‘Insane crossover’: K-pop stars 2ne1, NewJeans, aespa, Treasure attend Kanye West's Vultures 2 concert in Korea

K-pop fans were neither all happy nor all furious about their favourite singers attending Kanye West's Korea concert. Here's what they said.

South Korea showered Kanye West with extra love on Friday, August 23, as he touched down at Incheon International Airport ahead of his first concert in the country in 14 years. The controversial “Stronger” rapper took over the Goyang Sports Complex in Gyeonggi-do for the “Listening Experience” of his collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign, Vultures 2.

K-pop artists at Kanye West's South Korea concert on August 23, 2024.

Even weeks before the concert kicked off, reports showed that South Korean fans went wild during ticketing to snag a spot to witness the musician in the flesh. The hip-hop mogul made his characteristically unorthodox entry on a white horse, and everyone cheered, including K-pop artists in the midst.

According to fan-shot accounts of the concert, legendary girl group 2NE1 members CL and Minzy were just two of the many Korean musicians in attendance at the latest Vultures Listening Experience. Much-loved singers like aespa's Giselle and Winter, soloist Jeon So Mi, NewJeans' Minji, Danielle, and Hanni, and TREASURE's Jihoon, Hyunsuk, Yoshi, Doyoung, and Haruto were some other K-artists basking in the glory of the musical experience.

Kanye West's Vultures 2 Listening Experience in South Korea was almost another dud like his New York event

Ye performed more than 70 songs spanning his entire career throughout his 2.5-hour-long concert. More reports affirmed that while his show was scheduled to commence at 8 pm, the rapper did not enter the arena until 9:10 pm. According to Koreaboo, the crowd gathered anticipating the show was not intimated beforehand about the 70-minute delay.

Others who've kept tabs on Ye's previous Vultures listening parties would know about a similar experience encountered months ago. In February, The Mirror reported that his Listening Experience show for Vultures Volume 1 in New York was a massive failure, with fans facing a two-hour delay, among other inconveniences at the venue.

Despite the delay in Korea, fans ultimately hailed Ye's concert as a golden moment in time. However, not everyone sided with that edge of the conversation. Numerous netizens looked down upon the present K-pop stars' choice of being at the controversial artist's concert. Ye and his Donda Academy have often been at the centre of several scandals and controversies. On top of that, the rapper himself has infamously made a name for himself for his contentious Anti-Semitic remarks over the years, ultimately leading to his fall in the American music industry purview compared to his initial grandeur in the game.

Fans react to K-pop stars attending Kanye West's Korea concert

AllKpop highlighted some disapproving messages hurled at those attending Ye's event. A user wrote online, “If you're a celebrity and you decide to consume such a controversial person, you should at least be prepared for some disapproving gaze.”

Some even compared Ye to former BIGBANG member Seungri, who's been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons tied to the sex and drug scandal infamously remembered as the “Burning Sun” scandal. Seungri has also been linked to solicitation of illegal prostitution, overseas gambling, disseminating illegally filmed sexual content and more.

A second user didn't mince their words: “So these are the celebrities who listen to this Nazi lover's music.”

Another pointed out that if Ye were a Korean celebrity, “he would have been buried.”

Meanwhile on X, formerly Twitter, netizens lost all calm. While continued criticising Korean stars, others couldn't get over the “insane crossover.”

Someone commented, “I didn’t think I’d ever see all these names together in one sentence.” Another person wrote, “Whoa, talk about a star-studded event! 😍✨ CL, Minzy, and NewJeans at kanye’s party? that’s pure fire 🔥🎉”

A third X user said, “Really? They are so disgusting for consuming that weirdo man's music 🤢🤮.”