K-netizens’ Opinion on Impact of Min Hee-jin and HYBE Dispute on NewJeans’s Popularity Overseas

A post titled, “The Decline of NewJeans’ Overseas Popularity,”made by a netizen on Nate Pann, has caught the attention of many.

The netizen shared screenshots of Spotify’s Global Daily Charts, stating that in Korea, public opinion is often influenced by powerful companies to some extent. However, this manipulation does not extend to overseas fans. According to the majority of overseas K-pop fans, NewJeans is being ungrateful despite receiving numerous benefits from HYBE and BTS. In fact, except for a small group of Bunnies, 99% of people believe that NewJeans should have remained neutral in the recent dispute. This sentiment is also reflected in the comments from overseas fans on YouTube videos. In summary, for overseas fans, Min Hee-jin is compared to Ahn Sung-il and NewJeans is likened to the FIFTY FIFTY

They clarified, “While some suggest that the chart reflects only Spotify streams in 2024, it actually includes all the streams from their debut up to now, indicated by the phrase ‘so far’. NewJeans used to have a large fan base, but their popularity has decreased significantly since that incident.”They further stated, “Even though ‘Magnetic’ was released only a few months ago, it is still ranking on the chart. However, despite having numerous hit songs, NewJeans is currently not on the chart.”

As a reply, additional internet users posted their comments:

Despite their immense popularity, it is undeniably true that there has been a significant decline. Their loyal fan base has also acknowledged a decrease of 70% in their achievements.

Despite performing well in the first half of the year, the group’s sudden drop on Global Spotify and lack of presence on US Spotify raises concerns. The issue has caused significant harm and it remains uncertain if they will be able to bounce back in the future. Losing momentum in the international market can be challenging to regain.

Despite NewJeans’s poor performance and low ranking on both Global Spotify and US Spotify, bunnies continue to boast about their success, but do they truly understand the reality? It’s amusing to see them deny the truth.

Considering the situation from this perspective, it is evident that NewJeans experienced a significant decline in popularity following Min Hee-jin’s controversy. Although they were performing well until May, the incident that occurred in May and lasted until July greatly damaged the group’s reputation. However, their performances from January to May may still outweigh the past two months. In fact, if we were to examine the results from June, I am certain that they would show an even greater decline.

Despite the group’s lack of success, they are still far superior to LE SSERAFIM. It’s quite comical! Their overall performance is more than twice as impressive.