Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
RIIZE members Eunseok, Wonbin, and Sungchan all faced controversy in the same week, and now fans are asking whether the 5th gen curse is real. It started when Eunseok apologized after a Bubble post containing a term widely criticized as racially insensitive — he deleted the message quickly and addressed fans directly the next day. Almost immediately, resurfaced clips of Wonbin naming Chris Brown among his musical inspirations began circulating again, and Sungchan came under fire over a playlist reportedly shared in March that included a song by d4vd, who is now facing serious criminal charges. Fans stepped in to defend all three members, arguing the backlash was overblown or based on things they couldn't have known, while critics said idols should be more careful with their words and choices. And despite everything, RIIZE's comeback mini album II broke the group's own first-day sales record according to Hanteo Chart and became their fourth consecutive million-seller. So is the 5th generation actually cursed, or is this just how K-pop discourse works now? We break down every controversy, the apology, the fan defenses, and what it all means for RIIZE going forward — with full context, the way we do it here.
Subscribe to Kookielit for K-pop news and industry breakdowns done kinder.
#kpop #kpopnews #KOOKIELIT
RIIZE members Eunseok, Wonbin, and Sungchan all faced controversy in the same week, and now fans are asking whether the 5th gen curse is real. It started when Eunseok apologized after a Bubble post containing a term widely criticized as racially insensitive — he deleted the message quickly and addressed fans directly the next day. Almost immediately, resurfaced clips of Wonbin naming Chris Brown among his musical inspirations began circulating again, and Sungchan came under fire over a playlist reportedly shared in March that included a song by d4vd, who is now facing serious criminal charges. Fans stepped in to defend all three members, arguing the backlash was overblown or based on things they couldn't have known, while critics said idols should be more careful with their words and choices. And despite everything, RIIZE's comeback mini album II broke the group's own first-day sales record according to Hanteo Chart and became their fourth consecutive million-seller. So is the 5th generation actually cursed, or is this just how K-pop discourse works now? We break down every controversy, the apology, the fan defenses, and what it all means for RIIZE going forward — with full context, the way we do it here.
Subscribe to Kookielit for K-pop news and industry breakdowns done kinder.
#kpop #kpopnews #KOOKIELIT
