Dru Solis

I will never quite understand the mentality of an anti-fan, not just those that are anti-SNSD, but anti-fans in general. Why would you want to waste your time arguing with people and spreading hate? Why not spend it doing something you love and are really passionate about? Talk to other people who like what you like. If you don't like a group, don't watch their videos on YouTube, don't go to forums dedicated to them, don't go bashing people on their blogs. I imagine that doing that would be like dragging your butt out of bed earlier than you want to and going to a dead-end job that makes you physically ill just thinking about working there. Why do that to yourself? And if it's a case where it's a "job" you really enjoy and you love spreading hate and misery, well, good Lord I'm sorry to know people like you exist. Seriously, anti-fans act like they're the last hope of humanity against the rising tide of Nazism or something. It ain't that bad - life will go on even if people like the group you don't.

Specifically, anti-fans who claim an entertainer got to where they are by sleeping their way to the top ... I've never been anywhere close to being in the entertainment business, but I can imagine that trick only works to get into the industry (except for pornography, which is kind of its own beast because that's really the whole point there). Once you're in the industry, the voice that says you're good and can continue to exist in that capacity and entertain is not the lone voice of a boss man saying "Oh, keep her around - she put out.", but the voice coming from the hundreds of thousands of consumers who have limited resources to purchase what brings them happiness and who can't be influenced by sleeping with them due to sheer volume. A performer is not going to stay on top and in the spotlight if they don't have something that people enjoy enough to spend their money on.

For the critics of Hallyu who say that it's caused by people in high places being paid off or planting people as fans during performances, that just seems odd to me. Probably because of the fact that for Hallyu to be a successful business, it would have to take in more money than it puts out. If the whole concept of Hallyu was from payouts and nobody outside of South Korea was really interested in their culture and entertainment it would have self-imploded because it wouldn't be taking any money in. That would make no sense (or dollars/won as the case may be).

I honestly didn't plan on spending this much time writing all that out. It's just be sitting in me for the last few days, I guess as I read a little bit more about SNSD and some of the hardships they've been through like anti-fans throwing light sticks at them during their concert and stuff like that. It really makes me sad that things like that happen - especially in light of reading things like Tiffany's profile where I learned her mother died when Tiffany was 11 and she moved to Korea by herself to follow her dreams. I find that very touching and inspiration, and something very few people (especially critics) have probably ever had to face. I pray that SNSD stays strong and knows that despite the rough road they've traveled that they really have had a profound impact on many people's lives and that their hard work and effort has brought joy and happiness to people like me.