[theqoo] THE "SELF-CUT" IDOL CULTURE DURING FANSIGNS THAT IS BECOMING PROBLEMATIC

bypannchoa November 30, 2025

"At a photo event with 28 winners, only 12 fans actually showed up. They even prepared 28 chairs... but did only 12 fans really apply? No...

It means people were cut, and not just a few. It seems like the company or seller added 16 fake names to the list. I get that they want to set a minimum purchase amount so fans buy more, but shouldn't there be a limit?

Look at the kids' expressionsㅠㅠ Especially Harry, who just came back from BoPl2, what do you think he must be feeling…"

There were supposed to be 28 people for DKB's photo event, but 16 spots were empty and only 12 fans showed up, so fans publicly exposed it as a "self-cut".

What is a self-cut?

If they pick 30 winners, they should line up all 30 people as winners.
But the agency creates its own internal cut-off standard, and any fans who bought less than that amount get dropped.

They assume that the fans who were dropped will buy even more at the next fansign to get in, so they keep the cut high.

Because of this, agencies either hire part-timers to pretend to be fans and fill in the empty slots, or they simply leave seats empty.
This kind of manipulated list or on-site empty seats has been caught in many fandoms, not just this one.
(There was even a case where a boy group's fansign list included fake names like names of girl group members, and they got caught.)

This is one of the reasons why fansign cuts nowadays, even for mid-tier girl groups or boy groups, often start at around 1 million won.

Especially for video call fansigns, some events only process 2-3 actual fans.
Since there are no fans watching on-site, agencies can cheat without anyone noticing.
That's why video call fansign cuts are even more bizarre than in-person ones.

But agencies can just deny everything when fans complain.
Unless there’s an investigation, it’s hard to expose.
This is one of the major problems in the idol industry, I think the Fair Trade Commission should investigate since it’s clearly a fraudulent practice.

Scams like this make it hard for casual fans to get involved, and even many core fans end up giving up, which is one reason fandoms rot.

original post: here

1. Seriously, that's why they are called "Low-IQ-fans"...

2. I get that it's odd but this time, this warranted a talk. I wonder if this will stop? They got caught right away

3. They are basically scammers. Sigh, I hope that K-pop gets ruined

4. This is honestly a scam. At least, they should've let the people who didn't make it attend. I'm just so shocked that the people who rightfully won the fansign attendance couldn't even go. This is a ridiculous business tactic

5. No but why are they scamming people so blatantly here? This is horrible

6. .... Crazy

7. They need to be jailed for this

8. Crazy, this is f*cking strange.....

9. Sigh... they will continue to do this even if they get caught

10. No but the industry is filled with boy-crazies so they will never change. Just give up




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