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aespa's performance at Kyungbok High School and the ensuing controversy took another turn after a message was received from the parent of one of the students present at the event.
On May 2, the K-pop group performed at the all-boys school for the institution's 101st anniversary celebration. Following the performance, the members were reportedly subjected to s*xual harassment.
According to a post made on a social media forum, a number of students had gotten on stage with the members and forced them to take pictures, something which was not agreed upon. Some of them later uploaded pictures with inappropriate captions and explicit comments about the idols and their bodies.
After receiving severe backlash from aespa fans, the school issued an apology.
aespa fans were upset at the mother's lack of remorse
On May 4, a fan of aespa uploaded a message from the mother of one of the students involved. A post titled An aespa Fan Received A Message From A Parent Of A Kyungbock High School Student was uploaded to several Korean online forums.
In a screenshot of the message, one of the student's mothers can be seen requesting the fan to take down one of the posts since it mentioned her son.
The message said:
"Hello, I am a parent of a Kyungbock High School student who is affiliated with the controversy. The post you made has gone so viral that every time it is retweeted, our son’s real name is brought up and is cursed at by other users. As this is the first time we are going through something like this, our son is afraid to the point he is receiving treatment for trauma. We, as a family, aren’t able to sleep out of fear. I know I am in no position to ask you to take your post down, but I ask you…"
The OP was agitated at the parent's lack of remorse at her son's actions. Moreover, the comments about trauma didn't sit well with the aespa fanbase. The post was captioned with:
"I’m so taken aback. Is your family the only thing important? The only thing aespa members received in return for their performance was s*xual harassment. Have you ever thought of the members who went through that? How do you have no shame? Why are you afraid of a situation you made?"
Several other fans of the girl group also left furious messages in response to the mother's request, calling out her insensitivity. While many said that her request was not invalid, they stated that it should have been preceded by an apology and a promise to discipline her child first.
Some of the comments include:
“They should have apologized first.”
Many had some pointers on parenting:
“That parent probably believes not disciplining their children shows them, love. If you really love them, you should hold them accountable when they do wrong.”
Those sympathetic to the situation opined:
“If the perpetrators think they are going through a tough time, they should know it’s always worst for the victims… I hope the perpetrators are held accountable.”
However, the detractors chimed in:
“They are not the victims. Why do they only think of themselves?”
Incidentally, Kyungbok High School is the institution from which SM Entertainment's CEO, Lee Soo-man, graduated. Since 2008, several groups under SM Entertainment have performed at the school, including Girls' Generation, Red Velvet, and NCT 127.
