"Hwaiting": THE BOYZ's Younghoon shares supportive words for South Korea's Olympic athletes

THE BOYZ member Younghoon recently declared support for his home country, earning praise from Korean netizens.

Olympic fever has taken over the world, and South Korea is no exception. The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics started on February 5, 2022.The eagerly awaited event, watched by sports enthusiasts around the world, was shrouded in controversies right from the announcement of the event.

One of the stand out controversies was the claim made by several international athletes that the Games’ referees were biased towards Chinese athletes, often at the cost of athletes of other nations.

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THE BOYZ's Younghoon had words of encouragement for the South Korea Olympic contingent

Among those who spoke out was South Korean skater Kwak Yoon-gy. According to the athlete, the Chinese team had cheated in the short-track speed skating relay. While teams from the ROC and the US were docked points for similar actions, China was allegedly let go scot-free. The Chinese team eventually went on to win the gold. To add insult to injury, two of South Korea’s men’s team’s skaters were disqualified from the 1000m short track semifinal.

In light of such disappointing news, Younghoon’s words have acted as a salve.

THE BOYZ member sent a message on the app DearU Bubble, following the disqualification of the athletes.

THE BOYZ member posted this on DearU. (image via Pann)

THE BOYZ member posted this on DearU. (image via Pann)

Voicing the thoughts of thousands of South Koreans, Younghoon said,

"I too, was angry and sad, to see the longtime efforts of the athletes crumble in just an instant. I know better than anyone, just how much they must’ve worked hard in those 4 years. It is my hope that in the future, only fair results will come out. Hwaiting to the national athletes at the Olympics."

Several fans of THE BOYZ and Younghoon praised the idol for using his influence to talk about an event as important as the Olympics. Many Korean netizens also seconded Younghoon’s statement.

Comments on Pann. (Translation via google)

Younghoon is not the only idol to come out in support of his nation’s representatives. BTS’ leader RM aka Namjoon also showed his support for the Korean short-track team. RM’s post, however, was met with several hate comments from what appeared to be Instagram handles of Chinese netizens. However, ARMY had their leaders back and soon the comment section was flooded with supportive comments.

Meanwhile, aespa member Ningning, who is Chinese, received backlash from Korean netizens after she congratulated Chinese gold medalists for their win on the platform DearU Bubble.

While some were sympathetic to Ningning's decision to show support for her homeland, several Korean netizens were outraged, especially since China's victory came at the expense of their own. The idol's support for the Chinese team despite their alleged use of unfair means did not sit well with fans.