BIGBANG's former member T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun, 최승현, 38) and After School's Nana (Im Jin-ah, 임진아, 35) recently confirmed their relationship. The announcement, however, has been met with a wave of controversy. A fan-organized exhibition for T.O.P was reportedly canceled due to lower-than-expected reservations and a surge of cancellations. Furthermore, his personal fan club, "CHOIDOT," which had supported him for 20 years, announced its sudden closure on September 9, expressing deep disappointment. The fan club also published a lengthy statement, openly criticizing T.O.P and his agency, stating that "an album is not a gift bestowed upon fans" and accusing them of years of neglecting fans' efforts.
"CHOIDOT" announced via its official social media channels that it would cease operations, which began on August 24, 2006. The fan club's administrators stated they could no longer ignore T.O.P and his agency, TOPSPOT PICTURES, for their evasion of reality, shirking of responsibility, and their attitude of taking fans' efforts for granted. Therefore, they decided to end their 20 years of support.
In their statement, the fan club also addressed the relationship between artists and fans, emphasizing that producing and releasing albums is the artist's job, and fans have the right to decide whether to wait for, appreciate, and support the work. They explicitly stated, "An album is not a gift bestowed upon fans, nor is it a fan's glory." The administrators urged T.O.P to abandon his arrogant mindset that "fans will naturally cooperate and act according to his expectations" and to avoid isolating himself by only surrounding himself with those who offer empty praise.
The fan club further pointed out that while T.O.P once described his new album as "a work for fans," the stage performances and two-way communication that fans truly desired were never adequately delivered. Moreover, many aspects, from album promotion and event planning to fan support and related execution, relied on the spontaneous efforts of individual fan clubs, leading to significant disappointment among long-term supporters.
The administrators also directed criticism at the agency, questioning its failure to establish even basic channels for fan communication. The fan club stated that even when the agency accepted fan support, it did not set up an official inquiry window, social media platform, or email, leading to overseas fans' questions flooding the fan club and forcing them to act as intermediaries between the company and fans.
Furthermore, the fan club revealed that when the agency needed something, it would even directly request them to delete or modify photos in their posts. In response, the administrators expressed their dissatisfaction, stating that fans' willingness to spontaneously help does not absolve the company of its inherent responsibilities.
To substantiate their claims, the fan club also disclosed messages and emails exchanged with agency personnel. They stated that they had proactively offered suggestions for improving performances, were invited to provide feedback on the execution of fan events, and even personally funded album promotional advertisements, yet still had to comply with design modifications. These experiences led the administrators to believe that fans' efforts were not met with due respect.
In addition to long-standing grievances, the recent cancellation of the fan exhibition was also a contributing factor to the fan club's decision to cease operations. According to the administrators, the exhibition had a budget of approximately 9 million Korean won, with 7.5 million Korean won expected to be raised through ticket sales from 300 attendees. The remaining costs were to be covered by the two administrators themselves.
However, after the exhibition opened for reservations, only about 20 people signed up in the first week. Even after extending the reservation period from two to four weeks, registrations remained below expectations. The fan club revealed that the two administrators were already set to personally bear over 6 million Korean won in costs. Following reports of T.O.P and Nana's relationship and a wave of reservation cancellations, their personal financial burden increased to approximately 7 million Korean won, ultimately forcing them to reluctantly cancel the event.
However, the fan club specifically clarified that they do not want the cancellation of the exhibition to be directly interpreted as fans reacting negatively to the idol's public relationship. The administrators stated that many fans were already aware of their relationship even before they filmed YouTube content together, but chose not to discuss it publicly out of respect for the artist's private life.
The administrators expressed their difficulty in accepting the external attribution of fans' disappointment and the exhibition's cancellation solely to the relationship's exposure. They emphasized that each fan who canceled their reservation had their own reasons, and it cannot be directly assumed that everyone withdrew solely because of the idol's romance.
The handling of the exhibition's cancellation further increased the fan club's dissatisfaction with the agency. The administrators stated that they had contacted the agency through various channels but received no response for four days. When a response finally came, the agency's focus seemed to be not on the issues raised by the fans, but on why "reservation rates" were listed in the announcement, which left them feeling deeply disheartened.
The fan club concluded with a poignant statement, asserting that fans' love and support should not be exploited only when needed and ignored when inconvenient. While they do not wish to negate the sincerity of their efforts over the past 20 years, they can no longer continue if it means constantly enduring grievances and choosing silence to uphold their devotion.
Meanwhile, T.O.P and Nana confirmed their relationship through their respective agencies on September 2, stating that they met while filming a music video and began dating around June of this year. Now, with the closure of T.O.P's 20-year fan club, the accompanying statement has once again brought renewed attention to the controversies surrounding the public disclosure of their relationship.
