#sungmin deserves to promote with super junior

[it-all-started-with-a-bigbang]

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They just out here living their best lives. I'm proud. Congrats 😭👏🏾👏🏾🎉

[liujinhee]

[Team]

Word Count: 1,403

Summary: When the team goes overboard with their “group chat without Leeteuk” joke, it's gonna take more than a few buttering up attempts from Heechul to get them back in the man's good graces.

After so many years of being around each other, the Super Junior members like to think they have each other figured out. Mostly. Or at the very least, what makes them tick, so they'll never make the mistake of stepping on a landmine.

But there are still times, of course, where they push, stretch, and overstep. Those are the times where they rely on the rest to help patch things up, tightening the seams till they're back to what they were before. It's just unfortunate that none of them are good at dealing with such a situation when it comes to the eldest Jungsoo. 

×

It all begins, as it tends to, with a joke. Harmless teasing on camera, something that can be edited into a highlight clip to increase viewership when the episode airs. That's what they're here for, after all. To promote.

“We can't talk about these things with Teukie hyung around,” Hyukjae is saying, smiling wide. “So we do it in the group chat without him.”

Jungsoo prepares to react to the joke, the same one they've been using throughout their recent show appearances. That's when something slightly different from the norm happens—Heechul joins in, sounding excited. The real kind of excitement, where he's bouncing on his feet, gummy smile a mirror of Hyukjae's.

“Yah, I get exactly what you mean! Like, remember when we wanted to eat jjamppong just before a recording? Teukie would've killed us if he'd known.”

Even more unexpectedly, Hankyung speaks up as well, the words falling from his lips fluently, as it always does when the situation suits him. “Ah, I remember that! It's amazing how we managed to finish all that food within ten minutes.”

As the other members mumble some form of agreement, doubt begins creeping into Jungsoo's mind. The rest shared a memory he doesn't recall in explicit detail. It's not in their style to make a running gag this believable—unless it's not a lie?

He makes a grab for the nearest member, who so happens to be Kyuhyun. “Kyuhyun-ah, give me your phone.”

Kyuhyun just blinks at him, a tiny crease between his brows, and Jungsoo wonders if he sounds as hysterical as he feels. But he's fixated now, and he won't rest till he gets a definite answer. Jungsoo musters his tone of authority and repeats, “Phone, now.”

Someone grabs his arms then, grip loose, and he lets himself be held, remembering that they are still on camera. It's Sungmin. “Hyung, don't worry, we're just playing around. Of course we don't have a group chat without you!”

“Really?”

Sungmin squeezes him, once, sincerity dripping from his voice as he promises, “Really.”

Jungsoo manages to smile, and even crack a few jokes, but unlike the previous times, their reassurance doesn't work its magic, doesn't clear that fog of doubt from his mind. It eats at him even after shooting ends and they're about to go their separate ways till their next schedule, so he sets his eyes on the member he's sure to be able to get an honest answer from.

“Siwon-ah!” Jungsoo calls out, crowding the man into a corner. “What was that all about?”

“What was what about?”

“The group chat!” Jungsoo lowers his voice to a hiss, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention. “I thought it's fake, but the story just now seemed too real. Is there one after all?”

Siwon, bless him, gives Jungsoo a firm pat on his shoulders, looking directly into his eyes as he explains that it is indeed a real story—“Excuse me?”—but that it didn't happen in any group chat. It had been a starving Heechul, a few scheming managers, and other members who were in on the little affair.

“I swear to God that we don't have a group chat without our leader. We would be lost without you.”

Would you really? Jungsoo bites back the urge to ask. They may not have a group chat without him, but they seem to be going behind his back regardless, aren't they?

×

Leeteuk is an angel, but on some days, Park Jungsoo would knock on the door of his mind, needing an out. This time, he lets it happen; a sporadic decision he makes after careful consideration. Even the leader deserves to be a little petty when he's hurt, doesn't he?

It's two weeks before anyone even notices the man's changed his number, and for the first time, not a single member has access to the new one.

×

Hyukjae's the first one who opens up their group chat after the filming that seemed so long ago, just to notify the rest of a few things to note for their upcoming dance practice. He's nearly done with his draft when he realises the number of people in the group doesn't add up.

