NCT Dream fans send support trucks in protest of Seoul Music Awards results

While NCT Dream may have taken home the Best Album award at the 2021 Seoul Music Awards, many fans are convinced that the third NCT subunit deserved much more, having had a year full of stellar performances and achievements. Many fans are resorting to sending support trucks in and around Seoul in protest.

While the group took home one award at the Seoul Music Awards, it was not a Bonsang or a Daesang, which several believed the K-pop group deserved.

In 2021 alone, the group released their first studio album, Hot Sauce, which featured seven original members of the unit. Hot Sauce was critically acclaimed and sold more than 2,000,000 copies within 20 days of its release.

In June, the seven-member group released a repackage of their first studio album, called Hello Future. The combined sale of both these albums crossed 3,000,000 in no time.

NCT Dream are also the first and only Asian artists to appear three consecutive times on Billboard's "21 Under 21" list, placing at numbers 20, 13 and 19 from 2018 to 2020.

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NCT Dream fans sent support trucks demanding better treatment

According to the calculations based on 2021 releases, the Hot Sauce singers reportedly surpassed other artists like IU and NCT 127.

While the other two won a Bonsang and a Daesang at the SMA, respectively, NCT Dream was not considered for the Bonsang, upsetting fans. In order to win a Daesang, artists need to be nominated for a Bonsang.

In light of this recent upset, Chinese fans of the group collectively sent several support trucks to the office of the group’s label, SM Entertainment. Their demand is that the process of selection for the Bonsang and Daesang be revealed, and the scores for artists made public. The trucks also demand better treatment of the artists.

The support truck's banner says:

"Please reveal the scores for SMA’s Bonsang and Daesang!"

"Treat NCTDream fairly!"

"We will always support NCT Dream!"

These fans, who call themselves NCT Dreamzens, have stated that the trucks will continue to circle the SM Entertainment headquarters in Seongsu from January 26 to 28, 2022.

This sentiment, however, is not shared by all fans. While many Korean and international fans have contributed to this gesture, several others consider this an embarrassing act. They believe that the group’s work should speak for themselves, and fans should not have to beg for recognition.

Meanwhile, the group’s Hello Future recently made them the first SM artists to achieve 1 million copies in album sales with a repackaged album.