Elli Schmidt Idealization of K-pop Idols and the Outcome When we think about idols, we may have an image of a seemingly flawless person in mind that acts as a role model. The companies commonly build up an image of an individual that is loved by the public, which often works in practice. So idols are celebrated for their behavior and called by adorable nicknames online. But when a scandal hits them, the mood changes quickly and the same people loathe the person they were once devoted to. In this essay, I want to take a look at the twisted mindset of fans when it comes to their favorite idol. It will be my goal to figure out why love for the idol can easily turn into dislike. For this purpose, I want to address an incident that happened at the beginning of the year 2024, which is Karina‘s dating news. In February, Karina confessed that she started to date actor Lee Jae Wook, who had recently starred in Alchemy of Souls. Although she had nothing to apologize for, Karina decided to write an apology letter to her fans, who seemed to believe that she should have been content with receiving their love. Following the news, they felt betrayed by her and in the next few days, many fans unsubscribed from her Bubble. The relationship suffered under the early exposure. In order to concentrate on work, they broke up a few weeks after the news. Another example for changing fan love is Hyuna, who was dating Dawn during the year 2016 to 2022. They were actually dating even before Pentagon became a renown group, which is why Dawn barely made a name for himself as against Hyuna. Before the relationship was made public, dating rumors had already emerged, but they eventually confirmed them themselves. Cube was consequently terminating their contracts due to lost trust and a fear of decreasing sales numbers. After that incident, they both joined P Nation under Psy, who planned to market them as a couple. However, they quickly grew tired of it, since the public seemed more interested in their relationship than their music. They were almost marketed as a dream couple and always asked about personal things. Since they seemed to set a good example for dating in public, their sudden breakup news came as a surprise to many people, especially after they had just announced their engagement. Since the reason was never stated openly, rumors were gradually created. 1