For decades, it has been a common practice for fans to show appreciation to their favorite celebrities by bringing them gifts when they get the chance to meet their idols. The practice has become common in K-pop as well, with some fans bringing their idols gifts ranging from food, to luxury items worth millions of won.
However, many idols are now pushing back on that practice, and refusing to accept gifts other than small items like handwritten letters. A recent viral video uncovered the fact that veteran idol G-Dragon was the first idol to start this trend, all the way back in 2011.
G-Dragon originally popularized the concept of donations instead of fan gifts by introducing it on his social media in 2011. The idol made a heartfelt post saying, “I would like to carefully ask something of you all. Respectfully, I will not be accepting gifts for my birthday this time. My fans’ warm hearts are more than enough, so please celebrate and send me your love instead. I hope that from now on, rather than just receiving, we can make memories through our meaningful time together, and say goodbye pleasantly.”
Afterwards, G-Dragon’s fans chose to donate instead of giving fan gifts, and they ended up donating 8.18 million won ($5600 USD) to charity in honor of G-Dragon’s birthday. When G-Dragon learned of this, he made the heartfelt gesture of adding a 0 to the amount and donating 81.8 million won ($56,000 USD) himself. Eventually, he even started his own charity: JUSPEACE, which is an organization designed to combat drug addiction.
In the following years, refusing fan gifts in lieu of donations to charity became a common trend among idols. GFRIEND announced, “We have decided not to accept gifts except for handwritten letters and small items.” Other HYBE artists joined in, with BTS, SEVENTEEN, and NU’EST similarly announcing that they would not be accepting any fan gifts other than handwritten letters. Additionally, IU, EXO, Taemin, NCT, Kang Daniel, and many idols under JYP Entertainment also decided to not accept fan gifts.
Prominent actors joined the trend as well, with Yoo Jae Suk making a personal announcement to fans: “Just a supportive message is enough, so rather than giving gifts as a way to support me, I would like to ask for only heartfelt letters from you all.” Actress Kim Hee Ae joined in, stating: "Every birthday, I am grateful for the overflowing love and the congratulations that fans send me. Instead of gifts and flowers, I will only accept your hearts. I will repay your love with better acting and hard work."
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