In what one person on Twitter referred to as a glorified “p*ssed up rager”, W Korea put on their annual Love Your W event in support of breast cancer awareness. Unfortunately, and despite the event being attended by some of South Korea’s biggest names, the charity gala turned into an absolute disaster.
Here’s the entire saga from start to finish, and what the W Korea magazine said in response.
Who was at the W Korea’s Love Your W event?
w korea PR team seeing their guests get blamed instead of them:
pic.twitter.com/Tg1NbaAS8S— nabila⁷ (@prodvantes) October 16, 2025
The W Korea gala had all the makings of a successful charity fundraiser, with the who’s who of South Korean elite dressed to the nines and brandishing some pretty substantial net worths.
On the music front, BTS’ V, RM and J-Hope, attended the event with Aespa’s Karina, IVE’s Jang Wonyoung and Jeon Somi, and Stray Kids’ Bang Chan and Seungmin. Also, there was ENHYPEN’s Jake, Sunghoon and Jungwon, TXT’s Soobin, MONSTA X’s Shownu and Hyungwon, and BIGBANG’s Taeyang.
Actors like Lee Dong Hwi, Lee Jun Ho, Lee Soo Hyuk, Lee Chae Min, Park Eun Bin, Choo Young Woo, Park Gyu Young, Gong Myung, Byeon Woo Seok, Moon So Ri, and Ha Jung Woo also went. Models, politicians, and other people working in the entertainment industry also stepped out to support breast cancer awareness.
Why did it get so much backlash?
@xolilaxo1 also them leaving early doesnt make it any better. Idols who attended : ILLIT (minju & wonhee spoke about it), IVE wonyoung, yujin, rei (only rei spoke about it), AESPA, ENHYPEN jake, sunghoon, jungwon, TXT soobin, STRAYKIDS seungmin, bangchan, BTS jhope, taehyung, rm, ITZY yuna, yeji, LESSERAFIM chaewon, kazuha, IDLE, NMIXX haewon, sullyoon, SNSD hyoyeon, BIGBANG taeyang, ALLDAYPROJECT, soloists somi & jo yuri || #wkorea #breastcancerawareness #fyp #fyppp #kpop
Clips from W Korea’s Love Your W gala showed the exceedingly rich celebrities allegedly treating the charity gala like a fashion party rather than a meaningful charity initiative. Drinks were being chugged, content was being filmed, and people were dancing around like it was a nightclub meet-and-greet.
Even on the organiser’s part, all of the content was about the celebrities themselves and not the charity initiative. Not a single name mentioned the cause in their to-camera interviews, instead choosing to gossip and drum up business for their own projects.
Then there was the live show. Jay Park performed his highly sexualised song, Mommae, for the attendees, singing about “I want to be introduced to the twin sisters hanging on your chest.”
@thisdivalovesyou it’s just making it worse… #karina #aespa #wkorea #fyp #explore
Finally, there was the money aspect. Since launching in 2007, the gala has only donated 315.69 million won (£165,524) to the Korea Breast Cancer Foundation, which equates to roughly £29k a year from a room where net worths exceed the hundreds of millions.
One person said on Twitter: “This event was so shameless, every celebrity who attended + W Korea should be held accountable, this is not only disrespectful to victims of breast cancer but it’s just so tone deaf!”
“This whole time I thought W Korea was just another fancy gathering for celebs…turns out it’s a charity event for breast cancer,” another said.
They’ve since issued an apology
View this post on Instagram
After TikTok and Twitter were flooded with super-long threads about the event, W Korea “deeply apologised” for any hurt it had caused.
“However, the event on October 15 sparked criticism that its format and execution were inappropriate in light of the objective of the campaign, and we are taking this criticism seriously. Above all else, we would like to deeply apologise for having caused discomfort and pain by failing to carefully consider the perspective of breast cancer patients and their families,” it said in a statement.
“Additionally, we feel deeply apologetic when we think of how this controversy must have inconvenienced the many people who participated in our event with good intentions because they empathised with the campaign’s purpose. We are reflecting on our shortcomings while thinking of all the people who were hurt by this event.”
The magazine further alleged that some of the larger donations were not included in the donation roundup, suggesting the actual money raised was considerably more.
Jay Park also apologised for the W Korea event
Jay Park IG Story (2025.10.16)
— … (@theJ_Effect) October 16, 2025
After people argued that his song was not appropriate for the breast cancer event, given that he sings about loving breasts, Jay Park issued an apology on Instagram while clearing up his motivations.
He said: “After the official breast cancer awareness campaign event ended, there was an after-party and performance. I understood it as a gathering of people who came together with good intentions and in good spirits, so I performed as I normally would. To any cancer patients who may have felt uncomfortable or upset watching my performance, I sincerely apologise.
“I hope you all stay healthy. Hwaiting! I performed, even though I have an injury, without pay and with a good heart, wanting to contribute in a meaningful way. Please don’t twist that goodwill. I meant this for those of you trying to turn one act done with good intentions into a controversy… Please don’t twist what I said or misinterpret it. I ask for your understanding.”
For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.
Featured image credit: W Korea/Instagram
