Before I start this post, I just want to preface it by saying that this is not in any way a reflection of the international JYJ fandom or an attack against any of my JYJ readers. My JYJ readers have been nothing but understanding with me and they've been some of the sweetest people I've had the chance of chatting with on Twitter.
However, I feel that this is something that NEEDS to be addressed better now than later because it's been bothering me for some time now and I'm not going to sit on it any longer, especially not after finding out that an admin of another JYJ website has been spreading crap about me without bothering to address me first.
At the risk of losing a good chunk of my readers, I'm going to go ahead and just write out what I should have said a long time ago but was too wary to because I was afraid of the backlash. I mentioned this topic briefly
in this article and it was met with a considerable amount of backlash, which is understood, but the issue has gotten way out of control and I no longer feel comfortable parading around JYJ articles as if they're always positive dumps because they're not.
Put simply, JYJ fans are like an organized gang on Nate. While I'm sure you can tell by some positive dump articles that fans are posting, JYJ fans have a systematic approach to it where they'll send in swarms of fans en masse to each JYJ related article and MAKE SURE that each best reply is carefully constructed by a fan and voted up, leaving no room for netizens to get in their real comments.
Any comment by a netizen that isn't praise is automatically voted down and taken off the best reply feature.
I know that some of you wouldn't believe me so I took screencaps of it
happening LIVE on Yoochun's article about winning at the SBS Drama Awards.
I think you'll see why I don't feel comfortable parading around JYJ articles as positive dumps anymore. Yeah, the best replies are positive, but are they really? Judge for yourself. (Btw, the J in Korean is pronounced the same as 'crime', so netizens have taken to calling JYJ fans 'crime Y crime'.)
The first best reply on this article stated: [+167, -119] Wow, the comments here are worlds different from the other articles. Fans are truly just closing their eyes and plugging their ears and living in their own world...
The other two best replies were similar comments, which had already been voted down by JYJ fans and replaced with fan comments (like I said, they're very systematic).
The comments to the best reply say, and I'm including EVERYTHING:
- "If you have any respect, please lend us your support from protecting this best reply from the disrespectful, no mannered fangirl sasaeng crime Y crime fangirls!!!"
- "We have to protect this best reply..."
- "Everyone, please protect this best reply!! Vote it up! Every non-fan needs to know!"
- "This best reply will be voted down soon..."
- "It seems it's too late... this best reply will be taken down soon"
- "I got 17 downvotes over a negative comment I left about Park Yoochun"
- "Nate isn't the only place where crime Y crime fans have taken over. They're all coming from Daum Starzone's JYJ forum. Look at this same article over there, it's nothing but praise for him from the fans sucking his d*ck."
- "Fu*king fangirls, look at how fast they come together. Use this on things that actually matter."
- "Look at all of the fangirl replies that are getting ready to take over this best reply. It's pathetic how Nate has fallen so easily to them... Nate needs to change the commenting system so that these groups can't come in and change best replies to whatever they want."
You can see what the real sentiment on JYJ and their fans is by that.
This normally isn't a problem because it's normal for fandoms to want to comment on their favorite artist's articles, but with JYJ fans, they're like an organized gang. They vote up EVERY SINGLE JYJ related article no matter what, to the point where some nights, the entire top 30 is just flooded with JYJ articles with the same fans voting up their own positive comments. You can imagine why I stopped doing drama posts on 'I Miss You'.
Yoochun and Jaejoong are in a lot of NB positive dumps, but the reality is, outside of the best replies are just comments from netizens calling them out for sh*t like any other idol in scandalous activities like asthma and the army and the abuse of sasaeng fans.
Eventually, that best reply was voted down and fell off the best reply list, promptly being replaced by the two best replies below (including the comments to that best reply):
1. [+137, -84] Park Yoochun congratulations!!! Rooftop Prince was seriously the best~ Congrats~~
- "We eventually lost"
- "Wow, won't this f*ck ever be embarrassed in front of real actors? I'd be embarrassed even winning the award"
- "These people need to learn that this is embarrassing"
- "I'm afraid of crime Y crime fans now"
- "I feel bad for your parents for giving birth to you as a daughter...."
- "Wow, I'm really scared of these fans now, this is like a horror story ㅠㅠ"
- "We were eventually taken over ㅋㅋㅋ"
- "Wow, this is scary ㅋㅋㅋ"
- "The orc crime Y crime fans' screaming was the best~ Congratulations on being known as the representatives of no manner~~"
- "The best replies have been switched by the fangirls... Quite amazing."
