Popular K-pop singer Heeseung shocked his fans after he announced his exit from the boy band Enhypen earlier this week. Soon after the announcement was made, the internet broke out with online campaigns demanding clarity from the group’s management, Belift Lab, a subsidiary of HYBE.
Social media is abuzz with the hashtag #bringheeseungback, calling for transparency and urging the agency to address the rumours.
Several hashtags are also doing the rounds on social media supporting Heeseung and the group, with thousands of posts flooding the platform within hours. Both X and Instagram feeds are flooded with the hashtag #ENHYPENISSEVEN.
Apart from the hashtag campaigns, posts accusing the band’s managing agency of “ignoring the fandom” and “allowing misinformation to spread” were also widely shared.
Fans of Enhypen, who are also known as Engene, expressed frustration over Belift Lab’s official statement, which specifies that Heeseung left the band over his ‘own distinct musical vision.’ “We demand that @BELIFTLAB allow Heeseung to fully pursue his solo music career while remaining an Enhypen member,” a fan wrote on Instagram.
“As a big fan, I’m struggling so hard with this. They’ve fought before, been through some hell and back with I-land and Covid debut, but what was it they argued so badly about that the group as a whole couldn’t be saved? A whole fandom is fractured, and nothing could be remediated behind the scenes,” another Engene wrote on Reddit.
Another X user wrote, “@BELIFTLAB HEESEUNG IS NOT OPTIONAL. Erasing him undermines ENHYPEN's identity. Creative freedom must never cost the whole team. Fans demand that seven members remain intact. Enhypen is seven.”
Despite leaving the group, he remains under Belift Lab and is preparing for a solo album.
Enhypen is a popular South Korean boy band formed by Belift Lab through the 2020 survival competition show I-Land. After Heeseung’s departure, the current members of the band are Jungwon (leader), Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki.
