Despite being Vietnamese, NewJeans Hanni, unfortunately, failed to capture the love of the majority in Vietnam for THIS reason.
NewJeans Hanni Is Gaining 'Dislike' from Vietnam — Media, Online Community Claim
In Vietnam, the popularity of the girl group NewJeans is visible.
Since the early days of their debut, its triple-title tracks, "Attention," "Hype Boy" and "Cookie" entered the top 100 of Vietnam's "Daily Top Song" (based on Spotify) chart. Its succeeding releases would also sit atop the Vietnamese iTunes chart, proving their meaningful career in the country.
One of the factors why the quintet is gaining attention in Vietnam is due to its member Hanni — one of the few Vietnamese to become a successful K-pop idol.
ALSO READ: 10 Fourth-Gen K-pop Idols From Southeast Asia: NewJeans Hanni, TEMPEST Hanbin, More!
However, there is also a reason why she's becoming a reason why the group couldn't continue to rise in Vietnam.
According to the largest K-pop community in the county, K-Crush, the local reaction is that it is cautious to like Hanni in public due to the social atmosphere in Vietnam.
A K-pop official working in Vietnam said:
"There may be fans who support NewJeans regardless of political controversy, but it is burdensome to openly support them. As of the moment, there was no strict censorship because the government and the media came out."
The official added:
"Although NewJeans and Hanni are highly recognized in Vietnam, it is true that there are many anti-fans. It seems difficult for NewJeans to get permission from the Vietnamese government for its event."
Reason NewJeans Hanni is Gaining 'Dislike' From Vietnamese
The main reason Hanni is not being fully supported in Vietnam is due to the argument that she is amongst "boat people" who abandoned the current Socialist Republic of Vietnam and fled to other countries.
When the Vietnam War ended with the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the defeat of the Vietnamese Republic (South Vietnam), anti-communist activists, Chinese, Catholics and citizens who cooperated with the U.S., are called "boat people."
From the late 1970s to the 1990s, these individuals mainly defected to Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the United States and Australia.
When Hanni's family background was reviewed, people claimed that she could be among the "boat people."
In particular, Hanni (Phạm Ngọc Hân), is an Australian and Vietnamese multinational born in Melbourne, Australia. While growing up in the country, Hanni developed her dream of becoming a singer while watching K-pop singers, and she is a multilingual who can speak fluent Vietnamese, English and Korean.
Both parents of Hanni are from Vietnam, his father is from Hanoi and his mother is from Ho Chi Minh City. Although both her parents were Vietnamese, the whole family grew up in a foreign country including her grandparents.
Seeing Hanni and her family's residence and nationality, some Vietnamese Internet users are claiming that they are "boat people who left their country behind."
READ MORE: NewJeans Hanni Becomes Target of Hate Comments Over Nationality– Here's Why
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