NewJeans' Four-Member Comeback Teasers Draw Harsh Criticism from Art Director

K-pop girl group NewJeans recently unveiled new summer teaser content, featuring members MINJI (민지), HANNI (하니), HAERIN (해린), and HYEIN (혜인) in a four-member lineup. The reveal has sparked intense public discussion. Notably, renowned art director Park Si-young (박시영), who has previously voiced strong support for NewJeans and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin (민희진), took to social media to harshly critique the group's latest concept and styling, reigniting controversy.

Park Si-young recently shared a meme video on his Instagram Stories, accompanied by a lengthy post detailing his thoughts after viewing NewJeans' latest content. He stated that upon learning of the new release, he immediately watched it but was ultimately disappointed.

He directly pointed fingers at those responsible for planning, visual design, and high-level decision-making, emphasizing that the issue was not with the members but with the company and production team. Park Si-young stated, "I heard NewJeans released new content, and I watched it as soon as I woke up. It was incredibly tacky, like something from the 'Gayo Top 10' era. Untalented people are just riding on the children's popularity."

Regarding the current four-member lineup, he added, "Why are there only four members? It's like 'Attack on Titan' without the Titans." He concluded with a scathing remark: "The biggest problem is someone with no aesthetic sense, only ego, establishing a company with massive investment."

NewJeans recently unveiled a series of summer-themed teasers, including group photos, individual shots, and a commemorative video, leading many fans to anticipate the group's official comeback.

However, Park Si-young's comments quickly went viral on Korean online communities, once again fueling discussion about NewJeans' latest comeback concept and visual style.

Many netizens agreed with his assessment, feeling that NewJeans had lost its unique youthful charm and distinctiveness. Comments included: "It really has become very ordinary, but the members are still pretty," "I don't know where that unique charm went," "The new content released this time is a bit weak, not as surprising as I imagined," "Now they look like a typical HYBE girl group," "Even though their previous styling was sometimes strange, the photography and editing made it look high-quality; now that atmosphere is gone," and "The aesthetic sense has truly disappeared."

Conversely, many others felt Park Si-young's criticism was excessive, commenting: "Many people found their old styling tacky anyway, it's actually similar now," "I actually thought it looked worse before," "The members are naturally pretty, so even simple photos look good; I don't see a big difference," "Everyone is just complaining because Min Hee-jin isn't in charge," and "Is it really appropriate for a peer to publicly criticize someone else's work like this?"

Furthermore, some netizens focused on the four-member lineup itself, stating, "This time, I realized DANIELLE (다니엘)'s presence is truly significant." However, others argued, "The photos looking ordinary isn't because someone is missing, but rather an issue with the overall planning and photography style."

In fact, Park Si-young has publicly supported NewJeans and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin on multiple occasions in the past, making his latest comments particularly noteworthy to the public.