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On Thursday, December 14, NCT DREAM's Jaemin, Jeno, and Jisung kickstarted a Weverse livestream after the group wrapped up the final show of their collaborative concert with iHeart Radio, for the ongoing 2023 Jingle Ball Tour.
The group performed with the radio station for three dates, on December 10, 11, and 14, in Washington D.C. A few members decided to spend some time with their fans online before they headed back to Korea.
Thus, they went on a livestream, during which Jaemin came across a comment that requested the group's merchandise to be made hypoallergic. Upon reading the same, he spoke about the metal SM Entertainment apparently uses for their merchandise.
"It’s the cheapest kind, right?"
The idol then read other comments that criticized SM Entertainment's poor merchandise before being stopped by the group's maknae, Jisung.
Fans praise NCT's Jaemin after he allegedly calls out SM Entertainment for their poor merchandise quality
From December 10 to 14, NCT's subunit, NCT DREAM, was scheduled in Washington, D.C., for their participation in iHeart Radio's 2023 Jingle Ball Tour, which gathered several other artists such as Melanie Martinez, (G)I-DLE, etc.
While fans thoroughly enjoyed the content that came their way during the same, they were all the more elated to see members Jaemin, Jeno, and Jisung kickstart a livestream after the show.
As fans tuned into the livestream, the members, especially Jaemin, heavily engaged with the comments and actively replied to them. One such comment he came across talked about how a fan wanted SM Entertainment to produce hypoallergic necklaces as merchandise since some metals can lead to allergies. The idol read out the comment and also added a few comments of his own.
"‘Please give us hypoallergenic necklaces.’ Why? Is SM Entertainment giving you allergies with the necklaces? Oh! It must be because of the metal, the cheap ones. It’s the cheapest kind, right?"
He also continued to read other comments that criticized and called out SM Entertainment for its low-quality products.
"The ones that SM Entertainment sells for ₩10,000 KRW are only ₩100 KRW. It’s ₩500 KRW? (Laughs) I’m reading too many comments."
The comments were most likely referring to the jewelry merchandise that SM Entertainment releases during the special occasions of each of their artists.
Many netizens have pointed out that the jewelry pieces are apparently made out of brass, which is considered a low-quality metal alloy made of zinc and copper, which also leans towards the cheaper side. However, its cheap quality naturally does not react well to human skin, causing rashes and other allergies.
The comments further highlighted how SM Entertainment markets on their artist's fandom and fame to sell out their cheap quality products for a higher price to make a profit. However, since it continues to bother buyers, fans feel Jaemin himself apparently joined in on allegedly criticizing the agency for its actions.
While the idol continued to jokingly read comments that called out SM Entertainment's merch quality, he couldn't bring himself to stop until Jisung interruptim him, asking him to give it a pause.
Regardless, fans were proud of the K-pop idol for boldly engaging with the comments and seemingly supporting fans, despite being housed under the very agency netizens have been criticizing.
