On May 22nd, ENHYPEN released their mini 4th album 'DARK BLOOD'. To celebrate the album's release, the company organised an on-site fan signing event. However, there has been a wave of complaints and dissatisfaction following the signing event.
The Korean forum "the qoo" captured several tweets regarding the issue. One user expressed their dissatisfaction, saying, "At the on-site fan signing event, the signed albums we received were all prepared by the record company. We couldn't choose the version we wanted to be signed, not even the Weverse version we drew through a lottery. They should have informed us in advance or offered the option to pay extra for the regular version. Additionally, having all seven members sign on paper smaller than the size of our palms seems unreasonable. It's disappointing that they showed no flexibility or consideration."
There were also tweets from users who mentioned that before the official signing started, they were suddenly told they couldn't bring any notes. As a result, their minds went blank, and they forgot everything they wanted to say. They further expressed, "Why can't we bring notes? Are they expecting us to memorise what we want to say to the seven members beforehand? Moreover, after just a minute, the album would be taken away and passed on to the next person."
There were even lengthy posts from overseas fans expressing their frustrations. One fan wrote, "I went to the fan signing event and found out that bringing notes was prohibited. Because I'm not proficient in Korean, I couldn't even say a single word to the members. I specifically asked before going in, 'Since I can't speak any Korean, can I bring notes?' But I was turned away. After the signing event, all I had left was the memory of greeting the members. I couldn't ask about their emotions, feelings, or anything they experienced. I spent 7 million won for the fan signing event and Weverse concert, but after it ended, I didn't capture anything. I just cried continuously. I don't want to come to Korea anymore. It feels like my feelings have become insignificant, and my love has been trampled upon."
Another user added, "At yesterday's fan signing event, there were 30 foreigners and 20 Koreans, and unbelievably, even foreigners were prohibited from bringing notes... Most of them probably don't speak Korean well, so what can they accomplish in that short one minute? They really know how to handle things, don't they?"
Many netizens also voiced their support for the fans, saying, "Why aren't they allowed to bring notes?" "This is really unfair," "What? They were only given the Weverse version to sign...? I was shocked when I read the first post!" "Why is this company behaving like this?" "So many negative things have been happening with this group recently, starting from the incident with the female dancer."
"It's really crossing the line, even with foreign fans... I feel sorry for them as well." "They should appreciate their fans while they have them." "This company is simply terrible." "Do other HYBE subsidiary groups face the same treatment?" "The rules for the fan signing event: no physical contact with the members, no questions on sticky notes, no requests for Photoshop, no requests for drawings, no index pages, no cheat sheets allowed, and not even allowed to request signatures on the desired album version."