2. [+99, -57] Rooftop Prince Park Yoochun-ssi, congratulations on your win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- "The stupid fangirls have managed to change all of the best replies.."
- "Miss Sasaeng, do your parents know that you're doing things like this?
- "Stupid fangirl, go reflect"
- "Can we take down this best reply?"
- "Stupid crime Y crime fangirls make me puke..."
- "Ugh, I saw the other replies this person wrote and she's basically a sasaeng crime fan. Total trash."
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After a while, JYJ fans changed tactics by what netizens call now as 'normal person cosplay' where they'll act like they're not a fan at all but some random netizen that came across the article and fell in love with Yoochun immediately cause he's so awesome and his acting brought them to tears!!!!!
Yeah, that act didn't last long because Nate allows users to see comment histories and all of these supposed 'normal person comments' were accounts that only commented positively on JYJ news. I'm just saying - THAT'S HOW FAR THEY'RE WILLING TO GO WITH THIS CHARADE.
I'd call out any other fandom if they did this on Nate but really, it's just the JYJ fans.
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Another recent example:
Article: Park Yoochun sweeps rookie and excellence in all three broadcast channels, achievement earned in 3 years of his acting career
Source: TV Daily via Nate
Original best replies:
1. [+788, -620] This is the reality of our drama industry. They set up an entire award, the popularity award, just for fangirls to vote to their hearts content not on the quality of acting but on their love for the start. Of course, Park Yoochun did better than other idols but he's not even a speck on the map compared to other nominees like Lee Sung Min, Yoon Je Moon, Um Ki Joon. I bet the fangirls are asking why we're questioning an award given by the broadcast channel but imagine how far you've all gone for us to say this. He is not winning this award for his acting. And please, fangirls, cut down your screaming. Your oppa must've been embarrassed because of you./
2. [+367, -311] An actor that improves by the day?? ㅋㅋㅋ As freaking if. He needs to improve his acting more before he can even say the a in actor. He won over Lee Sung Min, Yoon Je Moon, and Um Ki Joon over acting like that? Aigo~~ There's nothing that can't be achieved without the power of fangirls. And all the screaming fangirls... This is an awards ceremony, not your oppa's concert.
3. [+298, -260] Chunshik, I noticed you said your award speech just fine without one cough?
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The new best replies:
1. [+593, -422] I really had fun watching Rooftop Prince. I'm having fun watching I Miss You now. Congrats!
2. [+519, -352] Every single scene in Rooftop Prince like when he ate the omurice... the 4 beagles.. the tearful rooftop marriage... It was all fun, and definitely a drama I won't be able to forget. Shin Yoon Sub director, please make us another hit!
3. [+420, -247] Park Yoochun-ssi, congratulations on his four crowns. I hope he continues to become a great actor. I had fun watching Rooftop Prince.
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The comments to the new best replies... you can imagine. Some netizens have even gone as far as to link the exact communities where JYJ fans were spreading out article links and asking each other to go in and take down the best replies.
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I have no problem if they keep to their own articles but they go around to every single TVXQ article that even TVXQ fans don't bother to vote up and post hateful sh*t, making it sound as if the public is sick of TVXQ and their careers are over - but really, from what I've read, regular netizens couldn't care less. TVXQ has been relatively scandal free aside from the JYJ lawsuit and that earns big points with them. JYJ on the other hand... I'm sure you know better than I do. That's why I haven't bothered posting up any TVXQ articles even if I do see them because I wasn't sure how to approach it.
I probably lost a lot of readers now but I'm done with tip toeing around the issue. Like I said, my JYJ readers have always been reasonable with me and this is in no way a reflection of their international fandom. It's just what I've observed from Nate specifically.
Did I basically just sign my own death petition? haha.
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Edited to add: As said in a reply to a commenter below, I am willing to take in any guest posts from readers that want to offer another perspective on this (anything within the fandom that I have missed or would explain more than what I had to say). E-mail them to me at netizenbuzz[@]gmail.com.
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Another edit to add: After e-mailing back and forth with a few JYJ fans who stepped up to discuss the matter further with me, I've learned a lot of eye opening things which only confirmed my beliefs that Korean JYJ fans are going about this the wrong way. Casual netizens don't know how severe Yoochun's asthma is and generally just believe it's not enough to evade service for. One fan emailed me links to several YouTube videos to show that it indeed is severe, to the point where he collapses on stage because of it.
Instead of leaving these nonsensical positive comments, Korean fans should instead leave comments explaining and clarifying these false lies and accusations because it would open a lot more eyes and minds than just "Yoochun oppa is the best".
But alas, we are not them nor are they us so I can only watch the fire blaze in Nate.
