There is little doubt that Hongjoong is one of the most charismatic idols in the industry today. When he first debuted with ATEEZ in 2018, people were immediately drawn to Kim Hongjoong for his dazzling stage presence and cool fashion style.
Unfortunately, the leader of the 4th generation boy group recently came under fire when he sported cornrows for the concept photos of the idols' second single "Thanxx" from the new ep Zero: Fever Part 1. Luckily, Hongjoong has decided to address the issue properly.
In early July, the first concept photos for ATEEZ's upcoming singles "Inception" and "Thanxx" were released by KQ Entertainment. Although the fans were initially thrilled with the images, Atinys immediately became concerned when the "Thanxx" pictures showed Hongjoong wearing his newly dyed blue hair in cornrows.
This led to the fans sending emails to the company begging them to replace the concept photos so Kim Hongjoong wouldn't be accused of cultural appropriation. Although KQ Entertainment issued a statement about the pictures, they also stated that the images cannot be replaced.
In the statement, KQ Entertainment explained that "it is realistically impossible to edit and correct only the hair style of Hongjoong at the present time when all preparations for ATEEZ's new album contents such as albums, jacket photos and music videos have been completed." Interestingly, fans believed that the company was also stopping Kim Hongjoong from addressing the issue when he took part in an online fan sign with the rest of the group.
With that in mind, Atinys braced for the worst as the group's new ep Zero: Fever Part 1 was released. However, things changed when the music video for "Thanxx" was finally released and the ATEEZ leader was interviewed and asked about the controversy.
Forbes, recently, published a lengthy interview with ATEEZ where the issue was brought up. Interestingly, Hongjoong was quick to speak up about the controversy and offered a thoughtful statement.
"Going through this issue, I got to acknowledge that we have to take more care and we have to know more about every ethnic, historic, and cultural aspect in a more comprehensive manner. We have to learn and know about it. That's what I learned from this. I will try hard to do my best to prevent this sort of issue again," Hongjoong said.
It is great to know that Hongjoong and the rest of ATEEZ have learned something from the incident and are working to avoid similar issues in the future.
ATEEZ's new album Zero: Fever Part 1 is available now.
