina Carpenter thing showed up on my timeline and i honestly thought it was similar. But i didn't care enough to engage and see what people were talking about, especially because it seems that every k-pop fandom has a problem with LS nowadays lol.

 

[UMJI MOODS]

No. Not really. There are plenty of problematic fandoms and have been for years. These ongoing attempts to push things on mhj/njz/tokkis is looking rather pathetic.

 

[Your Biggest Fan]

Yes and no.

The fan toxicity was always there. I'm sure anyone who has been into Kpop can tell you some crazy stories of fan wars and stans. Companies have always encouraged fans to act this way by turning a blind eye or adding more fuel to the fire.

MHJ encouraged this behavior in a way I've never seen before, and I've followed Kpop since 2008. This lady is insane. She has a silver tongue, and everything she does is to feed her ego. And the way she gets what she wants is by feeding other people's egos. MHJ has found a way to exploit fan toxicity for her benefit and has woven a web so tightly around others. She puffs up Tokkis' egos and uses them to fight her battles. But things are kinda quiet atm. Tokkis have too much time on their hands. They're looking to fight anyone, so they have to make up problems.

 

[mimenet]

I'm actually pretty sure this narrative of plagiarism gets boosted heavily by bot accounts. A lot of message forums are overrun with "propaganda" bots made to push a narrative as more popular than it is. Its not like every person calling plagiarism is bots but I'm pretty sure it's bolstered by a 3rd party (either hybe doing it to make people dislike newjeans/hybe doing it to create a cult mentality in the fanbase like blackpink/or a different company doing subterfuge).

It's pretty common for this sort of thing to happen on websites like reddit and the plagiarism thing has always reeked of it. Obviously youtube is totally overrun with bot accounts too. I think kpop companies have gotten smart enough to do this ie the MHJ/BSH media feud or the stuff going on with Starship/IVE a couple years ago.

 

[zxcvbnm<>]

umm ok

 

[BianTwo]

CEOs, big companies and fandoms being toxic and "ruining" things, it's not new and I don't think this will change.

MHJ isn't a saint but she's not that powerful or influencal even if she's known in the industry. However she knows how things work and how to play with the opinions.
NJZ, it's hard to target the members even if they are involved in this mess. I'll aim at their boss MHJ, at HYBE and at their parents who failed to protect them, who used them in this issues, etc. But I understand if people are getting tired of them and not wanted to follow them anymore because of it.
The fandom being annoying and beefing with everyone, that's not new.

I don't think they are ruining K-pop but this issue isn't helping. K-pop itself entered a weird era, with sales decreasing, a feeling of weariness, etc.
The parasocial thing is a blessing and a curse

It's an overrall thing, you can't target only one person or one artist.