TVXQ’s Changmin Is Hit With Mixed Reactions From K-Netizens After Revealing How His Juniors Annoy Him

TVXQ member Changmin shared his candid feelings about his juniors saying they want to be like him, causing mixed reactions among Korean netizens.

Changmin | @changmin88/Instagram

On December 26, Changmin appeared as a guest on singer Sung Si Kyung‘s YouTube talk show.

Sung Si Kyung (left) and Changmin (right) | @changmin88/Instagram

During the interview, Sung Si Kyung praised Changmin as the “ideal idol” who started at a young age and grew up to successfully fulfill the role of an idol.

At first, Changmin didn’t seem the most idol-like; he was more like a child and lacked intensity. However, as time passed, you became more solid, the most mature, and I think you’re the sexiest. I find that really important. Being an idol is not something that happens in a flash; it’s a long-lasting career. So if you look at it that way, if I were your junior, wouldn’t you be the most ideal type for an idol?

— Sung Si Kyung

The original TVXQ members: Xiah Junsu, Micky Yoochun, Hero Jaejoong, Max Changmin, and U-Know Yunho (left to right) | SM Entertainment

In response, Changmin claimed that he sometimes gets annoyed when his juniors praise him because he doesn’t think they actually mean it.

Personally, it’s nice but somewhat annoying when juniors say, ‘Hyung, I want to be like you.’ For me, I don’t think they say it because they genuinely like and respect me… When they say they want to live like me, I can sense that they are envying me by just looking at my current situation.

— Changmin

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Upon hearing this, Korean netizens talked about what they think of Changmin’s opinion in an online community post with nearly 900 comments. Some believed it was unfair for him to judge his juniors’ feelings without knowing how they truly felt, and some said that Changmin was taking the junior’s compliment too seriously.

| theqoo

• “He’s thinking too deeply.”
• “Is being envious of someone’s success and where they are something to be annoyed about?”
• “I get what he’s saying, but it’s not a good attitude to judge and predict someone’s expression and heart… He can’t prove it 100%.”
• “I get what he’s saying, but the way his thought process works is meh.”
• “He has a career where even if you work hard, you are not guaranteed good results. But he reached the top and is still doing well without controversies, so of course, they can get jealous. They don’t need to know everything about a person before saying they respect them.”
• “I feel like he twists everything, lol. He doesn’t even know the junior’s point of view…”
• “What a negative person.”
• “The juniors are just trying to do their best in their social lives…”
• “The juniors said they want to be like him for the sake of formality, and now, they’re turned into people who want to live luxuriously without working hard. Idols these days work hard to debut, too…”
• “What does he want them to do? To give details of how they respect him?”
• “Is this something to be annoyed about?”
• “He seems to have taken the lip service seriously.”
• “Isn’t this a type of inferiority complex?”
• “The juniors appear to have said it with good intentions. What else should they say to their super senior?”
• “Juniors should not make small talk with him anymore, no no.”
• “The juniors are saying it for the sake of formality, but he twisted it. Maybe it’ll be more peaceful for them to not exchange any words, lol.”
• “It just seems like…he has no confidence in himself.”

Others defended Changmin and agreed that they also don’t always believe that the compliments they hear are genuine. Many netizens said Changmin said it lightheartedly and claimed that the short clip from the video was not enough to judge Changmin, as he is known to be loving and sweet to his juniors.

| theqoo

• “I get what he means, lol.”
• “I think people are misunderstanding because you can’t hear his voice or see his expression. If you watch the video, he didn’t say it like he is really angry or upset, LOL!”
• “I think he’s half-joking, LOL.”
• “The comments are more twisted than the person directly involved, LOL.”
• “Just listen and move on.”
• “I can see how you can be annoyed when they say it lightly while disregarding the process and being only envious of the end result.”
• “It’s not even a big deal, but the comments are overreacting.”
• “That’s just Changmin’s opinion.”
• “Changmin must have heard the nuance of the junior’s voice and judged based on that. Please don’t react sensitively after reading a few summarized lines, lol.”
• “I totally understand… If I were told that someone wanted to be like me after they just saw me at the top spot and not out of respect for the obstacles and efforts I had to endure to get there, I would think this, too.”
• “Even if it’s a compliment, if you keep hearing it repeatedly, you don’t like it. He’s not twisting words.”
• “It depends on the nuance of how they said it.”
• “Even as a non-celebrity, hearing that someone envies me is an expression that doesn’t really sound like a compliment.”
• “I understand him because there are so many nuances and ways to say, ‘I envy you~’
• “Saying, ‘I envy you!’ instead of ‘You’re awesome! I respect you!’ is disrespectful. It can make you think, ‘What are you envious of? Does my work seem easy to you?'”
• “If you saw the other parts of this video where he praised his juniors, then I guarantee you wouldn’t leave comments like this. He always takes pictures when he sees his juniors’ pictures and sends them to them, encouraging them and saying nice things…”

Changmin debuted at the age of 15 as a TVXQ member in 2003 under SM Entertainment. They were one of the biggest male idol groups throughout the 2000s with hits like “Hug,” “The Way U R,” “Rising Sun,” “Mirotic,” and more.