Traveler Lodges Complaint About Byun Woo Seok’s Excessive Security Measures at Airport
With K-actor Byun Woo Seok‘s exponential popularity rise this spring he’s been traveling nonstop this summer for fan meetings, magazine shoots, endorsement deals, and attending fashion shows. That means he’s in and out of airports a lot and this weekend a traveler went public that his private security detail at the airport was overly protective and made other travelers uncomfortable and infringed on their rights. Apparently a super bright flashlight was shined on people’s faces if one looked at Byun Woo Seok and the private security also demanded to see other traveler’s boarding passes to make sure they were allowed on this flight. The private security company has since apologized and says the actions of the security were not at the request of Byun Woo Seok’s agency.
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Ah how quickly they turn arrogant, thinking they are gods.
Yes, even we sasaengs have rights 🥹
Those are not saesangs though. They are normal public who are going their own way but being inconvenienced unnecessarily.
They’re just people going to board the plane, bot everyone is sasaeng
They’re just people go to board the plane, not everyone in the airport is his sasaeng
Wow the flashlight is so bright… that does seem to be rather extra and obnoxious. lol if I were there I’d probably would not know it’s him and be like what the heck is wrong with them. Reminds me of when I was in an airport and two cops were escorting a prisoner while the prisoner had a hoodie to hide handcuffs and well yah people notice and get all suspicious cause well it’s in your face obvious. So people look a little extra and get drawn in why because of the obviousness. My point they might have overdid it.
I guess that is the new method of dealing with ‘fans’?
Not fans. Sasaengs
Are there so many of those around?
@HL
Idk, hard to say, I have never heard news like this coming from famous idol group like bts or exo. I mean they had more people to protect, but it never became an issue right? I think this is bws agency wanting to emphasize on his star status but somehow backfires on themselves
@Yuhyi, that is a thought… I am not his fan but I enjoyed Lovely Runner drama. I do like female lead more…🥰
@Yuhyi
Exo has a lot of problems with sasaengs. One time sasaengs even tried to kidnap them, and they almost succeeded, just google it.
And I’m sure BTS has issue like this as well, sasaengs are very crazy and they attacking most of popular celebrities in Korea.
I’d take this kind of “fan” report about mishandling security issues at the airport a grain of salt. I googled it. It’s all still clips (pics) showing bright flashlight in front of the camera taking the pic of BWS. Photos can be photoshopped. LOL. Do ppl pretend not knowing that? If someone can show the actual videos in motion taken on-site in real time like Xiao Zhan’s airport cases, then the allegation of mishandling on BWS’ side would be more convincing. It’s laughable netizens could be so worked up by media play of some photos that you can’t even eye verify if those pics are authentic or fake. LOL. Ppl have to calm down.
@HL, out of curiosity, I did watch some video clips of him at certain airports with huge crowds screaming, very similar to the chaos when Xiao Zhan visited Singapore last year for a Ralph Lauren event. An Youtube clip of LR theme song sung by BWS also accumulated over 29 million in viewership as of today. It’s not a Kpop music vid. That’s quite impressive for a K drama and just shows how popular the drama is.
Some ppl dismissed him and said he was not on par with Kpop idols or other big names. Well, as far as I’ve seen from those airport and public-event clips, he is very popular, at least in some Asian countries and at least currently. He isn’t as well known as BTS or Black Pink globally. But the buzz he has created over public venues seems to be on par with Xiao Zhan in many regions he visited.
There is no point for his agency to hire extra security around him cos that’s all $$$$$$$$$$$$$ going out without return. LMAO. I hired private security before and know how much you would need to take out from your bank to pay for the services.
I’m not his fan at all, just fairly speaking from what I’ve observed.
@Somebody, I saw 2 clips out tha pop up on my feed… He was popular..but it is so hard to tell as the it is concentrated in the airport.
I have to say, as a parent, you know having young kids running around, we learn to shut off some sounds…those sound become white background sound. It is a method mothers use to just zone off a bit and rest out mind.
I suspect idols do that too when they have to deal with so many noisy fans. Thus at some moments they too zone off and rest their mind. I dont know if Byun Woo Seok realised what the security teams where doing, even if they were next to him. But iff he did zone out in that moment, he would not be aware what the security team member did next to him.
Not finding a excuse but just my speculation.
I suspect security team are also often use as human barriers to stop fans rushing to idols.
This is not about the fans going to see BWS as truly no one cares about them. I have no notion of why anyone would think it is unless you didn’t bother reading.
This is about regular travellers being inconvenienced inside and outside of the airport and at the lounges because BWS’s security team thinks he is more popular than BTS and needs to shut down public pathways to let their star by.
According to an article on theqoo, the security agency also blocked elevator access to the second floor. They were checking everyones tickets before letting them in. This is invasion of privacy. A lot of people can access lounges without business/first tickets. What Koreans hate most is bullying and preferential treatment.
If you do not want to be photographed – give up airport sponsorships, stop calling reporters and go privately. Inconveniencing regular people should be criticized.
If the agency had any sense they would have apologized yesterday.
“If you do not want to be photographed” – Not you making excuses for saesangs and saying celebrities have no right to privacy. Celebrities pose for pictures in the public areas of the airport which he did. Just because they are sponsored doesn’t mean strangers should be able to snap pictures of them in private areas like the lounge or on the plane without their consent. Celebrities are still people.
I can’t reply to the person below so posting here.
