Netizens Defend PENTAGON's Hui As His Participation In "Boys Planet" Faces Criticism

The competition on the idol reality show Boys Planet is currently underway. As a spin-off of the popular idol competition show Girls Planet 999, which aired in 2021 and formed the K-Pop group Kep1er, netizens are eager to see what group will be formed from the show and which nine contestants will make the final line-up.

“Boys Planet” contestants | *@boysplanet.official/Instagram*

The show is off to an exciting start and recently aired its fourth episode. Although the show has barely begun, it’s already sparked a few controversies and has had its surprising moments.

From Mnet‘s infamous “evil editing” that caused backlash before the show even started…

… to a group of global contestants coming under fire for their behavior towards fellow global trainee Na Kamden. Many netizens believe was another example of Mnet’s “evil editing…”

it feels like krystian wasn’t cutting off kamden but just translating in Chinese what he said to the team since most of them don’t speak English well https://t.co/11dPt1rKMs

— ★ (@98jwoong) February 16, 2023

… to the talented former Cube Entertainment trainees who had netizens convinced the company was letting go of its most talented trainees, the show has been the topic of many buzzworthy conversations.

“Boys Planet” Has K-Pop Fans Wondering How Cube Entertainment Keeps Letting Go Of Their Most Talented Trainees

One of the biggest surprises so far was revealed before the show even aired, and it was the announcement that PENTAGON‘s Hui would be competing for a chance to debut with the winning line-up.

The announcement that he would be joining Boys Planet shocked netizens, and Hui revealed that he made the decision to join because he felt a burden as the group’s leader. He shared that when he returned from the military, “things became a lot different.”

The group faced numerous rejections for the first time, and he felt like there was “nothing he could do” for his fellow members.

hui feeling that things have changed after he came back and he feel like pentagon became invisible that's why he joined 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/u3xz8HMOpQ

— amaya (@taeksite) February 9, 2023

Hui, who is competing under his given name Lee Hoe Taek, has proven to be a popular contestant on the show and was ranked highest in his group during the third episode.

As the show progresses, his chances of debuting in the final line-up continue to increase. A post on a popular Korean online community board recently went viral as the top comments questioned Hui’s participation in the show.

PENTAGON’s Hui (center) during his first public appearance with “Boys Planet.”

Some of the top comments argued that his participation was unfair because he was still a member of an active K-Pop group, which they felt took away an opportunity from someone who had never debuted.

Others took issue with Hui wearing his in-ears with PENTAGON’s fandom name on them, which some netizens felt would increase votes for Hui from his group’s existing fandom, among other concerns.

“It’s a little weird since there are trainees who came out after disbanding.. It’s not like they failed. He has a group to go back to, so I honestly don’t know why he came on [this show] ㅜ”

“It was wrong for him to come out on the “Boys Planet” stage wearing his in-ear with PENTAGON’s fandom written on it ㅋㅋ What does he think “Boys Planet” is? Legendary fraud”

“[Idols] born in ’02 and ’03 are at the end range of being able to debut, so why is a ’93er coming out and trying to steal their spot?
It’s really too much ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“He doesn’t want to give up his group but also want to steal young kids’ opportunitiesㅜㅜ”

“He didn’t even leave his group. He’s completely different from Oh Sungmin and Cha Woongki”

After news of the post went viral, other netizens quickly stepped in to defend him.

Many pointed out that idols from other active K-Pop groups have competed in similar programs in the past, so they felt this similar circumstance shouldn’t be an issue.

Others shared that they sympathized with Hui’s efforts to revive his group and feel he has the best opportunity to continue his music career by competing.

People who are saying hui should just back to pentagon and promote with them instead of being in bp… Tell me how many of you actually give a damn when PTG have a comeback or even listen to their songs? If not then keep quiet and move away…

— Puchki ^_^ Yanan (@YananMyUltiBias) March 1, 2023

Tbh I kinda get Hui's frustration as a leader. Pentagon is so talented, like super talented. But their current popularity is not in par with what they can offer. They should've risen higher. Hui knows this,that's why he feels so unfair abt the situation. He needs to do something

— 💜🎶🌌💙 (@mel0dy1010_) March 2, 2023

The comment about Hui wearing his in-ear monitor for the klmr stage is the stupidest thing I've read by far! Like the previous idols from the past seasons didn't wear theirs lol

— Ly🌻 (@kinosiology) March 1, 2023

Can i say without hui bp rating would not that high tho,mnet need him,netizen love drama 😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑. All of his haters just could saying nonsense

— 🍡🧋 bubble (@Brownsugarbubb1) March 2, 2023