🐵 Wait, who left the group this time?

It’s a few seconds before a reply comes in from Jongwoon.

☁️ Teuk hyung isn’t inside anymore. There’s no notification that he left though?

🐵 Did he change his phone number again?

☁️ No idea, I didn’t hear anything about that.

🐵 Guess I’ll ask the manager to relay the message to him then…

Not thinking much of the relatively common occurrence, Hyukjae relays what he’s originally intended to, and tosses his phone aside, returning to his task at hand. Heechul’s text comes in much later, still blissfully ignorant.

🍒 What did you punks do to Jungsoo this time???

×

See, the thing is, it’s impossible for any member to avoid another completely. Not when they're a contract bound idol group currently actively performing and filming for their comeback. Let alone when it's the leader who is, for the lack of a better word, brooding.

Jungsoo is undoubtedly a professional in every sense of the word, performing his duties without a hitch at their next group activity, where he so happens to be the host. No one else would've noticed how things are off; the way Jungsoo's smile is a little too bright, his words a little sharper, his posture a little stiffer.

They confirm it when Youngwoon makes an attempt at a jab but is cut off by Jungsoo. It's done smoothly, both parties reacting suitably in a way that it seems intentional, but the message is clear: somehow, somewhere between the two schedules, they've pissed Jungsoo off. Their guard is immediately up, unwilling to take any risks at worsening their situation when they don't have all the facts yet.

Jungsoo, being him, notices the change in his members immediately. Well, good. They can suffer for a bit for once without knowing anything. Meanwhile, he intends to make the most out of the three hour filming.

And he does.

.

.

.

Of course, Donghae brings up the issue the second they arrive back at the waiting room during filming break, as usual too small for a group as large as they are.

“Hey, isn't something awfully wrong with Teuk hyung today?” 

“Yeah, he seemed pretty mad somehow,” Kibum agrees with a frown, eyeing the doorknob as if Jungsoo will come barging in with a lecture any second. They all know Jungsoo doesn't take breaks when filming, though. “Should we apologise to him?”

“How can we apologise when we don't even know what we did, if we even did?” Ryeowook points out from the chair he's claimed, a half empty bottle in his hand. He sets it down on the table with just a tad too much force, his next words spoken with a pout. “If anything, we should be asking why he changed his number without telling any of us.”

From where he stands in Ryeowook's blind spot, Kyuhyun rolls his eyes, no doubt remembering the man's wails about the time he called Jungsoo's number to have a stranger pick up. His words seem to have an effect on Siwon, however, the man's eyes widening as he straightens from where he's been leaning against the wall.

“Ah!”

“That's never a good sign,” Shindong mutters, on point as he always is.

“I think I have an idea of what Jungsoo hyung is mad about—…”

.

.

.

“Fuck's sake,” Youngwoon groans after Siwon recounts his previous encounter with Jungsoo. Someone slaps a palm over their forehead. All heads turn to Heechul, who's been tapping away on his phone the entire time.

“What?”

“Fix this.”

“Me? We're all to blame!”

“Yeah, but you started telling the story!”

[ifonlysj]

you support sungmin? why?

hey anon, i'm gonna assume you have basic knowledge of the shitfest that was the sungmin situation back then and you're a lil confused? on what's happened since then but! lemme show you what i think about sungmin:

if you wanna look at it logic wise, sungmin is one of the pillars in suju (there are 15 pillars. don't argue with me.) and honestly suju is lacking members right now and sungmin had a core singing and dancing position. a few members of suju have left and they honestly need all the support they can get; and i believe that sungmin is a GREAT singer and dancer who can sort of help out (especially since they're growing older).

if you want to bring sungmin's marriage and the controversy around it into this equation: did sungmin make a mistake with assuming ELFs would support him? no. we're Ever Lasting Friends. we should have all supported him. but did he make a mistake in the way he treated fans who were supporting and even helping out his wedding? i think so. i don't think he handled the situation very well at all, to be honest. but look at it this way. he's human and he's in love. it should have been a celebration of his choices and all and yet because of all the backlash, it became this whole shitshow. did fans have the right to feel betrayed? not really. but they did feel betrayed, and that's something i feel sad about.

