9 SEVENTEEN Moments That Make You Wonder If Stanning Them Is Worth The Secondhand Embarrassment They Cause

Let’s face it; we’ve all had moments where we’ve experienced “secondhand embarrassment.” Secondhand embarrassment is the phenomenon when you feel embarrassed because of the embarrassing actions of another person. It happens because you care for the other, that you can put yourself in their shoes and feel their embarrassment as if it happened to you. As a K-Pop fan, these feelings seem to occur more often than for others. A prime example of this kind of group is SEVENTEEN. All thirteen members are capable of making us experience their embarrassment with them because let’s face it; they’re a group of walking memes. In celebration of this well-refined skill, here are nine (of many) moments that’ll make you wonder if stanning them is worth all of that secondhand embarrassment they harmlessly but inevitably cause.

1. SEVENTEEN audition flashback

Flashbacks are always a bit of a very well mixed bag. Sometimes you look back and relive some fantastic memories or see how you’ve grown, and other times you look back and think, “good god, what was I thinking.” This SEVENTEEN throwback is a little bit of both, with moments of “wow, these guys were born performers” and some that make you wonder how a certain sunbaenim could pass his audition when he was almost late, showed up in flip-flops, and didn’t prepare a song, so he had to sing the national anthem. True story.

2. DK’s pre-debut introduction

This lovely informal introduction by DK comes before the group’s debut. Here we get to listen to DK provide a little background about himself, including his real name, his favorite food, and even his parent’s names, all in English. Meanwhile, we get to watch Vernon hide his face in embarrassment while Seungkwan dies of laughter in the back, and we must say that both reactions mirror ours near perfectly.

3. Pre-debut SEVENTEEN versus calculator

Even well before their official debut, SEVENTEEN was making a name for themselves as quite an entertaining group of guys. As proof of that concept, the members came up with a game of hitting their heads with a calculator to see who could make the largest digit. Just watching it makes us want to bury our heads in our hands and think, “why do I stan this group?”, though we all can agree that it’s been one of our best decisions yet.

4. Sexy “Pretty U”

SEVENTEEN has released some memorable versions and videos of their much-loved song “Pretty U,” and this short excerpt is no exception. That said, it also almost makes us want to look away and cringe, and you’ll see why below.

5. DK, aka “The Sloth”

Nearly every member of SEVENTEEN can imitate at least one person or thing. Just think of Hoshi and his swimming jellyfish or his crab scuttling. Seungkwan can imitate the sound of spotty wifi, and Jeonghan makes one mean leaping giraffe. Not to be beaten is DK, who shows off his imitation skills during this clip from One Fine Day in Japan, though this imitation makes us question why we’re still stanning SEVENTEEN.

6. Jun painting with…cooking oil? On a griddle??

If you love both cooking and painting, then this video is for you. Here we have Jun beautifully displaying both, complete with a rather dumbfounded, but not surprised, The8. The8 might not have outwardly shown signs of embarrassment, but you can bet it was part of his internal monologue as he watched his hyung work on his masterpiece.

7. Main vocals’ voice crack

DK and Seungkwan are known not just for their humorous, fun-loving, and endearing off-stage personalities; they’re also two of the most gifted and most talented main vocals in all of K-Pop. They were trying to show off that skill to viewers in this video below, but alas, they’re only human. As if one voice crack wasn’t bad enough, we get a second one too, but being the great sports they are, they can laugh it off with the rest of their members.

8. Seungkwan shows off his tumbling skills

SEVENTEEN is a group that’s become known for their remarkable live performances full of powerful vocals, intense raps, and dances so synchronized you’ll forget that thirteen members are dancing and not just one. To further prove their awe-inspiring stage presence, Seungkwan took to the stage and showed off his sick tumbling skills that were so awesome that he lost his glasses in the process.

9. Seungkwan versus potato

This one is just…no comment.

BONUS: SEVENTEEN “Crackhead Compilation”

And if anyone asks, here’s a compilation of some of SEVENTEEN’s best off-stage moments to show everyone not only how multi-dimensional and loveable they are but also precisely why it is we stan.

So what do you say, Carats? After watching these nine moments (and one compilation), for the first or for the hundredth time, what are your thoughts? Is it still worth it to stan SEVENTEEN?