ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher fans came to their defense after the two K-pop groups came under fire for hosting concerts amidst the Itaewon human stampede tragedy.
ATEEZ started their world tour "THE FELLOWSHIP: BREAK THE WALL" with a magnetic performance at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, for two days from October 29 to 30. Dreamcatcher also held their "2022 DREAMCATCHER' Apocalypse: Broken Halloween" world tour from October 29 to 30, at the KBS Arena Hall.
Unfortunately, on October 29, Seoul’s Halloween festivities turned into a night of horror and tragedy when a human stampede occurred and claimed 156 lives. The Korean government announced a mourning period till November 5, and announced the cancelation of any non-urgent activities in light of this tragedy.
Unfortunately, ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher couldn’t cancel their pre-decided concerts and fans jumped to their defense, claiming their companies are mid-size agencies and their livelihood depends on it. A section of fans on the online Korean portal Insitz criticized the artists and their management companies for hosting their concerts at a time when the country is mourning such a devastating loss.
Defending their decision to go ahead with the concerts, one fan wrote,
“Their livelihood depends on this so how can they cancel the show.”
ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher fans back their favorite artists amidst backlash from a section of the media and fans
ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher’s concerts were scheduled before the Itaewon tragedy. The unfortunate crowd crush incident cast a gloomy spell on the country’s happy spirits as Korea’s Presient Yoon Suk-yeol announced a one-week mourning period and cancelation of any non-urgent activities.
BIG HIT MUSIC, SM, YG and JYP Entertainment, four of South Korea’s biggest entertainment companies, announced that they were canceling and postponing their major releases and promotional activities, including some promotional activities related to BTS Jin’s The Astronaut and EXO member Chen’s new solo album Last Scene.
However, not every artist and company could afford to do that as that would incur huge financial losses for the company and hence ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher couldn’t cancel their Korean concerts as it was a pre-scheduled event.
The K-pop industry is slowly getting back at its feet with their first Korean offline concerts post COVID-19 and millions of dollars have been invested in the production process, hence it is not feasible for mid-size and smaller entertainment companies like KQ Entertainment (ATEEZ) and Dreamcatcher Company (Dreamcatcher) to cancel everything at the last minute.
ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher’s fans defended their favorite artists, claiming that it is not possible for mid-size and small companies to cancel everything, as it would result in huge financial losses for the organizers, sponsors, and employees as well.
Fans of both groups requested that the media and other fandoms not troll the artists and exercise some sensitivity in this matter. ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher fans have decided not to post any photos or videos from the concert to respect the country’s sentiments in this hour of tragedy.
Fans apologized and paid their sincere condolences at their respective concerts as well.
It is also important to note that both groups have more international fans than Korean fans and hence had to go-ahead with the concert as issuing a last minute refund was not possible.
ATEEZ canceled press interactions prior to the concert and solely focussed on delivering a quiet performance amidst the tragic hour. Dreamcatcher also shared sincere messages of condolences and paid tribute to the deceased during this unfortunate time.
ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher’s respective agencies have not issued an official statement at the time of writing.