Male Fans Hate Red Velvet Irene and Burn Her Merchandise Upon Learning She Read Feminist Novel, Female Fans React
Some male fans of Red Velvet can't take Irene's taste of books. Irene has been slammed by some of the band's male fans after the K-pop member revealed that she read a feminist novel.
The backlash stemmed from the recent fan meeting of Red Velvet where Irene was asked what book she has been reading lately. The K-pop idol replied by saying she read Kim Ji Young, Born 1982, which is a feminist novel. The book is about a woman who is living in a highly patriarchal society.
Soon after, some male fans of Red Velvet took to an online community to express their anger. Some even posted pictures of them burning Irene's photos and merchandise. The site is widely used by male fans.
Netizens Defended Red Velvet's Irene
The pictures and comments against Irene went viral. Some fans quickly come forward to support the K-pop artist. Many criticized those who burned her merch or leave the fan site because of Irene's statement.
"Basically their logic is: you're pretty, why do you need to read something like that. Lol, that book is a bestseller for all ages, they're so ignorant smh", one fan wrote to defend the Perfect Velvet singer.
"Korean male fans are burning irene's posters and pictures because she said she read a book about feminism ... I have no words. This is beyond arrogance they are disgusting. Men with huge egos, tiny brains, and no logic," another female fan wrote on Twitter.
Red Velvet Irene's Feminist Side
Bae Irene's fans have known that she loves to collects notes, diaries, and journals. It is safe to assume that she loves to write and read. Her favorite movie is The Notebook, the big screen adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' romance novel of the same title. Irene may have also read Sparks' novel.
The book that Irene mentioned during the fan meet, Kim Ji Young, Born 1982, is written by Cho Nam-joo and was released in October 2016. Basically, the story follows the life of a 33-year-old housewife, Kim Ji-young, who had a decent job but decided to quit it to take care of her family. Eventually, she ends up needing a psychiatric treatment from all the emotional hardships she had endured during her life.
Kim Ji Young, Born 1982 gained attention in 2017 after the floor leader of the Justice Party, Roh Hoe-chan, gave a copy to President Moon Jae-in as a gift. Roh also wrote a message to the president that read, "Please embrace 'Kim Ji-young Born '82'." Since then, the book's sales shot up. It sold over 270,000 copies as of Aug. 2017.
The book sale is expected to bump up now that it was brought into the spotlight once again because of Red Velvet Irene. So far, no English translation of the novel is available.
