When idols go through big changes in their lives or come across a scandal, the common route of action is to retire from the industry and reflect on what has happened, or take a sabbatical to let the issue die down. While most do a relatively good job of staying out of the spotlight, these idols had tried to make a comeback. However, they were met with criticism and hate from Korean citizens.
1. Sunye
Sunye debuted as the leader of the JYP Entertainment girl group, Wonder Girls, back in 2007. In 2012, she left the group after announcing that she would be getting married to the Korean-Canadian James Park. She revealed that she would be leaving the entertainment industry behind and will start a new life in Canada.
With the announcement of her marriage, she stepped down as a member of Wonder Girls. Her departure was met with backlash, as she had chosen to get married and leave the group before her contract had expired. To add to that, she was the leader of the group, which left a bad taste in people's mouth. People believed she had turned her back on the group and called her selfish.
Since she announced she was moving to Canada, many had assumed she would never return to the entertainment industry and just live there as a mother and a wife. In 2018, however, it was revealed that Sunye would be signing with the Korean agency Polaris Entertainment and would be making her return in the industry. She was criticized by the public, as people were still convinced she was a selfish leader who betrayed her group.
2. Park Yoochun
Park Yoochun was previously a member of TVXQ and then JYJ. In 2019, however, he left the group after it revealed that he was involved in drug use, sexual harassment, and more scandals. Because of the severity of his controversies, many believe that he would refrain from staying in the spotlight and just live his life as a normal person.
They were wrong. In 2020, Park Yoochun announced on his official Instagram that he will be making his return as a celebrity. To start, he announced that he would be selling a new photobook called "SOMEDAY", which features 160 pages of photos and a personal written letter by Park Yoochun himself.
Fans were enraged that he thought he could return as a celebrity. Many thought that he should have reflected on his actions more. Some even wondered if he felt guilty for the things he did.
3. T.O.P
T.O.P debuted in BIG BANG, who are highly regarded as the "Kings of K-Pop." With that, it's no surprise that news of him smoking cannabis in 2017 made headlines. He had smoked marijuana with Han Seo Hee, a former K-Pop trainee at numerous agencies. The two were found to have smoked together in three separate occasions. At the time he was found, he was partaking in his mandatory military activities. Originally meant to be discharged in 2018, he was assigned to reservist and was discharged in 2019.
T.O.P has not explicitly said he would retired, but alluded to it. His Instagram account has been filled with negative comments, and one in 2019 had told him to reflect on his actions and told him not to return to Instagram nor as an entertainer.
T.O.P replied, "Yes, sir! I don't want to. Just keep looking at photos of animals." With this, people assumed that he wanted to retire and stay out of the spotlight.
However, it was announced that BIG BANG had renewed their contracts with YG Entertainment, including T.O.P. Netizens criticized him for his actions, calling him an ex-convict who still wanted to make it big.
