“Cant stand seeing an adult at a bar”: RIIZE’s Sohee already gets embroiled in a hunting bar controversy, international fans rise in defense

Sohee, the 19-year-old member of the upcoming idol group RIIZE, got embroiled in a controversy on August 1, 2023. The scandal was brought to light shortly after SM Entertainment revealed that he was one of the seven members of the new boy group. Pre-debut pictures of Sohee popped up on several South Korean online forums, which led to fans discussing his whereabouts and life before becoming an idol.

A bunch of pictures were posted on popular South Korean forums, theqoo and Instiz, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. One particular pre-debut picture raised eyebrows as netizens alleged that it included Sohee with a friend at a Hunting Pocha, otherwise known as Hunting Bar or Solo Pocha.

The alleged photo of Sohee led to South Korean netizens being disappointed with his addition to the band RIIZE. However, international netizens rose to defend the to-be-idol by mentioning that it sounded like any other ordinary teenage experience.

A Hunting Bar is a place where people can go on blind dates and reportedly, indulge in hookups. In Korea, the term “hunting” has a special connotation which specifically means "picking up women in random places."

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Alleged photo of RIIZE’s Sohee at a hunting bar goes viral, singer suffers backlash even before official debut

Alleged photo of RIIZE's Sohee at a Hunting Bar (Image via theqoo)

RIIZE, the first boy group to debut under SM Entertainment after seven years, has already landed in controversy before its official debut. The septet made waves ever since four of its members were confirmed and the official member unveil on August 1, 2023, led to celebration in the K-pop fandom.

However, one of its members, 19-year-old Sohee, found himself embroiled in a controversy. An anonymous South Korean netizen posted pre-debut pictures of the idol on theqoo. One picture, in particular, led many to believe that it featured Sohee with his friend at an alleged hunting bar called Glam.

In a now-deleted tweet, a netizen shared a photo of the same alleged place on X (formerly Twitter) and criticized the RIIZE member by saying that he did not have a “conscience.”

“If it is this bad, not only does he not have a conscience, he doesn’t have a brain. If your past is dirty, you should have excluded yourself from debuting,” the tweet read (Translation via Koreaboo)

Additionally, the pre-debut pictures included a screenshot of Sohee’s alleged Instagram account, which had a picture of him with the rest of his friend group. The caption also included an explicit phrase saying, “At our f*cking starting place.”

Screenshot of Sohee's alleged Instagram account (Image via theqoo)

While Korean fans had a mixed reaction, both criticizing Sohee and the anonymous poster for stirring up controversy, international fans mostly defended the singer. They took to theqoo and Instiz to express their feelings.

Korean netizens' comments on Sohee's alleged pre-debut photos on theqoo (Image via pannchoa)

Korean netizens' comments on Sohee's alleged pre-debut photos on Instiz (Image via pannchoa)

As mentioned earlier, international fans vehemently defended the allegation. They mentioned things such as Korean netizens not believing in an idol having a fun life or "act crazy" when an "adult does an adult thing."

Some attributed this reasoning and behavior to the K-pop industry constantly churning out minor idols. Others claimed that people had seemingly become so used to minors debuting that they had difficulties understanding that an adult could go to a bar and have fun.

They quote-retweeted user @pannchoa's tweet and expressed their opinions. Pannchoa is an account that translates South Korean online forums' posts and replies in English.

It is worth noting that RIIZE consists of seven members - Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Seunghan, Wonbin, Sohee, and Anton. The group was revealed on August 1, 2023, and is geared up for its debut in September.

SM Entertainment described their music genre as “emotional pop,” which ultimately led to increased interest in the kind of music that the group will put forth. The exact debut date of RIIZE is yet to be revealed.