“Stop trying to cater to shippers for engagement” — Fans react to W KOREA's recent article allegedly stereotyping BTS’ Jungkook and Jimin 

On July 26, 2024, W KOREA published an article on BTS Jimin and Jungkook, which displeased their fandom. The article was about the duo's "bromance" shown in the teaser of their upcoming Disney+ travel show titled Are You Sure?!

Fans pointed out that the article alluded to Jungkook's purported nature by calling him a "rough male" and referring to Jimin as someone who "makes you want to protect him." Their fan base became enraged and claimed that the magazine misrepresented the two K-pop artists.

The article went viral online, leading to the publication being criticized by the BTS ARMY for its "unprofessionalism." The fanbase was unnerved and demanded that they "fire" the writer. One fan wrote on X:

"Fire this wattpad writer and stop trying to cater to shippers for engagement so bad."

According to ARMY, the article demonstrated W KOREA's bad taste and purportedly employed "gender stereotypes" for engagements.

"This is not only extremely poorly written, not based in reality, but also harmful and irresponsible. Whoever wrote this seems to have done their “research” on WP or AO3. Using tired gender stereotypes that don’t even match who they are. Take this down!" one X user wrote.

"I've never seen such an amount of unprofessionalism coming from a well-known magazine. Why portray jk as a 'rough male'? isn't this toxic? is this a script for Teen Wolf or was the article written by 13 years old wattpad writer. Disappointed," another netizen said.

"What kind of fan fiction is this? "Pheromones of a rough male"? What are y'all trying to portray him as? An alpha male?Are we writing omegaverse here RESPECT JUNGKOOK or don't write anything about him at all! He's a human being ffs! Stop trying to make him fit into ur fantasies," a netizen added.

Several fans criticized the magazine and labeled it as "embarrassing" for publishing an article that allegedly sounded similar to fan fiction.

"Since when can't Jungkook drink alcohol?? And you know Jimin is enlisted in the military, but you are still describing him as a delicate/feminine individual needing protection, putting him at risk in there. Idk how much you got paid to write this, but it seemed a bad fanfiction," one X user said.

"The author of the article re-read Fanfics. what pheromones, what chemistry, what feminine side???!!!! Delete this immediately!!" another person retorted.

"Did you copy that from a wattpad story or what? The unprofessional article is embarrassing," one X user added.

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More about BTS Jungkook and Jimin and their forthcoming travel show

Are You Sure?! is set to be released on Disney+ on August 8, 2024. According to the teaser, the 8-episode-long show encapsulates BTS Jungkook and Jimin's friendship as they explore New York, Japan's Sapporo, and South Korea's Jeju Island.

Disney+ teaser depicts the chaotic and hilarious camaraderie between the duo as they engage in several adventure sports, such as snowboarding, rock climbing, kayaking, snorkeling, and more. The BTS members can be seen cooking together, cruising on a yacht, riding a motorbike, and funnily jeopardizing their safety every step of the way.

Reportedly, the episodes were filmed ahead of the duo's military enlistment. Both BTS members were also spotted traveling to Japan together in November 2023. Later, on BTS SUGA's Suchwita episode 21, Jungkook revealed that the travel show was filmed with no proper planning.

Both of them enlisted in the military on December 12, 2023, and are expected to return in June 2025.

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In other news, Jungkook's I AM STILL documentary film is reported to be released in cinemas in 2024, however, the date is yet to be announced by BIGHIT MUSIC. Meanwhile, Jimin dropped his second solo album, MUSE, on July 19, 2024.