This is not a sasaeng situation. Regular people were flashed in a business lounge. There is a video of a child being flashed right next to BWS while he looks on. They also closed one of the airport main entrances for more than 10 mins. Not even Son Heung-min or BTS who are actually famous do this. I read that a case has been filed with National Human Rights Commission.
Is celebrity’s privacy more important than regular citizens? What’s more special about them?
@Han
Word. There is always an option to travel privately. The media only knows about an actors’ travel schedule because it is made official. Airport photos aren’t by chance.
This is not a pretty situation. I am someone who gets to the airport not a minute earlier than I need to be and I’d be damned if anyone pulled something crap like this while I was travelling. Knetz can be unreasonable sometimes, but the anger is very valid in this instance.
Hmmmm this brings out negative against him. Have not heard of this happening with other actors/idols, I guess they feel he’s way more above them and deserves extra protection or just wanna be extra for the sake of being extra? They should have chartered their own plane rather than pose such a hassle to ordinary citizens who want to go about their daily lives too
the backlash is quite harsh in skorea. so many topics on tq trending regarding this and 90% of the comments are basically saying who does he think he is. and lets be honest, bws’s agency has made no attempt to quell the fans turning up at the airport. they infact encourage it as there are sponsorships involved in celebrity airport fashion. If he truly wanted to avoid the crowd, he can choose to travel early mornings or late nights as many top actors/idols do. Smaller crowd, simple solution.
nothing wrong with their choice, but since his agency’s choice of route is to prioritize sponsorships over avoiding crowds, they need to learn to live with the consequences. flashing lights on unassuming lounge members inside the terminal is ridic. and no unofficial security rando of a celeb should ever have the right to ask for anyone’s boarding pass lol. get outta here with that.
His agency should just charter own plane then they can check whatever they want. Sometimes a celeb is just a celebrity. Not all people care or even know who he is. He’s not that important and in a country where humility is forced down the throat of everyone whether you like it or not for appearance sake, I’m surprised his agency would allow this. I’m even more shocked the airline crew allows the private security to do what they did. So unprofessional.
True. It was handled in a high handed, unprofessional way. I read in Dispatch article the security even control the airport gate over 10minutes, inconveniencing other airport travellers.
Who does he think he is? Honestly so sick of seeing his face on my social media pages, suggesting me to follow. I have to physically block those pages so it doesn’t keep popping up. How much money is his agency paying to hype up his so called popularity. We have enough, move along.
“Who does he think he is”? Lol. He is someone who motivates you to use his name in your nicknames, it’s sweet, isn’t it? If he was your fave, you would be happy about his so called popularity. Lol.
You are a confused fan of him. There are legit criticism of his actions here but your comment just show you were waiting for your chance to spill your venom. Lol. Are you more happy now or you are still miserable? Quite funny!
Wake up, your idol is a nobody trying to be a somebody. LOL!!! Hahahahahahahaha, it must suck to be him and his fans right now. All I can say is you reap what you sow. Who does he think he is LOL.
@BWstillsucks LOOOLL! Your comment is entertaining! For him being a nobody, you are getting worked up. I hope the pay is high for how hard you are working here. LMAO! He is not my idol yet, he is probably yours, but your are confused 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Facts over feelings. Lol! He is not a BIG star, he is not a S-tier actor. He is just a rising actor lol. That is hurting your soul? Quite funny tho.
@BWstillsucks you sound bitter, maybe in your fantasies about him being a nobody you can find peace. In real life, his rising popularity will keep you awake at night.
“We have enough, move along.” You seem to be obsessed with him, more than some of his delusional fans on this blog. Hahahaha. Delusional fans and detractors like you are two faces of the same coin. It’s amusing. It must be suck being this dedicated to someone you are sick of.
@BWSucks, @BWstillsucks.
@BWSucks Oh, poor you. You don’t even have the ability to analyze the article because your venom towards him could no longer contain itself, your feelings overtake yourself. Lmao. Clearly you were waiting for a perfect opportunity to show off your hate lol. But it’s only a discomfort to you because reality will make you see that you’re wrong, no matter how hard you work to pretend that you are not jealous, bitter and paranoid..
He is not and will not be a problem for your faves, so you need not be alarmed because he is just an actor on the rise, nothing more, nothing less.
This was nothing to do with his agency. It was a security guard from a private company and the security company have now apologised for the security guard’s overzealousness and said themselves it was not a request by his agency. BWS has flown in and out of the country multiple times in the last month and without anything like this happening. It was just unfortunate that this time the security got carried away.
On the other hand, I can somewhat understand why the security can be so tough because the sasaengs are crazy stalkers and follow him around from country to country. Some tried to get pictures of his passport, some even snuck onto his hotel floor a few weeks ago and the police had to be called.
I don’t get the logic to demand any apologies from BWS and his agency, who were just a client of the security company. As I said with my personal experience hiring a private security company, it’s their jobs and professional judgement to use whatever lawful methods to meet client’s needs. As a client, I didn’t engage myself in the detailed process of their decision making as to how to address my concerns under my requests. The swift shift of blames from the bodyguard to BWS and his agency is beyond reasoning and may indicate some malicious motives behind those who are hyped to do a witch hunt. I’m sympathetic with BWS and his agency this time although not his fan.
Diva behavior already? It has only been months since lovely runner aired.
Not necessarily BWS’s bad decision making. Could be his agency’s or security team’s. Who knows, I would love to see how the process works when it comes to these fan meets.
He is there and he allows/allowed it to happen. For people saying he has no hand on it, you all are not thinking right because he can always tell them not to do so especially the flash light
How is he it diva behaviour for something a private security guard did? He didn’t tell them to do that. Nor did his agency. Very unfair that he is being blamed because of an OTT guard.
