A fan site dedicated to former BigBang member T.O.P has shut down after 20 years, with members accusing the rapper and his agency of neglecting fans and taking their support for granted.
The site, Choidot, which began running on Aug 24, 2006, announced its closure on Oct 10. Its operators said the decision was due to years of frustration with T.O.P and his agency, Topspot Pictures, rather than his recently confirmed relationship with singer and actress Nana.
“We decided we could no longer overlook their refusal to face reality, avoidance of responsibility and attitude of taking fans’ dedication for granted,” the operators said on the site’s official X account.
The dispute came to a head over the cancellation of a fan-organised exhibition inspired by T.O.P’s first solo studio album Another Dimension.
According to the operators, the exhibition, originally scheduled for Oct 31 to Nov 1, had a budget of about 9 million won. Ticket sales from 300 visitors were expected to cover 7.5 million won, with two organisers paying the remaining costs.
However, only about 20 people registered during the first week. Despite extending the registration period and promoting the event, the response was far below expectations. Cancellations following news of T.O.P’s relationship pushed projected losses to around 7 million won, prompting the organisers to cancel the event.
The operators stressed that not all cancellations were related to the dating news and rejected suggestions that the event was cancelled because fans were angry about the relationship.
“Many fans, including us, knew about their relationship even before the YouTube content featuring T.O.P and Nana was filmed, but we did not mention it because it was the artiste’s private life,” they said.
Instead, the organisers pointed to a long-standing lack of communication and support from T.O.P and his agency.
They accused Topspot Pictures of failing to establish basic communication channels, leaving the fan site to handle enquiries from overseas fans, promote the rapper’s music, translate content and coordinate fan activities.
“Just because we started this voluntarily does not mean our time and labour should be taken for granted,” they said.
The operators also criticised the lack of performances and promotional activities following T.O.P’s solo album release in April, saying fans had waited five months without seeing him return to the stage.
“Despite saying he made his first solo album for fans, there were not enough performances or opportunities for communication that fans had wanted and waited for,” they said.
Topspot Pictures issued an apology on Oct 10, acknowledging shortcomings in its communication with fans.
“We sincerely apologise for failing to provide fans with sufficient updates on the artiste’s activities and opportunities for communication, leaving them disappointed and frustrated,” the agency said. “We will listen more closely to fans’ feedback and reflect it in the artiste’s activities and our overall operations.”
The agency pledged to review its communication practices and announce improvements through its official channels.
T.O.P and Nana confirmed their relationship on Oct 2, saying they began dating in June after meeting during the filming of the music video for his song Studio54. – The Korea Herald/ANN