personally, i was happy about sungmin getting married. i thought it was about time. and i hoped his marriage would set the precedent for potential suju marriages. but if you're telling me you're a k-ELF who felt betrayed by the whole thing, then yes, i understand you.

but it's 2020, anon. i've seen members leave since 2006. i've been through every accident, every rumour, every bad thing that happened to suju, big or small. and i'm just so tired of it.

the sungmin i remember from his active periods? i miss him. i want him back. i don't think suju is whole without him. and even with him back, suju will never be whole (unless ot15). but i think sungmin is someone who belongs, who owns the suju name. and i want him back in suju because it's good for the members. they're brothers, honestly.

i don't think marriage is something that deserves death threats and group expulsions. i think that's unfair. and in a period where everything has been fcked up as hell since the year started, i want to treasure every bit of hope i have for an ot15 reunion.

so really, why do i still support sungmin? i support him even when he is human, even when he made mistakes and even when he isn't in the group. sungmin is part of super junior. no one will ever be able to change my mind.

p.s. to all those "fans" out there who are attacking sungmin because they don't think he should come back; sit down. i'll listen to you only when K.R.Y. starts charting properly again. y'all should be ashamed; K.R.Y. could be doing better on the charts and all y'all are doing is attacking a different member when their promotions have barely started. what kind of ELF are you?

[xiezuo]

I’m so done with this fandom

I honestly hate ELF just as much as I love this crazy-ass fandom. This kind of behaviour seriously has to stop. Honestly, what the fuck is wrong with some of you ?

I get it if you have problems with Kangin. Hell, I do too because of personal experiences of mine with a close family member who constantly drove drunk, including times with my brother and I sitting in the backseat, so really, I get it. But do you see me going out of my way to attack him or the fans who support him ? No, no I don’t. Ask any of my friends on that matter. Yeah, there was a time where I was really mad at him (although heartbroken would be the more accurate term) and I said some things that I regret saying now, but if there’s one thing that’s never changed, it’s the fact that no matter how angry I was, I would always say; “I don’t support him anymore, but what he needs is the support of his friends, not to be isolated from everyone he cares about. If Super Junior decides to take him back, then so be it. I’ll still be an ELF and I will still support them”. And despite it all, I would still shut the fuck up when I met fans who still supported him, and you never saw me attack him or any of the members mentioning him on SNS, because that’s just wrong. I will still support Super Junior as a group if he comes back, because part of being an ELF is to do just that. Support the members who have done nothing wrong.

I have calmed down quite a bit, however, and I’m not so angry at him anymore. It’s been four years since and he hasn’t done it again, and obviously he proved himself worthy of being chosen to act in a drama despite everyone knowing what he did. I know I will eventually forgive him, because I do believe in second chances. And honestly, what a fucking hypocrite would that make me to not support him while I’m a great fan of Robert Downey Jr who, may I remind you, was in a similar situation as Kangin when he was younger. Everybody makes mistakes, some worse than others, but everyone deserves a second chance. And maybe in Kangin’s case it’s a third chance, but some people need more time to get rid of bad habits and change for the better.

What I’m saying is, to all of you going after the members for supporting their friend, someone they consider family, you need to stop. Kangin’s been out of the public eye for almost 4 years now, so you have no idea what kind of person he is today. But you know who does ? Yeah. Super Junior. They’ve been hanging out with him for those four years, so I trust that they know better than all of us combined. Some of you honestly disgust me. Yesung was just trying to be a supportive friend, you know, like Kangin was to him when Here I Am came out and he was the only one promoting him all those years ago. And you decide to go after him for that ? For being a good friend ? Especially knowing how fucking important ELF’s opinion is to him ? Honestly, what the fuck. What the actual fuck.

