Korean fashion magazine “W Korea” held its 20th breast cancer awareness event “Love Your W 2025” in Seoul last week. The original intention was to raise awareness of breast cancer prevention, support patients, and fundraise. However, the event was criticized for overemphasizing a celebrity party atmosphere, completely departing from the theme, and was accused of devolving into a “lavish celebrity gathering,” sparking controversy.
The event was star-studded, with attendees including Byun Woo-seok, Lee Min-ho, Lee Soo-hyuk, Park Seo-joon, Jung Hae-in, Lee Chae-min, Lee Joon-hyuk, Park Eun-bin, Taeyang, Lee Young-ae, Ha Jung-woo, BTS members RM, J-Hope, V, aespa, and others.
The pink ribbon is a global symbol for breast cancer prevention campaigns, and celebrities attending such events in various countries usually wear a pink ribbon or dress in pink clothing. Venues are often decorated with pink themes. Yet at W Korea’s event, there were almost no visible pink elements.
From videos shared by “W Korea” on social media, the venue was filled with champagne and luxury brand booths, causing people to question whether the true essence of the event was to promote breast cancer prevention or to create a glamorous celebrity social and brand marketing occasion. Artists can be seen in the videos raising glasses of champagne, laughing, and posing for photos, leading to criticism that the atmosphere was more like a fashion party or celebrity gathering than a charity event. Many netizens even questioned: Alcohol consumption increases cancer risk, so “celebrities drinking” — what does this have to do with breast cancer prevention?
Not only that, but the event invited several musical acts to perform, yet some of the song choices were shocking. For instance, (G)I-DLE’s “Queencard” features the lyric “My boob and booty is hot,” and Jay Park’s “Mommae” has the lyric “I want to get to know your girls hanging on your chest,” both of which were criticized as “extremely inappropriate.”
The celebrity interviews arranged at the event were also criticized for being off-topic. Most of the questions revolved around “How many times did you look in the mirror today?” and “What are your year-end plans?”—with no relevance at all to the theme of breast cancer.
The event was star-studded, with attendees including Byun Woo-seok, Lee Min-ho, Lee Soo-hyuk, Park Seo-joon, Jung Hae-in, Lee Chae-min, Lee Joon-hyuk, Park Eun-bin, Taeyang, Lee Young-ae, Ha Jung-woo, BTS members RM, J-Hope, V, aespa, and others.
The pink ribbon is a global symbol for breast cancer prevention campaigns, and celebrities attending such events in various countries usually wear a pink ribbon or dress in pink clothing. Venues are often decorated with pink themes. Yet at W Korea’s event, there were almost no visible pink elements.
From videos shared by “W Korea” on social media, the venue was filled with champagne and luxury brand booths, causing people to question whether the true essence of the event was to promote breast cancer prevention or to create a glamorous celebrity social and brand marketing occasion. Artists can be seen in the videos raising glasses of champagne, laughing, and posing for photos, leading to criticism that the atmosphere was more like a fashion party or celebrity gathering than a charity event. Many netizens even questioned: Alcohol consumption increases cancer risk, so “celebrities drinking” — what does this have to do with breast cancer prevention?
Not only that, but the event invited several musical acts to perform, yet some of the song choices were shocking. For instance, (G)I-DLE’s “Queencard” features the lyric “My boob and booty is hot,” and Jay Park’s “Mommae” has the lyric “I want to get to know your girls hanging on your chest,” both of which were criticized as “extremely inappropriate.”
The celebrity interviews arranged at the event were also criticized for being off-topic. Most of the questions revolved around “How many times did you look in the mirror today?” and “What are your year-end plans?”—with no relevance at all to the theme of breast cancer.