The apologies were long overdue, but what triggered them?
Koreaboo
1 hour ago
On December 27, groups ZEROBASEONE and Kep1er started receiving apologies from K-Pop fans – but why?
ZEROBASEONE debuted in 2023 after the nine members participated in Mnet‘s idol survival show Boys Planet.
Kep1er, now a 7-member group, also debuted through an Mnet survival program. The members participated in Girls Planet 999 in 2021 and officially debuted the following year.
Besides both coming from an Mnet show, another similarity between the two groups is that, when they first debuted, their group names received massive backlash from fans and netizens.
The Worst New K-Pop Group Names Of 2023, According To Netizens
i’m sorry but who came up with the name “kep1er” ?????? yall did the girls dirty helppp wtf #GirlsPlanet999 pic.twitter.com/3BEorrPll0
— bed (@bedakkai) October 22, 2021
However, things took a turn on December 27, when yet another idol survival show ended. That show is PROJECT 7, aired on JTBC. As the group members were announced, the group’s name was also revealed – that being CLOSE YOUR EYES.
[OFFICIAL] 241227
"CLOSE YOUR EYES" is the debut group's name. pic.twitter.com/lmUoN8jqxD
— CLOSE YOUR EYES UPDATES (@closeyoureyesup) December 27, 2024
And the backlash came immediately, more intense than ever before.
close your eyes is a worse group name than fantasy boys
— Hajoon Union (@gayminseo) December 27, 2024
U dont even need an anti name for close your eyes like thats an anti name by itself
— mon (@kittybinghua) December 27, 2024
project 7 group name being CLOSE YOUR EYES. pic.twitter.com/uw56zYQhca
— rina (@kittytenz) December 27, 2024
Group name – Close Your Eyes
Fandom name – Blind
— 𝙉𝙞𝙨𝙝 ✨ (@nishjunzz) December 27, 2024
This also triggered massive apologies for ZEROBASEONE and Kep1er.
the names kep1er and zerobaseone deserve an apology for all the hate they got at first after whatever close your eyes is 😭😭
— hazel (@andytilla) December 27, 2024
I'M SORRY QUEENS AND KINGS 🛐🛐🛐 https://t.co/RHuWgsIY5J
— ishel ✧vote seo jeongwoo✧ (@h4nbitna) December 28, 2024
at least zb1 is funny and kep1er is kinda genius and rolls off the tongue nice. close your eyes is juts fucking horrible bro https://t.co/SiW75VFvUI
— echo ☆ BINGHUA (@freakhaos) December 27, 2024
Regardless of the group names, there’s no doubt the members are talented and deserve positive recognition!