Celebrities slammed online for ‘tone-deaf, gaudy’ charity gala

Celebrities attending W Korea’s Love Your W charity gala held in central Seoul on Oct. 15 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
What began as a high-profile charity gala meant to “raise awareness about breast cancer” has quickly spiraled into one of the most talked about controversies online.
 
W Korea’s annual “Love Your W” event, touted by the organizer as “the biggest charity event in Korea,” is now drawing public ire for what many see as a glaring display of tone-deaf luxury.
 
 
This year’s gala dinner, held on Wednesday at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul to mark the event’s 20th anniversary, brought together a star-studded guest list, including BTS’s RM, J-Hope and V; aespa; i-dle; Stray Kids’ Bang Chan and Seungmin; and IVE’s Rei, An Yu-jin and Jang Won-young. Clips and photos of stars mingling over Champagne in luxury outfits flooded social media, posted by organizers and fans.
 
Critics pointed to the near-total absence of meaningful gestures related to breast cancer awareness by the organizers, except for the hashtag they included in every social media post. Pink ribbons — a global symbol for the breast cancer awareness movement — were nowhere to be seen, including in the dress code.
 

W Korea’s Instagram feed shows a series of posts from its ″Love Your W″ charity gala event held on Oct. 15 in central Seoul. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
The event has remained largely similar in its format and presentation, although this year’s edition was the first time the organizers faced any backlash.
 
The magazine said that it has raised 1.1 billion won ($772,500) over the past 20 years, which many have accused of being seemingly too modest compared to the scale and extravagance of the annual event.
 
Another part of the backlash has also been fueled by the fact that singer Jay Park performed his 2015 hit “Mommae,” which was criticized for being excessively sexualizing and objectifying women in a charity event intended to promote breast cancer awareness.”
 

Singer Jay Park attends a “Love Your W 2025” breast cancer awareness campaign event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul on Oct. 15. [NEWS1]

 
He added, “Though I was injured, I performed with a good heart, without payment. Please don’t twist that good intention.”
 
The apology did little to quell anger, as criticism expanded beyond the performance to the broader issue of alleged performative celebrity activism in Korea, as many questioned whether not only the organizers but also the attendees truly understood or cared about the cause they were representing.
 
“The biggest thing that celebrities overlooked is how sensitive the general public has become to the income disparity between celebrities and noncelebrities in the entertainment industry,” wrote one user on X on Thursday.
 
“If they wanted to enjoy a party like that in front of the public eye, they should have shown appropriate moral responsibility — such as making comments about related legislative actions or raising awareness — or making real donations.”
 

BTS’s V and J-Hope attend the “Love Your W 2025” breast cancer awareness campaign event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul on Oct. 15. [NEWS1]

 
The post has garnered 14,000 likes and has been shared 6,000 times as of Friday.
 
As the format of the gala appears to have remained largely the same over the years, some argued that the reason this year’s event drew such intense criticism lies in the public’s growing awareness of the widening disconnect.
 
“That W Korea gala has been going on for more than a decade now, why do you this only blow up this year after years of little problems raised?” wrote another X user in a post made on Thursday, shared 4,000 times with 7,800 likes.
 
“The industry’s stance after martial law, the cowardice of remaining quiet during every award ceremony while people were protesting outside — with every similar incident like this, they will pay the price.”
 

Girl group aespa attends the “Love Your W 2025” breast cancer awareness campaign event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul on Oct. 15. [NEWS1]

 
The user’s accusation centers on the disillusionment toward the entertainment sector’s long-held apolitical stance over many social and political issues over the years, including former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration last December that led to political turmoil and his subsequent impeachment.
 
Culture critic Kim Heon-sik noted that W Korea’s social media campaign — heavy with influencer-style posts and brand partnership devoid of any meaningful cancer awareness content — lacked a real understanding of how social media operates.
 
“Social media is inherently public,” Kim said. “Even when it’s run by private entities, they carry a certain degree of social responsibility for what they put out.”
 
W Korea is yet to make any official statement regarding the controversy as of press time on Friday.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]