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Rumors surrounding Hearts2Hearts
Recently, Ian, a member of SM Entertainment’s latest girl group, Hearts2Hearts, faced accusations of being a school bully. While netizens remain doubtful as several alleged former classmates came to Ian’s defense, another issue regarding the female idol has emerged.
In particular, a pre-debut social media post if Ian has become the talk of town for a not-so-positive reason. Specifically, while the photo itself poses no concern, only showing Ian next to her friend, the caption was said to contain ableist connotations.

The caption in question, which reads “장애인 둘” (jangae-in), can be translated to “two disabled people”. This is a common term often used to refer to people with disabilities, and some Korean students would use it as a joke to jab at themselves or their friends. However, while the meaning itself is not insulting, many netizens find the use of the word, especially by people without disability, to be ableist.
So far, some have left comments criticizing Ian. However, some came to the female idol’s defense, stating that it might have been Ian’s friend that wrote the caption, not Ian herself. In the end, the netizen who originally published the photo deleted it themselves and clarified the reason behind this action.
“I have deleted the post about the ‘disabled’ caption as of the moment. When I was first tipped-off about it, I did not verify whether it was Ian or her friend that published it, so I believe it’d be better to delete the post for now. I apologize for not taking this into consideration at first, and I have contacted the person that sent me the post for more information. I will reveal the full truth when they reply to me”, the person wrote.
SM Entertainment’s response
On February 26th, SM Entertainment issued an official statement, saying, “We have confirmed that false information, malicious slander and defamatory posts regarding our artist Hearts2Hearts are being posted and spread. In response, we have initiated legal procedures.”
The statement continued, “Fabricating untrue content or spreading baseless rumors without verification is a clear illegal act. We want to emphasize that we will take strict legal action without any leniency or settlements. We will continue to make every effort to protect our artists.”