Why After School’s Nana says she called out The Boyz’s Sunwoo: ‘You can tell everything from one thing’

Nana / Courtesy of Sublime

Nana, an actress and former member of the K-pop group After School, publicly criticized The Boyz’s Sunwoo over his recent behavior — sparking widespread debate online.

A video highlighting Sunwoo’s conduct recently gained traction on social media. In the footage, Sunwoo stands still after dropping his wireless earbuds, waiting for a security guard to pick them up. The guard then hands them to him with both hands, while Sunwoo accepts them with one hand. The video does not show Sunwoo bowing or visibly expressing gratitude.

“He needs to be scolded," Nana commented under the post.

As criticism mounted, Sunwoo addressed the situation via a fan communication platform. “I saw the video, and honestly, it just looks like I accepted [the earbuds] without bowing or saying thanks — like I was being rude,” he said. “I was trying to find them with my eyes and couldn’t, and when [the guard] handed them to me, I said ‘thank you,’ but didn’t bow.”

Sunwoo added, “Whether it’s at music shows or anywhere else, I always politely say hello to cleaning staff. I’ll make sure to behave better so these kinds of misunderstandings don’t happen.”

Meanwhile, some people began leaving critical comments on Nana’s social media for calling him out. “You judged someone based on just a few seconds of video. As a public figure, it’s disappointing and thoughtless to post something like that," one person wrote.

“You can tell everything from one thing," Nana responded.

Sunwoo’s group The Boyz released their third full-length album “Unexpected” in March. Nana will appear in the upcoming film “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint”, set for release in July.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.