Kwon Eunbi has already left her mark in the K-pop industry, having debuted with IZ*ONE in 2018 before making her solo debut in 2021.
In 2023, the soloist gained widespread attention for her performance at the Waterbomb Seoul 2023, where her stage presence and appeal captivated audiences. As a result, she was dubbed the newest “Waterbomb Goddess”and quickly rose to fame on the K-pop scene.
In addition to her performances on variety shows, promotional activities for her music releases, and social media presence, Eunbi has also landed various endorsement deals with notable brands including Sprite, Pepsi, Nine Wishes, Jadam Chicken, Lenstown, and others.
Despite Eunbi’s newest endorsement deal with the RPG mobile game Cat Fantasy, a game developed by FUNDOLL, fans were still not pleased with Woollim Entertainment.
On May 20, the app’s Korean social media account posted a puzzling update that included a quiz about the upcoming promotional model for the game.
<Cat Fantasy> Promotional Model Quiz! On May 24th, an attractive promotional model will appear in <Cat Fantasy>~! Who will it be~?! Please look at related keywords and write the person that comes to mind in the comments! Promotion of <Cat Fantasy> The model will be revealed on May 24th! Please look forward to it ❛‿˂̵✧📆Event period: May 20th ~ May 23rd… pic.twitter.com/ZNIEhJelVn
— Cat Fantasy (@CatFantasyKR) May 20, 2024
Ultimately, RUBIs discovered that Eunbi had been chosen as the next model for the game, prompting them to reach out to Woollim Entertainment. Fans criticized the agency and voiced their worries about the objectification of the idol. Here’s how they responded:
Woolim “Try not to over sexualised Eunbi challenge”failed yet again https://t.co/puUWjpc5nu
— M◐◑N ☽ Moon🍉 (@dallunatic) May 20, 2024
for those who are wondering why im mad here is the post that clearly showing who is going to be their so called promotional model. all those hints are pointing to only one person that we all love dearly but that damn company is crazy for accepting this! @woollim_ent @KWONEUNBI https://t.co/4RDjSM93zn
— KEB 🐰 (@iamkeb_) May 20, 2024
cancel her deal with this weird game @KWONEUNBI @woollim_ent continuing to be part of this will do a lot of harm to her career but most especially to her well being and safety https://t.co/R3XnMe1C2m
— 🖤 (@bloomizsvt) May 20, 2024
the change in treatment that this company has been giving her since that festival is disgusting. as a woman, she can’t appear once in a bikini (at an event that it makes sense) and you make her entire image come down to just that???#FreeEunbi @woollim_ent @KWONEUNBI
— yu. (@eunsplace) May 20, 2024
Kwon Eunbi named summer queen, one of the most popular up & coming soloists, trending on naver whenever she’s on variety shows, sprite ambassador, music show win,#3 on billboard world digital song sales chart with her DEBUT. and this is what you do? @woollim_ent #FREEEUNBI pic.twitter.com/IHvhAIwoYp
— yusra FEELS THE POP 🌵 (@IZBASEONE) May 20, 2024
wtf we don’t want eunbi to associate with this kind of game @woollim_ent have u lost ur mind?!? https://t.co/HXgcbz1ml5
— ✧ June 🐶 (@ayjkcwy) May 20, 2024
Woolim, who can’t even promote eunbi with propely for her album THIS JUNE yet you can get her as a model for a game that sexualizes women.What happened to “taking action against sexual harassment” THIS IS SETTING HER UP FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT. @KWONEUNBI #FreeEunbi https://t.co/Gab9eDMgfN pic.twitter.com/LbtsEXbTvS
— yusra FEELS THE POP 🌵 (@IZBASEONE) May 20, 2024
WE DON’T WANT THIS!I don’t want to see Eunbi’s image associated with this. What were you thinking where to accept this?? I am extremely disappointed. Please fix this mistake you made @woollim_ent https://t.co/9MnhUIW04w
— For Eunbi (@Eunbipicturedit) May 20, 2024
@woollim_ent Have respect for your artists, think about your image before making any decision! pic.twitter.com/23eJpH1Jxl
— Kwon Eunbi Brasil (@KwonEunbi_BR) May 20, 2024
Instead of sending eunbi to different shows where she can showcase her talents u r letting her do a promotion for a game that exploits her physicye?!?!? WE DON’T WANT THAT #FreeEunbi @woollim_ent
— ✧ June 🐶 (@ayjkcwy) May 20, 2024
Excuse me @woollim_ent? ??What the hell is this? we don’t want this! please free her from this deal! !? https://t.co/dNV2ncHbGo
— Wei💜Ruby (@WEB_bbb0dc) May 20, 2024
On August 29, 2023, Eunbi’s agency made an official announcement regarding taking legal measures against any instances of sexual harassment and malicious intent.
Please refer to the complete statement below:
“Hello. This is Woollim Entertainment.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the fans who have always loved and supported our artist, Kwon Eunbi.
Kwon Eunbi, an artist under Woollim Entertainment, has been active and successful in her solo activities, and has established herself as an all-rounder thanks to the love her fans have given.
Lately, we have monitored malicious posts regarding Kwon Eunbi, including sexual harassment, defamation, circulation of false information, and invasion of privacy. Such posts were checked on numerous online communities, social media, and YouTube.
We are aware of the inappropriate expression in the post, and by collecting relevant data and proof through monitoring, we have determined that the seriousness of the situation can no longer be overlooked or ignored.
In the future, we will do our best to protect our artists by actively collecting evidence and self-monitoring for malicious posts and responding to them without hesitation if they keep being discovered in the future. We ask fans for their cooperation in finding posts or criminal acts and report them to the official email account.
Lastly, we at Woollim Entertainment will do our best to protect our artists’ personal rights and we ask fans to give unsparing love and support to Kwon Eunbi, who is shining brightly.
Thank you.”
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