sm to respect the decision of shinee members regarding upcoming dome concerts in japan

[byeolbyeol.livejournal.com]

SHINee Japanese homepage announcment says the status of SHINee’s ‘'SHINee WORLD THE BEST 2018~FROM NOW ON~’ concerts in February will be determined after discussions with the members and the staff.https://t.co/SxdobpmECN pic.twitter.com/uPmyjGlDnJ

— mes #TeamPinky (@OH_mes) December 24, 2017

for those unaware: shinee is slated to hold a small series of dome concerts in february. the concerts were set up in a way to visibly celebrate their past five tours and albums in japan, and possibly serve as their final dome concerts before onew's enlistment. shinee world japan, their japanese fan club, released a similar statement late on the 23rd and this seemed to be the follow up by sm. speculation is that the statement was released because registration for fan club lottery ticketing was meant to come to a close yesterday.

source(s): oh_mes (via naver)

this one is ... rough and i have some feelings on it that i'll save to post in an actual comment.

Comments

[she-devil666.livejournal.com]

I'm behind whatever they want to do

[ponpirot.livejournal.com]

February is too soon emotionally and logistically, so the concert series will probably be pushed closer to their anniversary.

I hope they take care of themselves in the meantime, especially Taemin and Onew. Minho and Key seem to bounce back well after adversity and Onew is stronger than we think he is, but after the year he's had, idk. I really hope they're taking care of each other and that they aren't reading nasty comments on sns from antis or grieving fans that are still hashing out the same on bias fights.

Either way, I'll get behind whatever they decide to do. If they break up, they have an amazing discography I can listen to and if they decide to continue on, they'll have plenty of life long fans to rely on.

[byeolbyeol.livejournal.com]

honestly there's nothing wrong with feeling that way because i get where you're coming from too. like i've said: if they do decide to continue on, i respect that as long as it's their decision but i'm really... anxious at the thought of them doing a group schedule that soon after. two months is too soon, especially for multiple dome concerts. i think it'd be different if this were something for their anniversary in may that's doubled as a big memorial or tribute for jonghyun but it's... not. and even if they want to get back to work soon i don't know if it'd be good for their mental health for it to be with this particular schedule.

[jillyjellly.livejournal.com]

I had the same thoughts as you but came across this comment on r/SHINee and it gave me comfort. I'm not sure if this user is on Omona.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SHINee/comments/7ltrke/sm_releases_statement_about_shinees_japanese/drp6n6q/

Realistically speaking though, I think SM will force them to continue. There's still too much money to be milked from the SHINee brand, especially since this tragedy has put them in the spotlight... :/

[byeolbyeol.livejournal.com]

man. i can't lie but reading that comment kind of hurt me, lol. this isn't as simple as "rebranding" the group around another member. it isn't like jonghyun left the group like sulli left f(x) or kris, luhan and tao. he died and in a very tragic way. honestly that comment reads more as that person wanting the future to go according to their own planning and not what the members might want.

[jillyjellly.livejournal.com]

Who really knows what they want though? This is just one possible option. What happened is unprecedented but I don't think moving forward as a group takes away from Jonghyun's legacy. Of course, I will respect their ultimate decision.

Personally, I found it to be one way to process this tragedy. It's been a very, very dark week. No matter how long it takes and what becomes of "SHINee", I hope for the members to be able to eventually move on from losing someone so dear to them. I just want them to be healthy and happy, and I'm aware it's selfish.

[byeolbyeol.livejournal.com]

no. i know. i'm sorry. i'm just not handling any of this well lol

[jillyjellly.livejournal.com]

don't be sorry. we all mourn differently.

[stormycarat.livejournal.com]

i hope shinee has a hiatus through the suffering of jonghyun.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Unlike everyone, I actually prefer them to be working as four so they have each other to rely on during this heavy and difficult time. Practising the concert without Jjong would be hard but remembering him and filled their time talking about him is more healthy for their mental health and allowed them to let go of him slowly and properly in my opinion.

But whatever their decision is, I hope they are doing it for themselves and not because of the fans or SM.

[jillyjellly.livejournal.com]

February is too soon... I would like them to take a break but selfishly I want them to eventually continue as a group...

[lycorisc.livejournal.com]

nothing about this situation will ever be ok. i just miss him and i feel for the boys a lot all the time.

[aeries-amethyst.livejournal.com]

I honestly can't see them continuing, but if they do, then it wouldn't be any time soon.

Jonghyun was an integral part not only to their music but to their choreography and to revamp everything by February would not be practical. However, it is not impossible in the future. DBSK were able to carry on as 2 and had more years of experience, music and choreography under their belt, but they lost members because they left not because they died plus they had more time on their hands to figure everything out. I respect their decision to continue the group. Now the situations between Shinee and DBSK differ but there are similarities. I remember Ladies Code as well, as they lost not just one but two members, however they were a group that was not really well known and did not have nearly as much music to work with. Their comeback surprised me because I thought they would disband, but they came back with a new sound and vibe. I was so proud of them for having the courage to stand on stage again. I can't imagine how difficult that had to have been.

