Apparently, saying thank you is now a punishable offence in K-pop. ATEEZ’s San praised BLACKPINK for helping K-pop reach international audiences, and parts of the internet reacted as though he had personally erased BTS from music history. No insults. No scandal. Just one idol acknowledging another group’s achievements. Yet somehow, that was enough to reopen the exhausting ARMY versus BLINK rivalry.
On November 8, 2026, San appeared alongside fellow ATEEZ member Wooyoung and BLACKPINK’s Jisoo on JTBC’s Please Take Care of My Refrigerator. Speaking respectfully about BLACKPINK, he credited the group with breaking barriers for younger artists. In an industry where acknowledging senior performers is practically cultural etiquette, his remarks were hardly unusual. But social media has a remarkable talent for turning basic manners into a loyalty test.
The backlash arrived almost immediately. Some BTS supporters questioned BLACKPINK’s contribution to K-pop’s global success, while others accused San of disrespecting BTS. Meanwhile, some BLACKPINK supporters celebrated the remarks by mocking ARMYs. What began as a compliment became another competition over which fandom could shout louder.
X user anticipates angry reactions from BTS fans following San’s praise of BLACKPINK
Then fans resurfaced San’s comments from 2025, when he similarly credited BTS with making life easier for younger K-pop artists. Suddenly, acknowledging both groups became evidence of hypocrisy. But since when did recognising one artist’s achievements require denying another’s? BTS and BLACKPINK have both helped expand K-pop’s international audience in different ways. Their contributions are not mutually exclusive, regardless of how desperately some fans want them to be.
X user criticises San for crediting both BTS and BLACKPINK with expanding K-pop’s global influence
The Real Problem Is Fandom Ownership
The argument has very little to do with San. It is about fans treating their favourite artists’ accomplishments like personal property. Awards, streaming records and international recognition become ammunition in endless online battles. A compliment to another group is interpreted as betrayal, while criticism of a favourite artist becomes a personal attack.
San was not delivering an academic lecture on K-pop history. He was thanking senior artists on a television programme. Expecting him to produce a carefully ranked list of industry pioneers before expressing gratitude is absurd. Worse, accusing him of chasing attention because he praised BLACKPINK turns ordinary professional respect into a conspiracy theory. Apparently, even gratitude now needs a marketing strategy.
X user accuses ATEEZ’s San of seeking attention from BLACKPINK fans after previously praising BTS
BTS and BLACKPINK Are Not Fighting This Battle
There is another uncomfortable detail: neither BTS nor BLACKPINK has publicly turned San’s remarks into a dispute. The hostility comes from sections of their fandoms, not from the artists themselves. Both groups have built enormous international careers, yet some supporters behave as though acknowledging another act could somehow diminish those achievements.
K-pop fans often demand that their idols receive respect, then attack other performers for showing exactly that respect. The contradiction is difficult to ignore. Supporting an artist should not require treating every other successful musician as an enemy.
Maybe the Fans Need to Grow Up
San’s comments should have been a forgettable moment of professional courtesy. Instead, they became another reminder of how online fandom culture can reward outrage over common sense. The artists are busy making music, performing and building careers. Meanwhile, some fans are fighting over who owns a metaphor.
BTS does not lose its achievements because San thanked BLACKPINK. BLACKPINK does not need BTS erased to deserve recognition. And San should not have to choose between respecting two enormously successful groups.
If a simple thank-you feels like an attack on your favourite artist, perhaps the problem was never the compliment. Perhaps it is the belief that someone else’s success takes something away from yours.
