As fans of any medium, it’s normal to feel a sort of protection over the thing or person you admire; it’s a specific type of attachment that exudes joy and comfort for a lot of people. However, when fans start crossing the lines of what can be considered protective versus obsessive, that’s when it’s time to take a step back and remember not every issue is ours to solve. K-pop fans, in particular, know this dilemma all too well.

Upon news of former ENHYPEN member Heeseung’s departure from the popular boy group on March 10, fans (also known as ENGENE) were in an uproar and took to social media in force to try to change the tide. Despite the group’s label, BeLift Lab, citing that the decision was of Heeseung’s own accord due to differences in musical direction, that didn’t stop over two million fans from signing a petition on Change.org to reinstate the K-pop artist as a member of the group. However, even with the massive push from ENHYPEN’s dedicated fanbase, BeLift Lab reaffirmed on March 15 that Heeseung would not return to the group.

Typically, you’d think that would be enough for fans to put down their pitchforks and come to terms with the inevitable – albeit undesired – outcome. Well, not quite. On March 18, it was reported that South Korea’s National Pension Service had been unexpectedly pulled into the crosshairs of this K-pop fiasco. According to The Korea Herald, international fans flooded one of the agency’s call centers with complaints, affecting its business, leaving the agency unable to function properly during that time.

In response, NPS chief executive Kim Sung-joo took to Facebook to confirm that the disruption affected services for foreign residents in South Korea and Koreans living abroad, leaving many callers unable to access assistance. From the perspective of a K-pop fan, while it’s endearing that so many people would go to such great lengths to have their favorite group whole again, directing matters to a government organization is not the way to go.

Now you may be wondering: why the National Pension Service? What do they have to do with ENHYPEN or K-pop, in general? Well, believe it or not, there is a very small connection here. While the state pension operator runs one of the largest pension funds in the world, they’re also a major shareholder in HYBE, the parent company of the group’s agency, BeLift Lab. Therefore, fans began to wonder whether the NPS was involved or had any stake in Heeseung’s decision to leave, and ran with the speculation through various posts on X.

However, Kim promptly denied these claims and reassured the public that they do not interfere with matters that don’t pertain to NPS. “The NPS is a long-term investor managing retirement funds and holds stakes in more than 80 countries; however, it does not intervene in the management or personnel matters of individual firms,” he stated. “That also applies to the formation of K-pop groups and decisions regarding their members.”

This wouldn’t be the first time K-pop fans’ fervent passion has crossed into excessive territory – some have been even worse. In 2024, RIIZE’s Seunghan was controversially removed from the SM Entertainment group after pre-debut photos had surfaced of the member hanging out with a woman and smoking a cigarette. To fans overseas, the decision to unjustly kick a member out of his group for harmless activities that occurred before he debuted was ridiculous and unsettling – who cares what idols do or have done in their spare time, as long as they’re not harming anyone? 

In response, international fans exercised their right to boycott the group’s music and merchandise, hoping that the sudden decline in sales would prove a point to SM Entertainment. This method is fair and remains within the lines of ethical protest, as it directly affects the label without pulling unwanted parties into the crossfire. Korean fans, however, took protesting to a whole new level, one that foregoes the concept of human decency and places the blame on the idol instead of the company.

In October 2024, when it seemed like Seunghan would return to RIIZE, hundreds of funeral wreaths were sent to SM Entertainment’s headquarters in Seoul’s Seongdong District in Seunghan’s name. The wreaths included messages like “Out with Seunghan!” and “Freeloaders, Get Lost,” with Seunghan having to walk past them nearly every day before entering the building. This isn't ethical protesting. The only message a funeral wreath sends is that you'd rather have the idol dead than back in his group – and that's hard to look at any other way.

Believe me, there are plenty of things wrong with the K-pop industry that deserve criticisms, complaints, and protests, but as a fan, knowing when and how to pick your battles is half the fight. Otherwise, you risk your fandom (and K-pop fans at large) being perceived as overzealous, bothersome, or even vicious. K-pop fans have legitimate grievances worth fighting for. The NPS situation suggests that knowing where to direct that energy matters just as much as having it.