I am biased as I am a fan of BWS but he is very far from a diva. He is very humble and kind and actually always goes above and beyond to accommodate his fans to the point his team and managers have had to reign him in for his own safety.
@Sunny
It absolutely is diva behaviour because he was right there, knew what the security company was doing and thought nothing of it.
When they flashed that kid, he was there. And? Nothing.
Please let’s not play games.
@Smh: Who said he thought nothing of it? Were you in his head? Artists follow the security protocol given by their guards and his team DID ask the security guard to stop using the flashlight.
Sunny thank you so much for this very reasonable, very correct analogy. The write up even said the private security hired has apologized and made it clear that the way they chose to ‘protect’ bws wasn’t the picking of his agency. They were basically hired to secure the young man and they went about it the wrong way. How this is an indication of arrogance on bws is beyond me! His agency have even issued an apology. I just have to say I love you sunny, I am officially your fan!!🤗🤗
Diva behaviour from his agency and security apparently. The agency could have solved this quickly by just apologizing and not letting the security company blab. Instead they chose the hard way 🤦♀️
What security team did was really unprofessional and they could’ve used a better method to handle the intruding fans. I actually thought after the 2nd or 3rd Icheron departure to was it Manila? or Thailand? where K-fans were tripping over one another, running amok just to keep pace with him, his agency & security would have worked on a better solution, like using VIP route. Guess they didn’t think it was that big of a deal. But it is a big deal to the rest of the travelers, who had to put up with the chaos.
@Peppa: The way he is mobbed every time he goes to the airport is scary. I think that’s why they put in cordons on Friday so he and his team could walk through safely but still greet the fans.
I know in Indonesia the fanmeeting organisers made him use a private VIP route at the airport but then the Indonesian fans were upset because they didn’t get a chance to see him at the airport like the other countries. sigh.
Oh puhleeeeeaase. You think BWS’s ‘mob’ of fans is different from BTS? KSH? KJW? Kim Yuna? Song Heung Min? None of these bigger names ever had the balls or the interest to close down terminal entry doors for 10 min so their Diva could get through. Not even at their peaks when some were winning gold medals at the Olympics being called national heroes.
And Indonesian fans were upset? Boohoo, for those sasaengs fans, let’s just upset the regular travellers instead, huh?
@Dries: It isn’t a competition about what other people did or didn’t do. The security must have made that request for safety reasons and the airport agreed or they wouldn’t have allowed it. It certainly looked a lot more orderly and safe. I know last few times he was at was at ICN some fans fell, fans were blocking the escalators and other fans (saesangs probably) tried to get through gates and the emergency doors all of which also inconveniences other passengers so they likely were trying to avoid incidents like that.
It’s not that they didn’t think it was a big deal. It is purely sponsorship. He and his agency are taking on designer sponsorships so he needs to be photographed publicly wearing those products. If they didn’t go through all these extremes, the chaos to the public is minimal. The ridiculousness of the situation is that BWS and his agency wants to have the cake and eat it too. Sponsorship cash? Check. VIP treatment? Check. The greed is real.
And now his agency is trying to wash their hands off this issue as if they had zero say. His fans might but that but the general public isn’t that naive, come on. This security company has been in the business for years and never acted this way tor anyone else other than BWS… and he’s very very very far from being the most famous actor or idol Korea has seen.
@Dries: I don’t understand your point. How is his agency greedy when he WAS photographed publicly like all celebrities in the public airport area in the sponsored clothing. There are literally hundreds of pictures of him posing for pictures when he arrives and walking through the airport and he even stopped and greeted the waiting fans. Nobody was prevented from taking pictures in public. He was also photographed in the outfit in public when he reached Singapore.
The photographers don’t take pictures when they check-in and go to the lounge area as that is considered a private area so that has nothing to do with sponsorship deals.
It doesn’t matter if the security company has been around for years, BWS has been travelling in and out of the country for over a month and nothing like this happened. That security guy decided to do too much that day for his own reasons. Maybe he’s new. Maybe he was feeling over-enthusiastic. Maybe he needs better training. Who knows? The security company themselves have apologised for the guard’s actions and said it was not requested by the actor’s agency so why are you trying to blame his agency for something that they had no control over and no involvement with.
@Sunny
Do you know the whole of the controversy? Because I am not sure you understand the whole of it. BWS’s security CLOSED DOWN the terminal doors so he can go inside the airport without fuss. In other words, his security team stopped regular passengers from going inside the airport for his convenience. How this translates into greed is simple – if they want to get inside the airport without the fanand media circus, they can pick an early flight. They can go via VIP route. They can choose not to let the media know the travel time altogether. They CHOSE sponsorships instead which means BWS needs to be photographed by the media. Like you are saying, he stopped, greeted and walked. That was his job as a sponsor.
There was a way to avoid all this and they did not take it. Is that something they should be blamed for? Nope, not in the least. Many celebrities take on sponsorship alllll the time, every time. What they should and are being blamed for is taking that sponsorship deal, posing for photos, then when his responsibility is done, creating a private VIP entrance in the public space. Meanwhile, regular citizens are blocked from entering the airport until BWS and his team is through. THAT is his agency’s greed.
A hourly security worker decided by himself to check boarding passes, close down terminal doors on the fly that day? Sorry but I am not that naive.
