“Terrifying Crowd” Male Trainees Face Shocking Mob At Airport Before Even Debuting 

Scary airport mobs are, unfortunately, nothing new to K-pop. But it is rare to hear and see them happening to trainees that haven’t even announced their debut yet!

The uncomfortable situation happened to young SM Entertainment trainees — known as SMTR25, a term coined by the company — today as they landed after having performed during SMTOWN’s sold-out show in London.

| SM Entertainment

The trainees impressed the crowd with performances of SM boy group’s biggest hit like SHINee’s “Lucifer,” EXO’s “Growl” and many more.

왜+ The Way U Are+ 미인아#SMTR25 #SONGHA #송하 #SMNBG pic.twitter.com/XM51BeWywx

— sing (@SMTR25_songha) June 28, 2025

Due to their visuals, talent, and the undeniable buzz you get from being an SM trainee, the boys have already gained massive popularity and a huge number of fans. That popularity, unfortunately, resulted in the young, soon-to-be stars facing a scary mob situation after landing in Seoul at Incheon airport. You can barely make out the trainees as they are engulfed in a huge, terrifying crowd of reporters and fans.

this is really crazy🤦🏻‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/Ns8wb5ah9e

— ❤️ (@hourlysonghaa) June 30, 2025

The scary videos have prompted fans to demand better security from SM Entertainment. Many have taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) to ask for the company to better control the fans. Others have even insinuated that the trainees have more “sasaeng” fans than groups that have already debuted.

at this point they have a lot of fans and sasaengs than other debuted groups SM please do your work @SMTOWNGLOBAL pic.twitter.com/22A8P0gE0h

— smtr25 pics (@smtr25pics) June 30, 2025

SM, please protect your trainees. I don’t want to see them getting pushed around at the airport again. You should know by now how many fans there are. Please, take better care of them.@SMTOWNGLOBAL#SMTR25

— anonimous (@Vanissa_98) June 30, 2025

Fans hope the SMTR25 members will have better airport experiences in the future and that the company will take the necessary measures to ensure their safety and comfort. Calls for fellow fans to behave accordingly have also made their way online.