I believe what Shinee needs first and foremost is time. A hiatus is the best option, well probably the only option actually. Even if they may never disband officially, they need to take time for themselves to deal with their grief and their health. They can return when they feel ready and I doubt that two months is enough time. Actually, it's not even two months but less than that. This isn't easy for anyone, they've been a group for so long but have known each other even longer. These guys have trained together, gone through so much together and spend so much of their time together and then had to end up burying one of their own long before any of them anticipated. Everything about this is heartbreaking. I want to hope that SM gets them the proper mental health care but I have my doubts. I worry about Jinki the most because of his issues as well.

When will Korea start taking mental illness seriously? When will they start seeing idols as living breathing human beings?

[byeolbyeol.livejournal.com]

yeah. the biggest issue against shinee right now that isn't the obvious is time. jinki was always set to enlist sometime in the next year and, after that point, there's going to be a long lull where one member will begin enlistment after another finishes and it'd take as long as up to seven years before they're all able to come back together again.

the sad irony of it all is that shawols had been so worried in the last few months that we were going to lose time with the group after jinki's scandal, and that the enlistment hiatus would come quicker than anticipated across the board but now that seems like ... child's play compared to this like we'd do anything to have that in exchange for what actually happened, lol.

[aeries-amethyst.livejournal.com]

What guts me the most about all of this is how carefully Jonghyun planned everything out. The fact that he was in so much pain and turmoil that he did not want to make it to next year. I can't imagine feeling like that at all. You have to be at such a low point in your life where you've lost all hope and you just do not have the will to live. I am never going to get over this.

Everyone was more focused on Jinki's scandal and his impending enlistment that we did not realize that Jonghyun was in a worst state than we thought and that such a tragedy as this would even happen. Like, this is completely mind blowing to me. With Jinki I was just as worried as I was when TOP had his scandal because suicide happens way more frequently in Korea than in other countries and with the amount of stress and pressure idols are under 24/7 and not as much access to proper mental health facilities without public scrutiny it is even more difficult for them to just be okay.

You can never live a normal life as a celebrity, but at least you should be able to live comfortably and happily. If you can't even have a happy life then what is the point of living. This is why people need to understand the importance of mental health. You can have all the fame and fortune in the world and it'll never be enough. So many people have depression in Korea and the suicide rates are ridiculously high, but yet they still don't think it's an issue? I find that level of ignorance mind boggling. How can people still downplay depression when it's so rampant? On top of that, how can the people who are supposed to be professionals in the field be so nonchalant about treating their patients? What did you even go to school for and why are you getting paid if you can't even do your job by providing the bare minimum? Every single time I think about this I get so frustrated because it's clear that if anyone in Korea wants to get reliable medical help then they would have to go overseas and no idol has the time to do so and much less be discreet about it.

You're right, Jinki's enlistment would have been a way better alternative to Jonghyun's passing. Even though in the army I'm sure that the treatment Jinki would get would not help his condition in any way. They're harsh to recruits and with him not only being an idol but having mental health issues as well, it would be hell. Bullying is common place. I don't even want to think about all the horrible possibilities. People come out of the army as changed people and not necessarily for the better.

I want all of Shinee to recover at their own pace and grieve in peace. Let them know that they are not alone and there is always a way. I believe that they could actually use this time to go abroad and seek the help they need there. I would love if people would give them space and be supportive as possible but you know, those antis and netizens will never back off and just let them be.

[byeolbyeol.livejournal.com]

everything was so painstakingly planned out - more than people really realized. i have a lot of close shawol friends and we've picked up on so many things that we missed in the last few months and ... we know we did all we could, but you can't help but feel guilt, especially wondering if you could've done a little bit more. i had a strange feeling about him all year but i never wanted to say anything because: i could only support him from afar and i didn't want anyone to get upset or say that i was "reading too deep" into things. it had been at the back of my mind but i never actually thought he'd do what he did. it doesn't really help that jonghyun became very ... unavaliable after the end of september. he was frequently doing lives on instagram in late september and seemed to be doing okay and maybe he still was at that point. we'll never really know but then he went very silent. we heard from him twice around the end of october and then his concerts were confirmed and silence again. we just assumed that he was being quiet because he was preparing for his album and concert (considering that we all knew he was slated for january as early as mid-october). and i do figure he was busy with both. there's no way he wasn't but ... i don't know. there's always going to be a lot of unanswered questions.

many people that i know have expressed guilt at how focused they were on jinki's scandal, specifically in the last month after antis began to come at him harder, but as per usual: we couldn't have known. jonghyun was already quite mia by then and people were being so vile to jinki that it was difficult not to get upset with what was going on. the entire situation is just bleak and sad because shawols and shinee were having such a great year pre-august. they held concerts in north america for the first time, the entire obama thing happened, taemin had his first solo concerts, minho started to get more acclaim in acting, jonghyun held all those wonderful agit concerts. everyone was looking forward to a great and nostalgia filled 2018 for their tenth anniversary but after august it was just ... it's hard to explain. one thing after another but no one ever thought the year would end this way.

the future is difficult to map out. i'm worried for jinki, honestly. i've said this before but i feel like it'd be best for him to stay out of the spotlight leading up to his enlistment. to take the time to try and relax and be a non-celebrity as much as possible before all the ... military related stress he's going to have to take on. all-in-all i just hope that they make decisions for themselves and not for either sm or shawols. the last thing i want is for them to do something that they feel they need to do rather than what they want to do.