“30 years how many victims?”— SM Entertainment hit with backlash over 30th Anniversary celebrations amidst ongoing controversies

SM Entertainment faced backlash from fans after releasing a brand film for its 30th anniversary. On October 22, 2024, SM Town Global shared a YouTube video titled THE CULTURE - SM ENTERTAINMENT 30th ANNIVERSARY, highlighting its legacy of producing iconic groups like H.O.T., S.E.S., Girls’ Generation, and others. While the video showcased the contributions of various artists to K-pop culture, many netizens expressed disappointment, accusing the company of neglecting its artists and failing to protect their rights.

On October 13, the company was under scrutiny by international fans after rookie idol Seunghan departed from the boy group RIIZE after receiving hate from anti-fans. He reportedly received death wreaths which were displayed outside SM Entertainment headquarters in Seoul by fans who wanted him to exit the group.

Fans blamed SM Entertainment for not protecting Seunghan while he was a part of the group. They took to social media to voice their thoughts and opinions regarding the latest video.

“At least one member from each group were ruined by your unprofessionalism action! idk if this is actually worth to be celebrated??? 30 years how many victims?”- a fan said

“Happy 30th anniversary of being a shitty company. Just remember @SMTOWNGLOBAL that karma doesn't knock.”- another fan added.

“Every sm fandom demanding smth in the qrts im crying whole house mad.”- a user commented.

Fans continued to criticize SM Entertainment for allegedly mistreating their artists while celebrating their 30th anniversary.

“I’m sorry but what culture should lasts forever? Your culture of making empty promises to protect your artists but in actual fact no action being done? Your culture of ignoring the voices of majority of the fans and instead cater to the toxic and delusional fans? Ohh.”- a fan wrote.

“The audacity to include Shinhwa after robbing them of their rights and being in a legal battle with them for more than 10 years like this company is DENSE.”- another fan wrote.

“SM entertainment has been around for 30 years and blacklisted Kim Jaejoong from all broadcasting opportunities for 15 of those years. A petty, worthless company who spends half of their existence committing foul behavior and looking down their noses at humane treatment.”- a fan said.

Netizens shared similar thoughts about the South Korean entertainment company allegedly neglecting its artists.

“Yeah we're not gonna celebrate you as a company you've proven time and time again how terrible of a company you are look at recently events we only feel sorry that the groups under you suffer.”- a user said.

“They're actually the final bosses of emotional manipulation because everyone is whacking for the different reasons. after 3 decades you still can't figure out how to nurture and protect your artists. that's just embarrassing.”- a user stated.

“No one does emotional manipulation like sm entertainment, that's crazy.”- a user wrote.

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SM Entertainment discludes some groups from the recent 30th-anniversary brand film

On October 22, 2024, SM Entertainment dropped the brand film celebrating three decades of their presence in the entertainment market of South Korea and globally introducing some notable K-pop groups and solo artists. However, some netizens on the platform TheQoo noticed that the video does not include some K-pop groups and artists.

The artists were Chinese singer and songwriter Zhang Liyin., boy group Black Beat, R&B duo ISAK N JIYEON, M.I.L.K. under BM Entertainment, a sister label of SM Ent, and The Grace, a counterpart of boy group TVXQ.

Some fans expressed that the agency should have included all the artists who have been a part of the agency’s legacy. However, some netizens argued that due to the aforementioned groups having allegedly small size of fandoms, it was the right decision to not include them.

Meanwhile, THE CULTURE- SM ENTERTAINMENT 30th ANNIVERSARY is available on the SMTOWN YouTube channel for streaming.