SEVENTEEN's The8 and Jun to miss Asian Artist Awards in Japan

K-pop sensation SEVENTEEN is scheduled to attend the 2022 Asian Artist Awards in Japan. However, Pledis Entertainment announced that group members THE8 and JUN will not be able to participate in the award ceremony. The official statement released by the agency says:

"SEVENTEEN members JUN and THE 8 will not be able to take part in the “2022 Asia Artist Awards IN JAPAN” due to individual schedules arranged in advance. Therefore, 11 members will be taking part in the event."

The 2022 award show, which celebrates talent in music, television, and film in Asia, will take place on December 13 at Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan. Other K-pop artists attending the show include THE BOYZ, Stray Kids, ITZY, TREASURE, IVE, Kep1er, LE SSERAFIM, and NewJeans, among others.

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CARATS speculate real reason behind SEVENTEEN'S The8 and Jun missing the upcoming award show

After the announcement was made by Pledis on social media, CARATs, the group's official fandom, wondered what the personal schedule of the two members might be.

Since both Jun (Wen Junhui) and The8 (Xu Minghao) are Chinese, fans speculated that the real reason behind them missing the show in Japan could be because December 13 is observed as a memorial day in China.

One fan commented:

"Guess it’s because 12.13 is the official memorial date of the Nanjing Massacre and that’s why they can’t perform in Japan"

Another fan wrote:

"December 13 is Chinese day to commemorate the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, a day when entertainment is banned in China, and the victims of this war were killed by the Japanese, and it is not appropriate to go to Japan on this day"

Though fans were sad that the whole group would not be attending the show, CARATs thanked Pledis Entertainment for the thoughtful decision, which would have otherwise caused controversy for the Chinese members.

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SEVENTEEN delivers power-packed performance at LA3C

The thirteen-member K-pop act created history by performing at the inaugural LA3C, a.k.a Los Angeles, Capital of Culture and Creativity, festival held on December 10, 2022.

The one-hour set turned into the band's mini concert as they delivered some of their greatest hits amid loud cheers from CARATs present in the audience. They sang HOT, Left and Right, fan-favorite Very Nice, and a special holiday version of their English single Darl+ing.

One of the moments that gained the most attention from fans was SEVENTEEN’s team leaders' performance of Cheers, during which dance team leader Hoshi amazed the crowd with some wild gestures and phrases from the stage.

Meanwhile, the Don't Wanna Cry singers were also awarded the Culture Ambassador Award during the first day of the festival, along with HYBE'S chairman Bang Si-hyuk. The award recognized their efforts in uniting Korean and Asian culture with that of the United States'.