So now you are saying the security company are lying? A reputable security company that has been in business for years is not going to risk its reputation to take the responsibility for this especially for someone you said is not the most famous actor in Korea. And if you are trying to blame his agency then why has he travelled in and out of the country multiple times over the past six weeks without anything like this happening.
I do think his agency should issue a statement to clarify and apologise for any inconvenience caused by the security company’s actions.
Ah, the clothing sponsorship. I get it now. I would place the blame on his agency. Security could have been frazzled or tired of these intrusive fans as the crowd get bigger and more out of control at each departure. But still they are employed and take orders by his agency, aren’t they? I blame his agency. They are trying to milk all that they can out of BWS, their current cash cow.
Some people are beyond stupid.
The hate for BWS truely makes people fry their useless brains.
Too many people are guilty of this whole mess and BWS is not one of them.
BWS is clearly not the person who owns, manages and manipulate the security company of another country neither he can make decisions alone when it comes to his own personal security in another country.
A security company is made of at least 100 employees and there are directors and managers of all levels besides this company is located in another country populated by people from this country.
One more very important fact to add in my rant.
People ignore the existance of sasaengs, radical fans and haters who are willing to do anything for their idol including causing harm and injuriy to whoever bothers them.
Does any one here have the courage to name the security company and the employees involved in this whole mess?
The slew of who does he thinks he is comments on theqoo I’ve seen
Saw it too. There was over 10+ posts under hot posts alone, some with 800+ comments and they are all a rendition of “who does he think he is” or “he thinks he is some royalty”. His team probably did not expect this to come out in public and who knows how long they’ve been pulling this stunt. I despise behaviour like this from celebrities. Such a turnoff.
Lol it’s true tho. Cos who does he think he is really? We’ve had so many huge stars go through airports at incheon wherever and they never behave like this. He and his manager (white t shirt guy) were there and didn’t do anything. Him and his agency hasn’t even apologised for this kinda behaviour, leaving it to the security agency – hired by them by the way and would have had the security steps run through by his agency – to apologise. Like what. He’s not even remotely close to an A lister to be acting like this. His entire image is so fake and just playing off the sunjae character.
@Anne
They don’t need to apologise. In the situations like this the moment you apologize you’ll admit people’s opinion as you’re the one who guilty. Most of your words sound like you don’t like him, I don’t care, I just want to clarify one thing: the better option in issues like this, if this not his or his agency fault, is to not apologise
I really love BWS and have said so openly in many of my comments on this site. But he, his agency and/or security are abusing their power in the name of safety and thats disgusting.
@angrybirds: Are you serious? His every move has been documented when he was travelling all over the continent and Europe these last couple of months. The man can’t even go out to dinner or shop in peace. Not once has anything like this happened before but because of one isolated incident which the security company-and this is a private security company by the way so his agency are not responsible for them-has admitted their fault for you are now accusing him and Varo of abusing their power and claiming that they have been pulling this “stunt” all along with absolutely no evidence to back this up.
Meanwhile, there are multiple documented moments of BWS being incredibly kind and accommodating to fans, the public and his staff but a security guard’s bad behaviour leads you to immediately think the worst of him. You sound more like an anti pretending to be a fan than a fan tbh.
pls don’t waste your energy. they always claim to love bws but only ever try to bring him down. what an odd thing to do.
@mimi: Agree. That poster definitely sounds like a hater trying to pretend to be a fan.
You sound like an obsessive fangirl on the other hand, tbh.
I like BWS but I am not obsessed and I am capable and willing to speak my mind even if it’s against someone I like. That’s called being rational. But let’s roll with your narrative of me that I am an anti pretending to be a fan. It obviously helps with coping.
And as an “anti”, let me emphasize – I despise celebrities /agencies /security companies who abuse their power. Developing story this is, and I don’t know yet who should be taking blame. That’s precisely why i used the words “and/or” in my initial comment. I will decide for myself based on what info comes out next. But in your mind, I blame BWS already as an “anti” so can’t (read:unwilling to) help you change that. You do you lol.
Sunny, sometimes an actor’s image is made up. It’s not all 100% true you know. Byun Woo Suk is someone I did not know until 3 months ago and most of what I know is through You Quiz interview and his interactions with fans. His image very humble, accommodating and sweet but it is also Sungjae’s image. So how much can we trust that image? What happened at the airport is something he is aware of and did not think much of. He should have released an apology to those who were inconvenienced by his team members. That does not sit well with me and makes him now look callous and indifferent.
P.s. believe it or not, I am not an anti.
@sunny believe it or not, many people are capable of liking someone while still being able to objectively form their own opinions that’s not always in favor of the person they like. many people also can criticize someone without being a ✨hater✨
it’s called being a sane, logical, rational person who has an ability to like someone without being a deranged, obsessed fangirl who will kiss the ground a celebrity walks on. you should try it sometime 😉
but then again, you seem like the type who’s gullible enough to believe that celebrities really are who they show to the public, so i’m just talking to a wall at this point lol
@Sunny, LOL. It seems these ppl are not only gaslighting BWS but also gaslighting you, very typical of Kdrama fans I’ve been seeing on this site recently. I honestly don’t see you’re being excessive as those who responded to you going extra miles to lecture you how they are saner than you. LOL. There isn’t detailed information from what I read so far what those travelers whined about came directly from the plan or the intention of BWS. Yes, the bodyguard’s reaction might went overboard and did annoy those travelers. But I still haven’t seen any indication of his unique (and perhaps inappropriate) security measure directly related to BWS or even his agency.
