Block B
| RPF Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name(s): | Block B, 블락비 |
| Scope/Focus: | K-pop |
| Date(s): | 2011-Present |
| See also: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Block B is a South Korean hip-hop boy band and kpop-idol group. They were formed in 2011.
Though the group has not formally disbanded, members have been pursuing solo projects since 2018 and have not been musically active as a full group since. They also have two sub-units, Bastarz (B-Bomb, U-Kwon, and P.O.) and T2U (Taeil and U-Kwon.)
Members
The group consists of seven members:
- Zico
- Park Kyung
- B-Bomb (Lee Minhyuk)
- U-Kwon (Kim Yukwon)
- Jaehyo
- Taeil
- P.O. (Pyo Jihoon)
As of 2024, all members have completed their mandatory military service, and Zico and P.O. are no longer under contract with Seven Seasons, the group's company label.
Fandom
The fandom is named BBC, which stands for "Block B club." To distinguish between Korean fans and International fans, sometimes the names KBBC and IBBC are used. The fans have also been referred to as Bees, and the symbol for the fanclub is a honeybee [1]. Both Zico and Taeil have bee tattoos. [2] The official lightstick has black and yellow stripes.
Fanworks
Shortly after debut, a LiveJournal community dedicated to Block B RPF was created, at block_b_fiction. The LiveJournal fanfiction fandom also had a fanfiction gift exchange event, hephapsanta, which ran in 2011 and 2012.
As of February 2024 there are a little over 1000 fanworks on AO3 for Block B.
Shipping
The members are aware of the fans shipping them, and have talked about how they've read some fanfiction.
Popular ships in the fandom include:
- Zico/Park Kyung (Zikyung)
- Taeil/P.O (Taepyo)
- U-Kwon/B-Bomb (UBomb)
- Zico/Jaehyo (Jaeco)
Zikyung
Zico and Park Kyung are close friends from before they debuted in the group together, and during promotions they would do a lot of fanservice with each other. Zico's successful solo projects also drew attention to the ship.
In a 2016 episode of SNL Korea, Block B were part of a skit called My Boyfriend is Block B. The skit is about a female fan, writing self-insertion fan fiction about herself and P.O. It also features a scene where Park Kyung confesses his love for Zico, and the two of them share an onscreen kiss. As a result, the show received backlash from viewers for featuring "a storyline supporting homosexuality" and was met with a sanction from the Korean Communications Standards Commission. [3]
Taepyo
Taeil is the oldest member of the group, and also the shortest, while P.O is the group maknae, and is the tallest; their personalities are also opposite to each other. Their "opposites attract" dynamic appeals to a large shipper base.
Fandom Initiatives
Overall, the Block B fandom (particularly fan page runners) has organized a number of community projects for the fans. Because of the overlap, it was not unusual for multiple events or projects celebrating the same thing, such as a member's birthday, to be running at the same time.
Charity Work
- For Block B's first album, fans donated a total of 220lb (100kg) of rice to those in need. [4]
- For their 4th anniversary, fans took pictures of themselves around the world and raised money for charity. [5] This included building a well in Cambodia.[6]
- For their 7th anniversary, fans made donations to the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation. [7]
Ads
- In 2018, international fans bought adspace on Time's Square to celebrate Re:Montage's release and Jaehyo's birthday. [8]
Other Projects
- When the group returned after the Stardom Court case, fans planned a banner project at one of their showcases that moved the group to tears.[9]
Controversies
Block B and its members have had a number of controversies. Not all of them have been large, but as they amassed fans became doubtful if the group's reputation would survive. [10]
Thailand Interview
In 2012, during an interview in Thailand, when asked about the recent flood the members answered jokingly that they would help with the money they had in their pocket, which was ~700 won ($6).[11] Their careless attitude upset people, both in Thailand and internationally. To show their remorse, they recorded a video of themselves apologizing, which also showed that Zico shaved his head to show respect. Fans have expressed mixed feelings of the events, but many agree that the backlash was not in proportion to the behaviour, and that the matter was made worse by mistranslations between Korean and Thai. [12]
One of the members most affected by the backlash was P.O, who was hospitalized after fainting when he reportedly learned about a petition that the members should apologize by committing suicide. However, no such petition was able to be located. [13]
U-Kwon Dating
 | PPOV: Some opinions or a particular focus may take up more space than seems justified by the length of the article or by the issue at hand. Please change and expand the focus by adding to the article and check out our Plural Point of View policy. When in doubt, discuss your concerns on the talk page of the article. |
In 2012 U-Kwon chose to go public with his relationship with model Jun Sun-Hye.[14] After the announcement, some fans were upset by what they perceived was a change in attitude towards BBC. They felt like U-Kwon was posting too much about his girlfriend on social media, and wasn't being loving enough during fanmeets. [15] It didn't help that his girlfriend was seen with a bracelet identical to one U-Kwon had been gifted by a fan, leading to fans assuming he had given his girlfriend the gift intended for him.
I've been a fan since 'Nanrina' and the biggest reason I've been falling out of the fanbase is because of U-Kwon. If you compare his Twitter or Instagram from early debut to now, it's a mess. He used to be so good to fans but now he ignores them and it was only until recently when they gained a lot more fans that he's been pretending to do some fanservice.
