Monster Rookie Group IVE’s Introduction Causes Controversy Amongst K-Pop Fans
In K-Pop, one of the most unique things about each artist and group is their introduction greeting. Whether they are doing interviews, performing in front of fans, or just holding a live broadcast, most K-Pop artists will begin with their introduction, which usually includes a verbal greeting and hand gesture.
Starship Entertainment‘s new girl group IVE recently showcased their own greeting, but it has come under criticism after netizens noticed its resemblance to another girl group.
On November 29, the girls appeared in a video ahead of their appearance on Weekly Idol.
Even though the group hadn’t debuted when the video was released, the group already had their greeting sorted. The members began with “Dive into IVE!” The greeting also includes a hand gesture where each member holds her three middle fingers sideways to represent the ‘E’ in IVE.
When the group debuted on December 1, they once again showed off their introduction at the showcase, and it seemed like the perfect greeting for the group.
Netizens went online to share their excitement about the introduction and also the future of IVE. For them, it truly cemented the beginning of the group’s career and was a positive sign for things to come in the future.
Others quickly raised concerns about the uniqueness of the hand gesture done by the members. In particular, some shared that the hand gesture seemed very similar to the one used by Yuehua Entertainment‘s girl group EVERGLOW.
EVERGLOW debuted in 2019, and their introduction begins with, “Ready, all light!” Although the words are different from IVE’s, it’s the similarities with the hand gesture that netizens noticed. While introducing themselves, the EVERGLOW members also hold up three fingers held sideways.
When netizens noticed the similarities, they started raising concerns and asked IVE’s company Starship Entertainment to change the greeting.
Although some netizens don’t see the issue with the similarities, many don’t agree as they believe that the hand gesture is a key part of EVERGLOW’s identity. They have also raised that it might cause confusion for fans as each K-Pop greeting is unique to that artist.
Knet is asking Starship to change their greeting because when they pose, it's still 3 fingers like EVERGLOW. If you look at it, it might be confusing if both of them do the same greeting pic.twitter.com/qATXrw2as7
— jamie ₊⋆ EVERGLOW DAY ✧ (@janjngmn) December 1, 2021
What the F**! , Starship has only found an EVERGLOW salute to be an official greeting for IVE?!
Huh !! 😐🙂 pic.twitter.com/VckQXqeW3U— 🪐🛸Alexis 🏴☠️✨ (@itsme_alexis40) November 29, 2021
With IVE just debuting, netizens think it is still possible for the group to change their greeting to allow both them and EVERGLOW to have a unique identity that makes them stand out against other girl groups.
Neither company has responded to the comments.