I have hired a security company before for personal business. I only told them what I needed and my concerns. It’s their business and responsibility to make sure I feel safe under their services. I had no idea what they were gonna do if they thought their clients like me were threatened or just disturbed.
LOL. If I had known what those security professionals were gonna do, why the heck should I have spent tons of money to hire them? Same goes to other clients using any security services, BWS and his agency included. People are just making fuss out of wrong ppl. LOL.
@Somebody, @Sunny, Sunny have been very busy recently in a couple of post… 😂 Stay strong!
@Somebody: Exactly. The scary mob mentality is real. The security team were hired by a client to provide security. It’s their responsibility to decide security arrangements not his agency’s. The security team made some mistakes but trying to pin the blame on the agency and BWS when there is no indication they had anything to do with the making of those decisions is nonsense.
Another passenger who was also in the lounge at the time also defended BWS and his team but some people here don’t want to hear that.
@HL: Thanks for the support!
@HL, it’s used to be me being attacked with pile-on for my personal opinions. But now Sunny seems to be a new prey under rabid mob culture. Firstly, I’m empathetic with her and feeling as if I had a new business partner just for that. LMAO. Secondly, she just made her points without offending anyone. That’s her opinion. Why the heck did that trigger so many emos to exercise excessive mental gym, on the actor, on his agent, on Sunny, and on others opposing their opinions? LOL. The pile-on verbal attacks look like a circus show. Very entertaining!
@Somebody, 🤣🤣🤣 new business partner…Good one.
We know the reasons to why this blog has such high traffic…it has a wide range of members….
@sunny The fangirl obsession is real. All celebrity images are curated. You have to be really naive or blind to believe otherwise when there is so much digital footprint these days.
And go to Douban drama forum if you want to experience real BWS antis. Lol. You can have real fun there if you are raging this hard at super reasonable comments here.
@angrybird pls dont waste your energy. youre an outlier as most bws fans cannot fathom him getting legitimate criticism so everyone who speaks against him or his team is automatically tagged an anti. what an odd thing to do.
him getting legitimate criticism for something he did is valid, saying he is abusing his power over a messy logistical situation that he had no hand in is reaching at best. but i get it, it’s easy and satisfying for you to dismiss fans trying to be rational and label them as obsessive instead of learning details of the actual event and understanding what happened.
people were really just waiting for him to trip up in some way, so this has brought all the haters out. what the security guard did was excessive and unacceptable, and the comparisons to BTS and idols never resorting to such tactics is valid. they deal with much wilder crowds i’d imagine.
but this is clearly not something bws or his company put the security guard up to. varo just released a statement saying as much. they’re not dumb enough to pull a PR suicide move like this. it was probably the guard himself being fed up with the mob and resorting to extreme overprotectiveness to the degree of infringing on the rights of regular passengers. just an overall dumbass move.
hope this blows over, and we can move on now that varo has released an apology.
There seemed to be some jealous ppl here commenting. LOL
Wow I’ve always thought you’re one of the more mature and rational commenters here, but apparently not. So you’re saying the comments here, which are VALID CRITICISMS because it’s a fact that so many travelers were inconvenienced by this incident, are just them being “jealous”?
You’re no different from the rabid fangirls you’re always criticizing. Those fangirls also always use the “you’re just jealous!” or “you’re just a hater!” cards to shut down valid criticisms towards their faves… just like what you did now lol
LOL. You wrote a paragraph to respond to my one-line comment. It’s overkill. Don’t overinterpret it. You can disapprove of what had happened at the airport. But some ppl went overboard to mock BWS with sarcasm. It’s unnecessary. That’s my point. BTW, I’m not a fan of BWS, not at all. LOL. I just don’t think those who gaslighting him as a nugu kinda comical and obviously sounded bitter with jealousy overload cos he’s really popular nowadays. LOL.
Bahahahaha “mature and rational.” Thanks for the laugh.
@Coralie, thanks for joining the circus like a clown. You just can’t help it. LMAO.
The level of backlash he’s getting in sk is shockingly bad. I feel bit sorry for Byun Woo Suk but he should have released an apology via sns. His team deserves to be investigated which is happening now as per latest reports.
Same – I feel a bit sorry too. It’s scary how public opinion turns. They should have cleanly apologized yesterday by posting a handwritten letter on insta and this could have been resolved. It’s now on tv news and has exploded. Backlash is severe. The agency really seems amateur.
it seems to be dying down now. i only see a couple of posts on theqoo this morning, as opposed to every other post being about this yesterday. from what i’ve seen the response is going from negative to people realizing the hate itself is getting excessive.
@mimi His agency’s apology released this morning was being completely thrashed on theqoo.
It will def down eventually as every controversy thankfully does. The damage is done tho, no thanks to the horrible way his agency handled everything. It would be good for him to pick a new drama asap and focus on that and hope he can rebuild some good will with the gp through his day time career.
@Pickle&Tomatoes I’m not sure if the agency thought they’d be absolved of the blame bc they didn’t personally ask for it. In an ideal world, that would be the case, but since the event does impact bws’s image, they should have said something sooner and more definitively for sure. and i hope for the same.
@mimi
This was on all terrestial and cable news today and in social sections of Chosun and JoongAng ilbo. This is not an entertainment scandal but a social one. Koreans hate bullying. So hot posts on theqoo are not a parameter of gauging the severity of the matter.
There are videos of his security flashing people in Milan and in overseas concerts (as recent as after the HK concert) with him right beside them so highly likely this was approved action.