And Sungmin’s case. Oh boy, Sungmin’s case. Don’t get me started on that because that is just preposterous. You don’t want to support Kangin, fine. Sure. What he did was criminal and very irresponsible. There’s a reason, although not a justification to send him and his friends hate, but it’s a reason to be iffy about his comeback. But Sungmin ? The only reason you hate him is because your delusional ass won’t stop being just that, delusional. Big scandal about him, really. I mean, who in their right mind would dare hold their wife’s hand in public, right ? Disgusting. No. No it isn’t. There is nothing wrong about that. At all. You need to stop making him feel bad for marrying someone he loves, because that will never, ever be something wrong. You need to get your heads out of your asses and realize how fucking ridiculous you’re acting. He’s a singer. His job is to entertain us. He has no other obligation beyond that. Entertaining your delusions that you’ll one day marry him isn’t part of that contract. Hell, I was 16-17 when he got married, and I still acted more mature than you when that happened, and some of you are in your late 20s today and you still won’t let go. You’re preventing him from doing his job because he got married. What if that happened to you ? Imagine for a second that your boss fired you because you started dating someone. How fucking ridiculous would that be ? You need to get your shit together, because this is just way too much. What you need isn’t for Sungmin to divorce his wife, or for Super Junior to stay single forever for that matter, no ; what you need is fucking therapy.

I understand why Yesung didn’t wish us happy anniversary after this went down. If I were in his position, I wouldn’t want to talk to any of you either. You should all be fucking ashamed to call yourselves ELF, because that’s not what we stand for. Super Junior are adults in their 30s, they most likely know very well what they’re doing. They don’t need us to monitor every single one of their actions, and especially not having us berate them because they did something we didn’t approve of. Our job is to support them as artists. The rest doesn’t concern us. Their private lives, who they choose to associate with, who they decide to date, that’s their business. None of us have the authority to tell them what to do. And if you think you do, you need to get yourself checked, because megalomania isn’t normal.

[softkyuhyunie]

(regarding the post by 51wheezes) i'm a new suju fan and a kindergardener kpop fan (i got into shinee in summer 2017) please tell me everything about super junior !!!!!

oh boy are u ready for hell and more info than you ever needed to know

Basic Stuff:

There are currently 11 members under Super Junior.

8 of these members are currently promoting as SuJu (Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, and Ryeowook).

(Heechul is missing due to health reasons but he is in the mv/the album)

Super Junior debuted in 2005 with 12 members, under the name “Super Junior ‘05″. The original plan for Super Junior was for the group to be rotational, the members eventually “graduating” (think NCT Dream) and moving on to other forms of media or solo music activities. This is why SuJu are the #1 “comic-dols”; they were trained in media. Leeteuk as an MC, Shindong as a comedian, so on and so forth. The plan never went through, and with the addition of maknae Kyuhyun, the group became “Super Junior” instead of “Super Junior ‘05″.

Kim Kibum (not Key from SHINee) left in 2006 to focus on his acting. Hangeng, the only Chinese member, filed a lawsuit against SM in 2009 for mistreatment and left the company, leaving the group at 11 members.

Members Sungmin and Kangin are currently on hiatus. Sungmin got married in 2015, and when SuJu announced their comeback in 2017 after a 3 year hiatus, ELFs strongly opposed his presence in the group and SM decided not to include him in the comeback. Kangin is on hiatus for his second DUI, which he committed in 2016. Kyuhyun is currently finishing his active military service and will return on May 24th, 2019. when will my husband return from the war

This brings us to our 8 current members!

The Members:

Leader Leeteuk (Park Jungsu)

The oldest member, the leader, and our favorite attention loving MC. He’s a vocalist (I’m really not going to go into main/lead for anything, just general positions bc SuJu has some Serious Talent™). He’s a well known MC, and is one of the more popular members of SuJu along with Heechul. This is a secret, but he’s also a baby boy who deserves your love and respect so most definitely give it to him.

