Former dance teacher of Boys Planet’s Sung Han-bin clears up chatter behind controversial photo

Sung Han-bin, a trainee from STUDIO GL1DE who ranks No. 1 on Boys Planet, recently landed in a controversy over a picture from his time on a dance crew. His former dance teacher/choreographer Spella spoke to clear up the scandal with the South Korean outlet Newsen on March 22, 2023.

She mentioned that the photo where the trainee appeared topless with eight females wearing off-shoulder tops, was clicked for a group profile picture.

The teacher also shared that the Boys Planet contestant was purposely asked to stand in a corner so as to “smoothly blend in” with the other female members. She added that wearing a tank top or a shirt would have made him stand out further, which was why they resorted to the trainee being shirtless for the picture.

The controversy began on March 19, 2023, when a shirtless picture of the trainee in a group of eight females, went viral on South Korean platforms. Netizens were shocked to see the leading Boys Planet trainee in the photo and expressed their disappointment for the same on several online forums.

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Boys Planet contestant Sung Han-bin’s former dance crew teacher clarifies the shirtless photo controversy

Sung Han-bin is one of the most popular Boys Planet contestants and also ranks No. 1 on all four voting phases of the show. Given his popularity, Sung Han-bin has had netizens look up his past activities and try to learn more about him.

On March 19, 2023, a shirtless photo of him with eight women in off-shoulder or tank tops, showing off their shoulder lines and neck went viral on social media. People criticized the Boys Planet contestant and the picture from every angle possible.

As criticism against the idol grew, Spella, his former dance teacher and a popular tutting dancer, spoke in defense of the image to clear Sung Han-bin's name and reputation.

In an interview with Newsen released on March 21, 2023, Spella shared that the specific picture was taken for the crew’s profile picture. Spella said that the creators wanted to focus on the pearl jewelry aesthetic on the team's faces, which was why they wanted their necks and shoulders to be simple.

She said:

“At the time, Sung Han-bin was a fellow dance crew member. The relevant photo was taken for the purpose of the crew’s group profile picture."

Spella noted:

We wanted to highlight the pearl initial on our faces while simultaneously giving off a pure image, so we wore tank tops that softly revealed our neck and shoulder lines.” (translated via Soompi)

Spella added that since Sung Han-bin was the only male member of the crew, had he been the only member in a shirt, it would have taken the focus away from their planned aesthetic. The final product then became the picture where the trainee was shirtless and blended with his female crewmates.

Spella said that since Sun Han-bin was the only male member, they didn't place him in the center but at the side, so he would blend in smoothly. Had he been the only one in a tank top or a shirt, he would have looked "weirder" or stood out even more. Spella said that was the only reason Sung Han-bin took his top off.

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What was the shirtless controversy all about?

A professional picture of Sun Han-bin with eight women went viral on South Korean online forums where the female's faces were censored with stickers.

While the now-viral picture sounds simple in its description, a controversy broke out as the STUDIO GL1DE trainee posed shirtless in it. The women, too, wore off-shoulder tops that flaunted their necks and shoulders.

As people saw the image they had a lot to say about it. While some weren't particularly impressed with the picture, several others jumped to defend the idol and wondered how the picture was scandalous.

Some people weren't particularly happy with the old picture of the idol that was shared (Image via Pann Nate board)

Fans were quick to defend their idol on Twitter following the controversy (Image credits: Twitter/ @viviofexo)

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Meanwhile, the STUDIO GL1DE trainee is leading Boys Planet with a total of 8,343,418 points, which is 1.4 million points higher than the second rank. The next episode of Boys Planet will air live on March 24 via Mnet’s YouTube channel.