Reports Saying “NewJeans’ Departure Hall Is Empty and Becoming a Talking Point”

Is the management dispute caused by ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin ultimately leading to a decline in NewJeans’ fandom? Recently, NewJeans’ departure area being empty without any fans has been drawing attention.

On the 20th, photos of NewJeans departing through Gimpo International Airport for Tokyo, Japan were posted on an online community. NewJeans departed ahead of their Japanese debut on the 21st.

Although this was NewJeans’ first departure as a full group in a while, with Hyein rejoining after two months of absence due to illness, the airport appeared deserted without the “hommas (fansite masters)” or fans that typically follow popular idols during their departures.

Although several security guards were deployed, eyewitness accounts describing a quiet arrival without any fans have been spreading across online communities.

The day before, BT21, one of BTS’s X (formerly Twitter) merchandise accounts, posted news about a 20% discount on NewJeans merchandise.

The fact that merchandise for NewJeans, who are actively promoting, was being discounted was already unusual. On top of that, news about a NewJeans merchandise sale coming out of nowhere from an account dedicated to sharing news about character merchandise created through BTS’s partnership with Line Friends drew protests from fans. The announcement was eventually deleted, and the BT21 account administrators apologized.

Netizens reacted to NewJeans’ departure area with comments such as “The security guards look awkward,” “Looks like they don’t need security,” “Bunnies (NewJeans fandom) are usually quiet supporters who live their best lives, they don’t usually go to things like this,” “All the hommas disappeared in two months,” and “No wonder their expressions looked dark from the first photo—now it makes sense.”