Following the notice of the absence of most Chinese K-pop idols from the 2022 Asia Artist Awards (AAA), K-pop fans are coming up with a variety of speculations. Here's what they are saying.
SEVENTEEN Jun & The8, Kep1er Xiaoting, (G)I-DLE Announce Absence From 2022 AAA
On December 13, the annual music awards ceremony Asia Artist Awards, hereinafter 2022 AAA, is set to be held in Nippongaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan.
The lineup will include a total of 35 singers and 18 actors, such as SEVENTEEN, WJSN, Lim Young Woong, PENTAGON, KARD, THE BOYZ, Stray Kids, VERIVERY, ITZY, AleXa, and more.
ALSO READ: Asia Artist Awards 2022 Lineup Revealed: TREASURE, WJSN, More!
Amid the excitement of fans, many Chinese K-pop artists drew attention after most of them announced that they will sit out the upcoming event.
Among them, SEVENTEEN's Chinese members Jun and The8 announced their absence from the awards ceremony on Dec. 11 through Pledis Entertainment.
"SEVENTEEN members Jun and The8 will have difficulty participating in the 2022 Asia Artist Awards IN JAPAN awards ceremony to be held on December 13 due to their individual schedules."
Accordingly, SEVENTEEN will participate in AAA as an 11-member system.
In addition to them, Chinese member Xiaoting of Kep1er will also not participate, and the agency explained:
"Member Xiaoting's condition was not good enough to attend."
(G)I-DLE, where Chinese member Yuqi belongs to, also drew attention as to why they wouldn't attend the 2022 AAA when they participated in every large ceremonies MMA and MAMA.
K-Media Reveals Possible Reason Chinese Idols Decided Not To Attend 2022 AAA
The Korean media outlet TopStarNews wrote an article, speculating that there is a real reason Chinese stars Jun, The8, Xiaoting and more will not attend the ceremony.
"On December 13, 1937, during the Sino-Japanese War, Japanese troops occupied Nanjing, the capital of China, and carried out a massive massacre, also known as the "Nanjing Massacre."
The exact number of victims was not identified, but it is known that 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese were brutally slaughtered by the Japanese military in about six weeks, and the number of women affected by rape reached 20,000 to 80,000.
However, in Japan, the scale of victims is reduced to tens of thousands, or in the case of far-right forces, the Nanjing Massacre itself is said to be a fabricated lie. Accordingly, Japan's extreme right-wing attitude not to acknowledge the responsibility of war crimes is causing historical conflict between the two countries."
As the awards ceremony coincides with the memorial day of the "Nanjing massacre" and it happened that AAA will be held in Japan, some speculate that the reason why Chinese idol members will not take part is due to this.
The 2022 AAA IN JAPAN will have its red carpet from 2:30 p.m. KST while the main award will commence at 4 p.m. KST.
On December 14, the next day, the Gala Show "2022 AAA AFTER STAGE" will be held at the same place.
READ MORE: K-Media Explains Reason Chinese K-pop Idols Leave Korea To Pursue Careers in China
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
