Ex-SM Chinese trainees speak out about Kris' situation

[rikayla.livejournal.com]

Song Bingyang (left), and Liu Chao (right)

Former SM Entertainment Chinese trainee, Liu Chao, wrote on his Weibo:

Even though I don’t know the exactly reason you’re choosing to leave too, but I believe you have bitter words you can't utter and I understand how you feel, persisted for so long, you've worked hard! Our futures are filled with the unknown, but it is also filled with more choices, I believe things will be better~ I also hope that overseas entertainment companies will be more protective of trainees like us who left our homes and families behind, kids who shed sweat and gave you our youth… Jiayou Yifan! We are all here.

Another former SM Entertainment Chinese trainee, Song Bingyang, reposted Liu Chao's Weibo with his own comment:

K, jiayou! Everyone has seen the hardwork you’ve put in all this while! We support you! I believe the future will be better!

Song Bingyang left SM Entertainment back in 2011. He now studies at Berklee College of Music, and has family in Vancouver. He's most well-known for his duet with Zhang Liyin on her first album. The two of them are childhood BFFs; Bingyang followed Liyin into training at SM Entertainment. While Liu Chao is another of Zhang Liyin's close friends in the company, he left the company last year and has since (re)debuted as a Chinese actor.

And although Zhang Liyin herself hasn't said anything, she has gotten a lot of negative comments from EXO fans on her most recent Weibo, which has photos of her and Zhou Mi drinking tea together today. One of her BFFs commented on Weibo afterwards that Liyin spoke to her about EXO's situation, "'I know they (EXO fans) are really upset at the moment, I understand,'" but Liyin herself has been going through some personal things (e.g. getting sick, and her dad is/was also sick), so the BFF requests EXO fans to stop hurting her.


Sources: Liu Chao's Weibo, Song Bingyang's Weibo, Liyin's BFF's Weibo
Translations: epikey, rikayla

For perspective.

Comments

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa??
what happened?

[missingmisnomer.livejournal.com]

lmfao you're doing the most in these posts and cracking me up

[bunica1990.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the post, op! It's nice to see others speaking out.

Poor Liyin btw. I hope her father and her get better. Those people should stop bothering her.

[rikayla.livejournal.com]

you're welcome! i thought it would add a nice different perspective from the eyes of former chinese SM trainees :)

[missingmisnomer.livejournal.com]

Yes! I hope more people come forward and support him.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

your icon is beautiful

[laurent.livejournal.com]

lol nice to see some people still giving him words of encouragment

[torontok.livejournal.com]

Immature idiots need to leave Liyin alone.
Kris better start garnering that celebrity support.

[inori88.livejournal.com]

Woa this is new. And touching. All the luck in the world Kris.

[thesundayaffair.livejournal.com]

ZLY should have filed a lawsuit to get out of her contract but SM probably didn't even work her hard in the first place.

[missingmisnomer.livejournal.com]

the sad truth right here

[honeyfunnybunny.livejournal.com]

To be honest they have all worked incredibly hard, and I don't believe for a second that if it really wasn't necessary he wouldn't have done it or that he did it with the intention of hurting anyone.

And song bing yang.. Such talent :(

http://youtu.be/Fulmym8PChU

I just wished my bias didn't lash out but it's understandable.. They have all suffered tbh

[rikayla.livejournal.com]

he has an official youtube channel too!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwG4OH-QPlcmwqHYCEerF2g

[myiuchan.livejournal.com]

argh, i saw some really gross comments from exofans to liyin and zhou mi on her weibo. :((

[es2pido.livejournal.com]

Once Kris frees himself from SM, he'll be like

[laurent.livejournal.com]

omg

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

Why are EXOtics attacking Liyin?

[rikayla.livejournal.com]

idk exactly. i purposely chose to not read the comments or the screenshots after i saw the first one: "kris is leaving, you're drinking tea, if it wasn't for SMTB and chen's collaboration with you, you would be a nobody"

but chinese chocolates created a counter hashtag: #张力尹我们陪你喝下午茶# which is "Zhang Liyin, we will drink afternoon tea with you" LOL <3 bless

[a-cheshire-grin.livejournal.com]

That's nice!
It's great to see that others are supporting Kris openly!

And to EXO-fans: STOP making me feel fucking embarrassed to be in this fandom all the time!

