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The Boyz, QWER's clash over light stick designs exposes K-pop's gray areas
K-pop boy band The Boyz / Courtesy of One Hundred
By Pyo Kyung-min
In K-pop, a light stick is more than just a glowing accessory — it’s a symbol of fan identity. But a fight over two nearly identical megaphone-shaped designs has recently ignited one of the fiercest fan wars of the year, drawing battle lines between boy group The Boyz and rookie girl band QWER.
What began as a disagreement over K-pop merchandise has since snowballed into something far more harmful, with online clashes escalating into real threats of violence and growing calls for the industry to set clearer standards.
On Sept. 25, The Boyz’s agency One Hundred stepped in amid the mounting uproar with a formal statement, acknowledging the “confusion and discomfort” fans had experienced.
The company said it had raised the issue with QWER’s management and requested design changes, but said no resolution had been reached. It added that legal action was now under review.
The Boyz’s official megaphone-shaped light stick, left, and rookie girl group QWER’s version, right, sparked a fan dispute over similarities. Captured from X (formerly Twitter)
The conflict first erupted Sept. 16, when QWER unveiled its first official light stick ahead of its debut world tour. The design — a white megaphone with the group’s logo in the speaker — immediately drew comparisons to The Boyz’s official stick — a white heart-shaped megaphone with a black handle — released back in 2021.
QWER’s agency Prism Filter rejected the allegations it copied the design, arguing that the megaphone is a universal image that cannot be claimed by a single act. The company said it had conducted a legal review and found “no copyright infringement or legal issue,” adding that the product was developed independently.
After QWER moved ahead with merchandise sales despite the controversy, the dispute between the two fandoms quickly descended into open hostility online.
Fans of The Boyz — whose base is largely women — reported being targeted with misogynistic slurs, sexual harassment and even threats of doxxing and deepfake pornography. QWER supporters, meanwhile, claimed that Boyz fans had circulated posts threatening to “kill QWER.”
K-pop band QWER / Courtesy of Tamago Production
Recurring tensions
To casual observers, the notion that a megaphone-shaped light stick could trigger such animosity may seem baffling. But disputes over originality are nothing new in K-pop, where fandoms play an unusually active role in shaping an idol’s identity.
Since the 1990s, when first-generation acts like H.O.T. and Sechskies set the template, fandom identities have been carefully built around exclusive symbols — names, official colors and light sticks. Overlap with a rival group’s identity markers had long been viewed as a breach of K-pop’s unwritten rules.
Such disputes remain common today.
In April, rookie girl group Illit, under HYBE Labels subsidiary Belift Lab, faced criticism after naming its fan club “LILLY,” echoing the name of NMIXX member Lily. When the group changed it to “LILLYs,” it ran into conflict again with BLACKPINK Lisa’s fandom, "Lilies."
Only after a second revision — this time to "GLIT" — did the controversy subside.
Light sticks hold powerful symbolic weight. BigBang’s crown-shaped version and BLACKPINK’s hammer-shaped design are instantly recognizable worldwide as emblems of their fans.
In The Boyz’s case, the group's megaphone-shaped stick has taken on similar status and was registered as intellectual property by manufacturer Copan Global in 2022. If QWER’s design were found to infringe on those rights, its agency could face charges under Korean law, which carries penalties of up to seven years in prison or fines of up to 100 million won ($72,000).
Fans of K-pop girl group Illit wave the group's official light sticks during its performance in Yokohama, Japan, Sept. 2. / Courtesy of Belift Lab
Calls for reform
The controversy has also drawn the attention of the Korea Entertainment Producer’s Association, which on Monday warned that leaving disputes to be resolved informally could destabilize the industry.
“The industry urgently needs institutional safeguards to protect intellectual property and creative originality,” the association said in a statement. It called for standard guidelines to ensure that “the meaningful creative assets of agencies, artists and fandoms” are protected.
The group also urged the adoption of preventive measures, including pre-registration and review systems for official merchandise designs, and promised to "step up its role in mediation and arbitration between agencies."