The agency’s apology is too late and insincere and puts the blame on security agency. It just breaks the image. You go from doing over the top fan service to flashing people randomly and then shirk responsibility. You can only turn public opinion in Korea with humility.
They were also checking people’s passports at various entry points to the airport. This is illegal. I believe serious journalists and official authorities will be investigating this now. The scope is different.
ps – I am also not an anti. I liked LR but do not wear rose tinted glasses for celebrities. Public images are all curated. And BWS is 34, not a clueless 20 year old idol.
@mimi We dont know what his agency asked of the security team but it truly doesnt matter. They should have simply accepted responsibility, apologized and let this rest once and for all. Its like they chose their ego over their artist. Sigh.
We can only hope they stop fuelling the fire and allow BWS to lay low for now until his next drama resurfaces. If he can do one that is decent and has a time slot within the next year, it would be the best start.
@Han Thanks for the update. The problem is bigger than BWS, it’s just unfortunate that he got caught in the cross fire. The whole idea of celebs arrivals and departures being PR events is kinda recipe for disaster, and I really wish they’d just do away with it.
Valid criticism does not make you an anti, so I don’t think you are one. But you also can’t deny that this incident has brought out many antis who have been raring to see him fuck up in some way. You, yourself, mentioned the kind of vile hate he’s been getting. Even in this post, there are several comments that seem to be rejoicing that he’s fallen from the public’s grace. that’s not valid criticism to me, and obviously, it’s not going to sit right with fans.
BWS has been around for a decade and he does, in fact, have a very extensive digital footprint. Of that, I don’t know of a single instance where he was unkind or arrogant. Yeah, celebs curate their images, but it’s got to have some sort of basis on reality. I choose to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially in a case like this where the offending party is a different individual, unless we later learn that it was indeed him who asked the guard to do those things. He has been nothing but kind to his fans, staff, reporters, and pretty much everyone around him. I do believe he’d extend the same kindness to regular people using the airport at the same time as him. Taking that position is not seeing him through rose-tinted glasses. It’s just the expectation that he is a decent person.
It seems entire Korea is jealous. LOL
It seems you’re a deranged troll. LOL
🤝 LOL
Eh. Lee jong-suk was also heavily criticised for airport demeanour. As long as bws score good projects next, he’ll be ok.
You don’t seem to understand how youre a prime example of ‘jealousy’.
Apologies @Shin. My response was to @Somebody above you.
@Daisy You didn’t even notice that one “Somebody” is trying to impersonate another user. Lol. You brain must be small. Quite a circus!
that feels like a lifetime ago. probably was too.
I remember Lee Jong Suk’s “airport demeanour”, lol. Some fan walked 10 centimeters behind him and stretched out her hands to him to hold out a letter, and he shied away and looked at her irritably. And for that, he got a hate train and apologized several times. Some people acted like he was the one who was wrong. When a fan should have apologized for violating his personal space.
The same thing was this Wonnyong from Ive.
When reading all of this, why do I think that one more wrong move and he’s gonna be the SKorea’n version of Chen Zheyuan. omg hahaha ~ lighten up, people. don’t come at me. >o<
There’s some context missing about the situation, and I think the major problems at hand are ultimately being conflated with broader questions about the personality of the actor.
For example:
1. Can private corporations (e.g. security) influence airport regulations and restrictions? Did the security company actually check passports and block off exit/entryways? This is a serious issue because it affects not only public services, but also because of how it implies that private entities can exert power over public spaces (without transparent processes to facilitate this).
2. There is also some miscommunication between Incheon Airport and the security company. The security company says they were approved to do these actions while the airport says they did not approve of this.
3. Whether Varo knew that the security agency was going to take these actions (or, worse) if they approved these actions directly.
It’s actually really scary to see how public opinion has turned so quickly against Woo Seok. Those who have been fans of him for a long time (especially as he’s been in the public eye for nearly a decade now) know that this is likely an absolute nightmare for him. It’s corroborated by many other individuals in the entertainment industry, but Woo Seok is someone who dislikes inconveniencing others and as other articles on Naver have mentioned, there is a lot of hate being targeted at him when people should actually be asking questions instead amongst the other actors involved (security staff, airport, agency).
The actual issues at hand are serious (e.g. the idea and the concept that a private company can simply block off areas in a major international hub like an airport), but at some point a lot of the comments have become malicious for the sake of being malicious, rather than actively trying to understand how this happened in the first place. It’s laughable that right now criticisms are focusing on Woo Seok’s purported “overblown” ego. Actually, if the allegations that private actors can take such actions in airports are true, it’s more important to investigate how this happened in the first place, and the issues with current procedures that allow these kinds of situations to happen.
It’s pretty easy IMO for airports to follow whatever protocols the rich requests. Chaebols rule S. Korea. But it’s expected the rich won’t do anything that jeopardizes the lives of other people (in public at least.) So I wouldn’t be surprised if they just closed an eye on the situation. I mean, this private security team literally did what they wanted and NO ONE from the airport team even tried to fight their actions. That’s pretty loaded evidence right there.
I don’t even know who BWS is, but from what others have suggested in here, he’s more symptomatic of the situation and became a scapegoat for the bigger problem.
Your comment on Chaebols rules South Korea is so true…I believe Japan is similar. Some people cannot be offended easily.
The agency of BWS issued a statement this morning sincerely apologising for any inconvenience and for the OTT of the security guard’s behaviour and they also said BWS team did ask the guard to stop using the flashlight at the time. The security arrangements were decided by the security company so they cannot do anything about that except to apologise. That guard has also been removed from BWS security team now.
