Idol Group Opens Up About Receiving More Attention From Overseas Fans Versus In Korea

“We want to be recognized.”

With the overwhelming number of groups in the K-Pop scene, it can be hard for all of them to receive the spotlight they deserve in Korea. Fortunately, some of them can gain attention overseas, amassing a bigger fan base worldwide than in their home country.

Since this can be disheartening for some, Billboard spoke with one of the groups who are currently experiencing this: ATEEZ.

During one of the group’s past conversations, Mingi stated, “ATEEZ is more popular outside Korea than inside.” To this, leader Hongjoong spoke for them all when saying, “We want to be recognized.” Wanting the group to elaborate on the topic, they addressed it during the interview.

Although their Korean fandom isn’t among the biggest, Seonghwa admitted to noticing a change, “We do feel with every promotion that our Korean fanbase is slowly increasing and we do get inspired from that.”

The fact that their Korean fandom is growing along with them inspires the group to push forward and “prepare even harder on the next comeback.”

As soon as leader Hongjoong answered the question, he revealed that he’d seen the posts and articles written about the size difference between their overseas and Korean fans on Twitter.

Despite that, Hongjoong explained their positive outlook on the situation. “We’re not really bothered by it, and we’re not going to change our plans or upcoming projects because the reactions or lack thereof; we have a lot of albums we’ve been steadily preparing for, and we’re following that plan.”

Regardless of the reactions, the eight members of ATEEZ are going to continue showing their distinctive colors and proving their worth: “But we’ll prove ourselves and prove that you were right to support us.”

Between selling out arenas for their upcoming world tour The Fellowship: Map The Treasure and gaining millions of views on their music videos, ATEEZ are well on their way to success.

Source: Billboard