Parties and gala events are a common sight in the entertainment industry. However, one large-scale event recently received scathing criticism from the K-pop community. The “Love Your W” event organised by W Korea magazine recently sparked outrage over its tone-deafness.
The event, held on 15th October 2025 (Wednesday) at the Four Seasons Seoul, was meant to be a breast cancer awareness campaign with many notable stars in attendance, including BTS (방탄소년단) and i-dle (아이들). Sadly, netizens have since criticised the event, pointing out a significant lack of spotlight towards the campaign issue. Instead, many videos and photos depicted the event as a lavish party rather than a charity event.
W Korea has yet to address the criticism. Regardless, netizens are now debating whether the stars who attended the event should share the blame. Many argued that the celebrities treated the event as a party and showed no interest in bringing awareness to breast cancer. As shown in the now-viral videos, the stars were drinking, dancing and singing throughout the night. Some even received criticism for their inappropriate choice of clothing.
Singer Jay Park (박재범) also sparked outrage with his performance of “MOMMAE”, which contained racy lyrics about a woman’s breasts. Many slammed him for sexualising women at a breast cancer awareness event. ALLDAY PROJECT (올데이 프로젝트) also faced criticism after the screen displayed an image of a woman exposing her behind during their performance. However, some netizens argued that this issue was the fault of the event’s audio-visual team.
It’s also worth noting that some of the attending artists did try to bring awareness to the campaign’s issue during the night. At one point during their group’s performance, ILLIT members Minju and Wonhee spoke to the crowd, saying, “I hope that this kind of positive influence on health continues to spread in the future! Please don’t miss even the smallest of signs (of breast cancer). Everyone, please get tested.”
In addition to the tone deaf atmosphere, netizens also pointed out that W Korea rarely discussed breast cancer awareness with their guests, even in interviews posted on their social media channels. As such, many argued that the magazine was being performative with the event and not caring about the campaign. What are your thoughts on this?
Here are some videos from the event:
@wkorea #LoveYourW2025 The note that Karina took out of the mystery box had the most trendy challenge written on it.
Check out Karina’s appearance on board the challenge in the video💋 @wkorea – #LoverYourW #Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign #W #wkorea ♬ Original Sound – W Korea (W Korea) – W Korea (W Korea)
Sources: Koreaboo (1)(2), Twitter (1)(2)(3)(4)
