Wait, NCT’s Taeil did what? Taeil of NCT departed from NCT in August after he was accused of a sexual offense, which broke the hearts of thousands of loyal fans and shocked the media. After all, Taeil was one of the most beloved K-pop idols worldwide. To clearly understand the severity of the situation, you need to know the basics about what K-pop even is.
K-pop stands for Korean pop or pop music and originated in South Korea in the 80s. The Los Angeles School of Film defines K-pop as “the internationally popular, aesthetic-driven, style-bending, trendsetting, music genre of the 21st century” K-pop is separated into “generations” with each generation having its standout girl and boy groups. For instance, the first generation (the 1990s-early 2000s) had the Sechs Kies, H.O.T, and S.E.S. while the second generation (mid-2000s-early 2010s) had groups like BigBang, Girls Generation, Shinee and 2NE1, which were the first groups to gain success in the Western world and open up a new market for the K-pop industry. But the third generation (mid-to-late 2010s) is by far the most successful generation in K-pop and produced the biggest act to come out of K-pop, BTS, and other highly successful groups like BlackPink, EXO and NCT. Then, there’s NCT, the group at the heart of the latest K-pop controversy.
NCT is a male K-pop group that debuted during summer 2016, originally having seven members: Taeyong, Jaehyun, Mark, Haechan, Yuta, WinWin and Taeil. As the years progressed, more members were added such as Johnny, Jungwoo and Doyoung. NCT is technically called NCT 127 because it’s an NCT subunit, which is a smaller subgroup of idols from the same group who create music and content, but they have since become commonly known as simply NCT due to their global crossover popularity. Moon Tae-il, known to fans as just Taeil, began his career as an idol when he was scouted by SM Entertainment in 2013. Taeil debuted three years later as a member of the first NCT rotational subgroup known as NCT U. A few months later, he debuted as an official member of NCT 127.
On August 28,SM Entertainment shockingly announced Taeil’s departure from the group after nine years because he was accused of a sexual crime. SM evaluated the severity of the accusations and decided that Taeil should no longer be a part of NCT. SM also stated that Taeil is fully cooperating with the police’s investigation and that they’ll keep fans updated. As of right now, we don’t know much about the alleged crime or accuser—only that a woman filed a criminal complaint against Taeil in June, though it’s not clear when Taeil became aware of the allegations. SM Entertainment claims that the company found out in mid-August. Because details are unclear, it’s also uncertain whether he’ll face legal repercussions. As of now, it looks like there may be a possibility that he will because his case has since been referred to prosecution.
As Taeil is one of the most loved K-pop idols, fans at Columbia Heights High School (CHHS) are open about their feelings and opinions on this scandal.
“Personally, I’m a little disappointed but I’m not surprised at the allegations because this isn’t the first time a male idol has been accused of doing something like sexual assault,” Menna Elbadawi (12) said. “I think we fans shouldn’t support him at all until everything is over, and I hope that if he’s actually guilty he’ll face consequences and not just get a slap on the wrist.”
The news of Taeil’s departure and SM’s statement spread like wildfire, and many passionate fans flocked to social media to share their thoughts and feelings about Taeil’s accusations. Many fans, or “Nctzens” as they like to call themselves, were extremely heartbroken that someone they could love and admire would turn out to be accused of doing something so horrible. Other fans rallied around Taeil and went out of their way to attack others who had different opinions than them or chose to stop supporting Taeil.
The reason for the difference in fan reactions is that a huge part of K-pop culture (and pop culture in general) is the tendency for fans to form parasocial relationships with idols, developing a one-sided romantic and/or emotional attachment to their favorite idol without even truly knowing them. Fans like these are the ones who will go above and beyond to defend their favorite idol no matter what they do. On the flip side, many fans threw away all of their merchandise, pictures and anything else related to Taeil and are happy with the fact that his victim may get justice and will continue to support the rest of NCT as a unit. So what’s next for NCT?
“In all honesty, I think NCT is going to go the BTS route and go on some form of hiatus while most of the members are doing their [mandatory] military [service],” Asmaa Yusuf (12) said. “But I don’t think Taeil will ever be a member of NCT again because he’s already done so much damage to NCT’s brand and reputation.”
Currently, it isn’t certain about what NCT’s next steps are as a group after Taeil’s departure, the accusations against Taeil are shocking and upsetting but a reminder to the fans of both NCT and Taeil that at the end of the day, you do not know Taeil nor do you know his victim so bashing or defending either party is worrisome without the full story. As of right now, this is all of the information we know about Taeil’s ongoing case, so tread lightly online and in conversations with other K-pop fans.