Heechul (Kim Heechul)

Arguably one of the more popular members of SuJu (at least among international K-Pop fans), Kim Heechul is well known for being a smart ass and generally funny person. He’s a vocalist/rapper in SuJu. He’s very caring under his brutal sense of humor and tough exterior (he’s had the same makeup team for 13 years and he even bought one of his makeup artists a new phone when she cracked it). He also has the voice of an angel, listen to Evanesce if you don’t believe me

Yesung (Kim Jongwoon/Jonghoon)

His birth name is Kim Jongwoon, but his mom changed it in 2016 to Jonghoon because she thought his name would bring him bad luck (it literally translated to thundercloud/storm cloud). He is a vocalist and his voice is absolutely amazing your faves wish they had his vocal power. He’s very shy, and soft, and he’s an absolute baby, please give him the appropriate love. Listen to his solo stuff, it’s really amazing

Shindong (Shin Donghee)

He’s so funny i hate him sometimes

One of our dancers! That people often overlook because of his weight so if I see you disrespecting Shindong I will appear at the end of your bed and beat the shit out of you as you sleep

**and before anyone brings it up, yes Shindong made fatphobic comments before. Yes, he apologized. Yes, you can grow as a person after previously making problematic statements, so please do not show up in my inbox attacking him like you were born ‘woke’ and like you didn’t have to learn things. Same goes for Siwon.**

He’s also an amazing singer and I think people often overlook him in general which really makes me sad. His song in the redemption round of Masked Singer was truly amazing! Please watch it! Shindong also produced SuJu’s latest tour, along with Eunhyuk, and he helps choreograph the dances

Eunhyuk (Lee Hyukjae)

Our other dancer! He’s also the rapper of SuJu, alongside Heechul and occasionally other members (please RapKyu come back). SuJu has a couple different subunits, but only one is really active: Super Junior D&E, containing Donghae and Eunhyuk. He’s got a great singing voice along with his raps (his high note in Sweater and Jeans makes me melt) and even wrote a solo rap to perform on Super Shows. A true triple threat, look out ladies

Siwon (Choi Siwon)

Our visual, and vocalist king (also our local rich kid) Siwon is the biggest sweetheart known to man. He is constantly doing charity work and volunteering during his free time. His voice is incredibly steady and his humor is very underappreciated?? He’s really damn funny at times, please love this man

Donghae (Lee Donghae)

The second half of D&E, another amazing dancer, a great singer, and the winner of SM’s beauty contest, Donghae is the most adorable 33 year old man I’ve ever laid eyes on and he’s SUCH a sweetheart. Super Junior’s resident crybaby (he managed to start crying 7 seconds after he was told to) he is one of the most empathetic people I’ve seen, and he absolutely deserves your love and respect as well. He’s also the fake maknae of SuJu

Ryeowook (Kim Ryeowook)

The original maknae, and the temporary maknae until Kyuhyunie returns again, my husband Wookie is our final promoting member and vocal GOD. His voice is absolutely stunning, and he recently had a solo comeback! He dropped two MV’s, and a special track around a month ago. He’s sarcastic, but shy, and totally hates Siwon and his high fives but he cares about his members more than he would ever admit.

MV’s:

Aside from the links I threw around before, here’s a couple SuJu mv’s to watch:

One More Time

Lo Siento

Twins (Knock Out)

Sorry, Sorry

Sorry, Sorry (Answer)

This is Love

Marry U

A-Cha

Spy

Mamacita

Other Important Videos:

SuJu plays ‘Would You Rather’

SuJu on Weekly Idol; pt 2

Things SuJu say that seems like fake subs but aren’t

Yesung hitting Eunhyuk with his slipper

Learn the alphabet with SuJu

Siwon and Ryeowook - High Note Battle

SuJu gets asked about sex

That’s all I have for now! Let me know if you want me to do the three non promoting members (i could talk about kyuhyun for DAYS), the two previous members, or the two Super Junior-M members! Thank you so much for giving me a chance to talk about my boys, I hope I didn’t overload you with information :,D

[sometime-in-1995]

Next year, when Kyuhyun is discharged from his military service and SJ is gonna release a comeback, I hope Kangin and Sungmin will be there to promote with the group. I will be patient for now. But next year, on the next comeback, I need my OT11 SUPER JUNIOR BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!

And I know I shouldn't be begging 'coz I know I deserve that. ELFs deserve that.

[everlasting-superjunior]

[30082011 Strong Heart] Kyuhyun's beginning~!