I will say Varo should have issued a statement earlier and this would never have become an issue but it will blow over now as the artist is not at fault and the netizens will find someone else to pick on.
Off of topic but RIP Shannen Doherty ! A true icon of tv shows . You’ll be missed by the ones who watched you all over the years in 3 legendary series . You had your share of haters but also fans . It’s only when one is gone that people realize the futility of so much comments for a thing as excessive security !!! Mad world .
She is my teenhood. I would not say I was her fan but I did enjoy 90210. She led a roller coaster life.. I hope she will rest in peace.
Btw, I just learn of human composting from her…I like that concept… I hate being buried in one location.
I wonder if all her old 90210 lead cast mates will com to funeral? I know she gets on with most of them…
@Hl , i wasn’t her fan but i used to watch Little house on the prairie, 90210 and Charmed, with my sister and it’s always sad to see someone dying at a young age after fighting cancer for so long . I already made it clear that i don’t want to get buried too ! She was courageous because a few months ago she made everything to not to bother her mother and her loved ones ,after her death . I respect that . Not to mention that Luke Perry also died suddenly at 52 ,a few years ago . Always a pleasure to interact with you @HL .
@cahill, Luke Perry’s death really upset me… I was totally taken aback.
French election is rather intense this year… Wow, I was reading about it regularly. UK’s election was to be expected… New Era is born… Did you manage to vote?
Happy chatting with you too!
@HL, talking about chaotic politics, you can’t unseen Taiwanese Legislation Yuan. LMAO.
Yes of course, it’s a big mess ! But in France there are a lot of political parties, but i’m a democrat socialist . But i saw that in England has a lot of problems too and that people don’t like to talk about the Brexit !But both countries have something in common : we lost the European football cup 😉🎉🎉🎉LOL . And now we have the Olympic Games in Paris and i think that’s going to be a big mess too !!!Parisians aren’t happy at all ! I don’t mind because i live in a medieval village near Bordeaux . A lot of people from England live there !
@Cahill, I hope my earlier response will be posted… Hi ✋🏼 @Cahill
For some reason I did not expect to laugh because I saw Shannon’s name because I was so immersed in all of the fighting that was happening! But yes, she was peak girlhood especially when 90210 was on followed by Charmed! Also, to icon Shelley Duvall who passed on two days before! Life really goes by and before you know it, it’s been lived.
oh no, may she rest in peace. I knew she was very ill but the end came so fast… at least she’s not in pain anymore.
Shannen was an icon for me, for simply being in Charmed lol. I was so enamored of the trio sisters and caught off guard when Shannen left. At the time, I believed the narrative that she was being difficult and hard to work with. There were a lot of condescending comments about diva actresses back then, similar to the likes of Katherine Heigl. I was also so in love with Alyssa Milano and thought she was the epitome of beauty and grace that it never crossed my mind that she could be the real reason why Shannen left. Years down the line and the truth came out, it has seriously dented my impression of Alyssa. It has damaged my idea of her and tainted the trio’s relationship in the series. I don’t think I can rewatch the drama with this type of negativity in reality.
Me too, the truth surprised me.
I used to watch Charmed because of my sister who was a fan of the chemistry of the trio . It showed us that actors can have a great chemistry in a drama and hate each other in real life . Some shippers should keep that in mind when they watch a drama . We never know what happens behind the camera . As for in Saved by the bell ( Dustin Diamond ) , Buffy ( Charisma Carpenter), Grey’s anatomy ( Patrick Dempsey) ,…and sometimes you can’t even imagine that some were rapists as Danny Masterson who had the support of Mila and Ashton and deceived them, Misha Barton who suffered a lot while filming The O.C, ….Not all shows are like FRIENDS !!!
@cahill, Acting is work… Personal life is their own.😂
@Sunny -you are a bws superfan and are obviously blinded. Take your rose tinted glasses off because wtf are you talking about?? No one is saying this is a competition. People are saying A-list stars with infinite more fans have gone through this very airport without needing the security that bws apparently needed.
All of what you mentioned about bws’s sasaengs, do you think those actions are soooo unique and never happened in the past? This was happening from H.O.T. Sechs Kies and Lee Hyori days and it wasn’t as simple as blocking elevators. That’s as milddddd as they get. Do you genuinely believe no BTS fan tried this about 20 gazillion times? Not a single one of these huge celebs and groups ever had their security impede on regular citizens in a public place. Your excuse is his security didn’t want to inconvenience passengers due to sasaeng fans? So they decided they could check boarding passes and passports of passengers past security therefore… inconveniencing the passengers? What twisted logic oppar fans have.
Ya’ll are losing the plot. You can call the problem for what it is and still be a bws fan and defend HIM. That is what will get him less hate. I don’t care for bws either way but don’t think he had any fault in this. I literally cane in ready to tell off anyone hating on him. The diva comments are unfair but his fans are more so ridiculous. Ya’ll really chose to defend his agency of all things? What the actual f?? The same agency that took a whole day to release a piss poor statement that is getting him even more hate. The same agency that did not ask him to post an apology to smooth things over even if that apology is fake.
Instead of acknowledging the issue, ya’ll are jumping in like soldiers on the attack calling everyone haters because they are not at the trenches aiming to defend oppar and his piss poor agency’s way of handling a controversy. How freakin typical. The prayer circle hoping this blows over is riding on an absolutely bs apology statement from said agency where they refused to take any responsibility and practically emphasized how they only have an ethical responsibility to apologize. Yeahhh… that prayer circle needs to be very strong because good luck hoping that smooths things out through that.
