also, as a 10 year plus K-pop fan, members not being allowed to talk about their hiatus or an NDA being involved has never been a thing and I find it very weird that people are trying to push that online with zero evidence! No hate on the girls, but it is weird and I think it’s fine to acknowledge that.
I posted a comment saying this, but do you think HYBE’s approach to Manon in general (her edited as lazy on dream academy, her hiatus being about her health when she insists it’s not) is a marketing ploy similar to what they tried to do with ILLIT? Youngseo left pre-debut & many kpop fans think this is the reason:
the Korean National’s Assembly found marketing research materials from HYBE in their parliamentary audit. HYBE stated that the documents were only a collection of materials found through online monitoring and weren’t official plans being used by them, but this was the most damning,
“Youngseo stands out from the other members, but if we frame her character as a lazy cat who wants to appear like a queen, while the other members are framed like country dogs around her, we can definitely top groups like NMIXX.”
here’s the article: https://www.allkpop.com/article/2024/10/newly-revealed-pages-of-hybes-music-industry-weekly-trend-report-contain-detailed-analyses-written-by-employees-not-just-online-comments
I know no official statement has been announced, but I feel like this gif sums up the place OT6 stands right now. Especially with Chaewon and Moka’s hiatus being the way they have. We will play our violins until the end. Grateful for this community while we do 🥹💖😭