I wish Liyin and her father a lot of strength and all the best!!!

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

Why were Exo fans going for Liyin???

#FreeGalaxy #FreeMilkyWay #FreeErrbody

[eternityras.livejournal.com]

i've always wondered why if stylist dresses kris so weird bc sm hates him, now i know

[mad-nux.livejournal.com]

those rude fans attacking liyin...makes me enjoy their pain and suffering more

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

Liyin isn't even involved wtf. I swear the exo fandom is combusting.

Idk how to feel bc apparently even the exo guys didn't know (which I think is unfair regardless of Kris' circumstances), but it's not Kris' fault either. This entire thing is a mess that SM caused.

[nekokonneko.livejournal.com]

i think kris' lawyers told him not to tell, it's very common in cases like this to do that

[k-omorebi.livejournal.com]

Liu Chao is so fine...

Omg getting distracted yas Kris yas gather your army against the SM overlords. Revolution is now.

#Vileplumesaysso

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

i didn't realise liu chao had left sm. he is so qt. i don't think people actually imagine how hard it is to go to a foreign country and leave your family behind for years in order to achieve your dream :/ i know i couldn't do it. trainee life must be hard enough as it is, but especially when you don't have your family around to support you.

i know people talk about sm's poor treatment of their chinese trainees and how exo k are favoured over m, but can someone elaborate on that?? i don't really know anything about it.

why are exo fans being nasty to li yin tho :(

[juhli.livejournal.com]

pretty much. What Liu Chao wrote about how they gave them their youth....somehow that hit me.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

I'm supposed to be cleaning but these articles keep coming out

[missingmisnomer.livejournal.com]

i'm sposed to be cleaning too. i guess that staircase won't get swept today.

[mad-nux.livejournal.com]

OPPA PLS HELP KRIS



donghae's instagram is giving me life rn

[bunica1990.livejournal.com]

lmfao

the secondhand embarrassment is strong right now

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

Oh...Hi Liu Chao....I didn't know he left...that explains why he's never seen with Kris anymore

Hey Song Bingyang...hello.

*focus*

Kris....take care of yourself sweetie

And the rest of the boys take care of each other...because even if they knew they better deny everything

[rikayla.livejournal.com]

yeah liu chao left really quietly. he took a few months off just travelling and it was so cute to see him just travel around the world and go to disneyland and everything rofl

[flumes.livejournal.com]

tbh i just want answers of how it'll end. like, i want him to be happy and the group members to be able to still do what they do. it makes sense why he did things this way especially if he wanted to get out. a lot of people probably felt this way too. no one should be anywhere they dont want to be or suffer through things they shouldn't have to. just because others can doesn't mean he should want to continue.

it's the same worldwide not just an sk companies thing but it's hard work being in the spotlight and suffering silently. it fucking sucks that everyone pretty much knows how hard it is. celeb culture is terrifying. good luck. also exo fans need to fucking find their chill. damn leave the others alone.

[dramatised149.livejournal.com]

I do want a nice resolution to this whole issue for everyone's sakes, but the chances of that happening are slim now that it's gone this far imo. If it had just been dealt with without a ripple and SM suppressed everything again, nothing would change internally in the company and artists wouldn't be treated better, but EXO would have probably remained intact. As things stand, I don't see how EXO is going to manage to keep all 12 members together now that SM has pushed it this far, to be brutally honest.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_clochette_/]

"I also hope that overseas entertainment companies will be more protective of trainees like us who left our homes and families behind"

this truth right here.

[skonka.livejournal.com]

I sympathise with Kris more than the other two entities but why do people think their situation will be different? Surely the company's rep is obvious to all.,And if it's too much for an individual to stand against, why isn't the government regulating these seemingly oppressive contracts.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_clochette_/]

+100000

OT12 stans and kris stans are both doing the most rn and idgi. like can they not all agree to just hate SME and keep it moving?

I feel bad for everyone involved - the other guys who are on the surface maybe more resilient or more committed or have stronger support systems* and kris if he was struggling so much he felt he had no other choice but to bail - but I give no fucks for SME or its shareholders in this. it's happened too many times and with too many similarities for the company/fans to just keep acting oblivious

*and I think this is key for the non-K members as liu chao points out above