Others were happy that U-Kwon was honest about his dating life, even if they argued that it should not get in the way of his job as an idol by making him not act unfriendly towards fans.
I've been a BBC ever since they first debuted with Freeze. I've been through scandals after scandals and stayed by them. When ukwon announced his relationship, I was so happy! This is the group I know I stan right. Being open with the fans and promote honestly. I really respect him for doing that but kwon ah.. this is getting ridiculous. This is not the matter of you have a girlfriend or not. We don't care and you know that! Just have some basic manners. Ugh
Stardom Lawsuit
Originally, Block B were under the entertainment label Stardom (together with groups like ToppDogg and EvoL). However, in 2013 the group filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that they had not been paid since their debut in 2011. They also said that the former CEO of the company, Mr. Lee, had stolen money was meant to fund the group's activities. Not long after the case went to court, Mr. Lee was found dead, having committed suicide. [16] The court did not rule in Block B's favour, but they worked to have their contracts annulled [17] and went on to start their own label, Seven Seasons.
Because of this, Block B did not promote or release music for almost a year until Be The Light. In the music video, one of the members is beaten up while he thinks about a girl who is waiting for him. Fans interpreted this as Block B making a song about their fans, that have remained by their side through controversies. [18].
Tough Cookie
In 2014, Zico released a solo song called Tough Cookie. In the music video, he is wearing a jacket that features a patch of the confederate flag. This upset a lot of international fans, who found it culturally insensitive. The lyrics also had a number of derogatory terms, that made listeners upset. [19]
Some fans pointed out that the jacket in question was designed by Kanye West, while others felt that it made no difference. Zico's label eventually apologized for the derogatory terms used in the song. [20]
Golden Phone
In 2019, Jung Joon Young was investigated for having filmed and shared sexual footage of at least ten different women without their consent; this was done with a mobile phone. Prior to this investigation, in 2016 Zico had made comments on Radio Star (show) along with JJY, joking that JJY had a "Golden Phone". Because of this, fans suspected that Zico had known about the illegal footage. Soon, Zico made a statement that he had been referring to another phone and that he had no knowledge about JJY's crimes. [21]
Park Kyung Bullying
In September 2019, a Korean user posted on his Instagram account that he was a former classmate of Park Kyung and used to be bullied by him. [22] Park Kyung soon admitted to these claims and apologized in an Instagram post [23]. but many fans no longer felt comfortable supporting him. Others felt like it was unfair to punish Park Kyung so fiercely for actions when he was a child, especially when he was showing himself remorseful.
Fan Reactions
Through many of these controversies, many fans have decided to no longer support the group and formally leave the fandom, due to whatever personal principles the controversies had crossed for them.
Resources
References
- ^ Soompi Block B Reveals Fan Club Logo That’s Perfect For BBC (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ BlockB.com Frequently Asked Questions (accessed 11 February 2021)
- ^ allkpop 'SNL Korea' under fire by KCSC for Zico-Park Kyung kiss (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ KMusic Block B fans donate 220 lbs of rice in support for their 1st Album (accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ I Have A Thing For Block B Block B 4th Anniversary Project- BBC Fan Tour (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/news/block-b-fan-club-members-sponsor-a-well-004931619.html BLOCK B fan club members sponsor a well construction in Cambodia by Kim Dong-Joo. April 17, 2015. Accessed February 7, 2024.
- ^ fanmaum Block B's 7th Debut Anniversary Project (accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ allkpop International fans surprise Block B with a billboard ad on New York Times Square (accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ sbs 10 moments when idols were surprised by concert fan projects (accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ Do U Wanna B Block B Block B’s Trolling: This Time It’s Gone Too Far (accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ Soompi Block B’s Controversial Behaviour in Thailand Outrages 2PM Members (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ My Other Blog The Thailand scandal (or really, any scandal you can think of), gatekeepers, and haters (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ Soompi Block B "Suicide Petition" Is Unfounded? (accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ HelloKpop Male Idol Confesses Secret Relationship (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ Omona They Didn't [Pann] U-Kwon's change of attitude concerns fans (Accessed 3 Februrary 2021)
- ^ Channel-K THE CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING STARDOM ENTERTAINMENT (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ allkpopBlock B releases official statement + will not be working with Stardom Entertainment again (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ Seoul Beats Block B Wants You To "Be the Light" (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ allkpop International netizens find Zico's 'Tough Cookie' MV offensive for its use of Confederate flag and derogatory terms (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ Soompi Seven Seasons Apologizes for Use of Derogatory Words in Block B Zico’s “Tough Cookie” Lyrics (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ Soompi Zico Addresses His Past Remarks About Looking At Jung Joon Young’s “Golden Phone”
- ^ allkpop The netizen who exposed Block B's Park Kyung as a school bully testifies to more shocking things about the artist's past (Accessed 3 February 2021)
- ^ allkpop Block B's Park Kyung admits he was a victim and perpetrator of school bullying (Accessed 3 February 2021)