Word. Irrespective of whose fault this is, it was BWS’s face which was plastered all over the tv news yesterday. MBC news on youtube has almost 5K comments – all negative. So unlike fangirls who are busy calling everyone anti, the general public who were not even aware of who BWS was until yesterday, now associate him with airport preferential treatment and bullying. He will be cooked if serious journalists start investigating and it turns out that his agency was aware of the the security plans. His agency is his biggest anti. This is not a trivial attitude or dating issue.
@Han Your comments are extremely rational and insightful which I appreciate. Anyway, yes. His agency screwed up so hard when they were doing so well, media playing effectively, scheduling fanmeets, getting him endorsements and booking him on magazine shoots. But when it came to the real test, they dropped the ball so hard. This is the sort of scandal that sticks. And the point you make about how some got to know who BWS even is through this scandal is really bad.
@Haeyoung to be blunt, I find it so wholly bizzare to see BWS fans defend his agency like they are an extension of him. His agency is the biggest problem. Not the security company, his own agency.
i dont think the actor was at fault as he is always nice and has a good personality . he even tried to break out from tight security as he is frustrated himself. this is just negative pr from other competing agencies in order to subdue his popularity. this has happened before with popular actors in order to slash their reputations. but i hope goodness of bws prevails and justice is found. he needs to do more drama and cf to become a hallyu star in present and future.
“PR from competing agencies”
LMFAO my god. Some BWS fans really have lost their every loving minds.
i think some people have valid criticism about the situation and how it was handled afterward, but sadly some people were waiting for this moment to tear him down. now that people in the lounge came out to speak in his defense the hate is dying down a bit.
honestly, the airport videos scare me. i still remember kjw going to her fanmeeting and a fan’s camera lens was near her eye. the airport needs to do better to make traveling safe for everyone. i never understood why fans are allowed in the airport.
It seems some people waited such moment, lol. Yes, this issue was a problem and a big deal, but you trying to make it more bigger than it is, talking about arrogancy, “diva behaviour”, etc.
I’m not even a BWS fan, didn’t watch LR, and not fan of his acting in other dramas. And I don’t believe in my faves’ “good image”, as I know that I know nothing about them in real life. But I don’t think this situation is a reason to hate or despise him.
Some of sasaengs are really scary and dangerous, and his agency already officially asked them a month ago not stalking BWS. Maybe he faced with some crazy sasaengs before, his agency asked security team “Make him safe as much as possible”, and security team understood it in their own way. But it’s just my assumption, I don’t know how things came to this.
For people who questioning why BWS didn’t apologise, it’s the only right decision his agency made. The moment BWS apologies people would start pointing fingers at him and talk like he’s the one at fault. I saw it with some other celebrities.
However, security team apologised, agency apologised, it was one mistake that didn’t harm anyone physically, and they probably won’t repeat it in the future, so, I think, problem solved. People will talk and curse him sometime, but if something like this won’t repeat in the future they’ll calm down either.
I see the blood hounds are out.
Witch hunt!
If the airport wasn’t aligned, why did their staff allow this to happen? I feel like checking people’s tickets and passports crosses a line of privacy. If I was an airport staff, I would’ve called security on this private company.
I am not going to automatically blame BWS because I don’t feel like there’s enough information to make a judgment call. Who knows if he/his staff actually did try to tell the security team to stop flashing lights at people. As for what happens outside after he’s inside the lounge or in the airplane, maybe he really didn’t know what they were going around gatekeeping and looking at people’s passports. I don’t like to crucify any celebrity based on one incident. Their image might be part of their branding but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s completely fake either.
@Soph, I would be so offended if someone who has no right to check my passport. air tickets ask for it. I would tell him to pi** off. They have no right to do so.
I agree. The bigger issue is one of power and suppression by those with money. S. Korea is ruled by chaebols/media companies/the affluent and they hold massive influence over every corner of the country. BWS’ case is one where he became an easy scapegoat for the bigger struggles in place. If the airport was really following protocol, then they wouldn’t allow BWS’ private detail to act the way they did. The staff literally kept one eye open on what was happening, because they were there and permitted it. Because BWS/his agency held power/influence, so they didn’t do anything. The evidence is literally there. Instead of expecting BWS to do something about that (which to be fair if he was a good guy or at least cared about his image, he would do), the airport is way more culpable.
But given that BWS had no previous history of being a dingbat, it’s understandable to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don’t even know who he is, to be honest, but I feel bad for him to be given the L and pouring his career down the drain for something he’s not even at fault/responsible for.
There are folks celebrating his faux pas. They were waiting for a moment like this to release their complaints about him and wish him bad. It is sad to see such behavior. However, I appreciate the rational criticism in this comment section.
Wow! Look at the number of comments. BWS IS indeed popular nowadays, at least on this site. LOL. Both fans and antis and even neutral passers-by like me couldn’t help chiming in. THIS wouldn’t have happened to a nugu. LOL.
Koala’s playground has become more gossipy recently. LOL. I didn’t find much information of interesting drama recommendations from her posts. Rather, I got more recommendations from some visitors. I’m surprised she even missed the premiere of the new drama of one of my fave K actors, Shin Ha Kyun. His new drama, the Auditors, has such an interesting cast including Lee Jun-ha and Jin Goo. I’m in for this one but will wait for more eps to release. Am currently watching Lawless Lawyers starred Lee Jun Ki and Seo Yea-ji. This pair was so good in the drama and their acting is on par with each other.