‘I will report all your DMs’: K-pop stars fight back against Internet trolls
Days after Sulli’s death, f(x) member Victoria and singer Park Jimin went online criticising anonymous commenters and warning they’ll be reported to authorities.
K-pop singer Park Jimin has had enough with malicious online comments. (Photo: Instagram/jiminxjamie)
It seems some K-pop stars have had enough of Internet trolls. Recently, f(x) member Victoria and singer Park Jimin – not to be confused with the BTS member of the same name – recently posted messages criticising malicious commenters on social media and warning that they’ll be reported to authorities.
According to Soompi, Victoria Song left a post on Instagram after attending the funeral of her friend and fellow f(x) member Sulli.
“Sulli, the weather is nice today. Goodbye, I won’t forget you. I love you…” it said.
READ: K-pop singer Sulli who spoke out on cyberbullying found dead at home
READ: Fans, celebrities mourn death of K-pop star Sulli, who suffered from 'severe depression'
And then the China-born singer later went on Weibo, posting in Mandarin: “Since when have Weibo, WeChat and Instagram become the rulers? The rulers by which we measure ethics, people’s relationships, emotions, anything that people wish to measure.”
She added: “I’m not extraordinary. I just want to live my life more grounded in reality than the people leaving comments… Don’t speculate. If you have time to come up with a story, what do you think about spending that time doing something more meaningful? Please don’t let (commenting and social media) become your life. You can’t find your identity in a world that’s made up of falsehoods. Please don’t waste your time.”
She wrapped up with: “Please don’t tell others what they need to do with their lives. Even well-intentioned advice has its boundaries. Don’t overstep. What right do you have to tell a stranger to do this, or don’t do that, when your own life is a wreck? Everyone’s life is different and unique. Who has the right to tell someone else how to live? Focus on your own life. Live in the present. If you live with a kind heart, that is enough.”
Meanwhile, Park Jimin unleashed a strong warning against trolls on Friday via Instagram Stories. It came after the singer and former member of duo 15& received critical comments for previous posts.
“With one picture, I've received all sorts of DMs sexually harassing me saying that I got breast implant surgery, which I never got. To those who have sent me DMs containing pictures of your body asking to do it with me, those comparing parts of my body to fruit in the comments, I will report all your DMs.”
READ: K-pop singer decries cyberbullying after death of 'activist' star Sulli
The posts from the two came after K-pop star Sulli was found dead of apparent suicide last Monday (Oct 14). She was known to have suffered from depression and had spoken up about cyberbullying.
Other K-pop artistes have also spoken up about the negative effects of trolling. Kwon Ji-an, who’s better known as Solbi, recounted being subjected to insults a decade ago as part of the group Typhoon, after being wrongly identified in a sex video that went viral. She called for an end to the anonymous comment culture on the Internet – popular Korean web portals such as Naver and Daum allow users to post without leaving their real names.
READ: Netizen gets jail sentence for spreading rumour about Girl’s Generation’s Sunny
On Friday (Oct 18), a netizen was found guilty for spreading a malicious rumour about Girls’ Generation’s Sunny and actor Lee Seo-jin.
The person was sentenced by a Korean court to six months in jail for the “spread (of) false information about celebrities’ personal lives on a website with over one million users. In light of the danger, we saw the necessity for severe punishment.”