Kyuhyun: The truth is, I spent only 2 to 3 months as a trainee. When I first entered the company, they gave me a CD to practice my singing and dancing;

Kyuhyun: One day they told me to follow them, I did and asked where were they taking me? They said I was now a member of Super Junior; I was struck dumb and said "Super Junior? Me?" It was really unbelievable at that time, Super Junior had debuted for 6 months, they were still newbies compared to the world superstars now on Strong Heart, and they already had 12 members, if I joined them it would make the total 13 members, which would definitely cause the members to hate me;

Kyuhyun: When I first met Leeteuk-ssi, I bowed (not 90°) and said "annyeonghasaeyo……", he replied "Greetings should not be done like yours." I hurriedly bow 90° to him;

Kyuhyun: At that time all the members stayed in a large dorm, all of them had beds except me; When I entered the dorm I asked where my room was, i got a reply "Just pick a place to sleep", since then I slept in each and every members' room for a month, I slept in Yesung's room, Ryeowook's room, even Sungmin's room; I endured this kind of life for 9 months.

Kyuhyun: One day Leeteuk-ssi said "Maknae, go and cook me some noodles." I said "Yes" and went about it, but it was hard to gauge the amount of water needed for cooking noodles for 10 people, and the noodles turned out soggy; Leeteuk-ssi took a bite, threw down his chopsticks and asked "Who cooked this noodles~!"; I could understand what he was feeling at that time, the feelings of 12 members becoming 13;

Ryeowook: At that time, Kyuhyun-ssi hid his drinking from the other members, he came to my room and laid on my bed saying "Ryeowook-ah, I'm so tired……" He started crying, like how they did in the movies, so I told him "Who is it? I think I can sympathize with your situation, is it that person?" He replied "It's Teuk hyung……"

Kyuhyun: When we started with "Twins" & "Miracle" we didn't clinch any No 1, but we finally got FIRST when we were promoting "U"~! The members were so touched and couldn't stop crying; I was very happy too, it was my first win as a singer and I wanted to cry badly but the thought of "Who am I to cry with them?" stopped me, I assume that the other members would be thinking this too, so I forced myself not to cry;

Kyuhyun: I kept my tears in all the way back to our waiting room, I kept thinking "What have I done to deserve to cry with them" to force myself to not cry, at this moment Leeteuk-ssi and my eyes met, he came over and gave me a hug, he said "Kyuhyun-ah, you've done well."; My emotions ran ran free and I replied "Ne, Teukie hyung." I hugged him tightly, and this was the moment where I really felt I was a member of Super Junior.

Via: 凝幻 の weibo~！❤

[ryesungfly2124]

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D12 2005 - Hankyung was only allowed to perform on 2 music show programs. 2006 - Heechul's accident after attending the funeral of Donghae's father. 2007 - Car accident involving Jungsoo, Shindong, Hyukjae and Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun was in comatose for four days and needed 4-6 months to recover from it. 2009 - Hankyung filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment and officially left Super Junior. 2010 - Kangin's car accident which led him to enter the military service. 2012 - Hyukjae's scandal with IU. 2014 - Death of Jungsoo's grandparents and father. 2015 - Kibum offcially left Super Junior. 2017 - Sungmin's marriage controversy, Kangin's drunk driving incident and now Siwon's dog bite case. From 13 members to 12 to 11 to 7 and now 6. Not even sure if Siwon will still continue to promote after his controversy. Whatever his desicion will be, as a true fan I will support him and the group. I've been a fan of this group for almost 9 years and I am sure that I will still be a fan for the years to come. No matter what they say about this group, I will continue to love them and support them. If one member decides to get married I will be happy for him instead of hating his wife. I am not after for any awards I just want them to sing on stage again and perform just like what they are doing for the past 12 years. I am so sorry for being emotional, but I just feel like Super Junior doesn't deserve any of these. It seems like the media is really having fun of putting them down. Why can't they just leave them alone and let them be happy? I am wishing all the best for this group. I will never stop believing to see them perform with 13 members again, also with Henry and Zhoumi. I love you Super Junior. Thank you for inspiring me in so many ways. I will always be here, cheering for you guys.

[oneweekoneband]

Look at these dweebs with these yellow outfits and mullety, spiky hair. How young and innocent. I think this is from March 2006, about five months after debut, so their ages range from 18-22 in this. I’m going to helpfully use it to introduce them to you! It’s a long post, but there’re a lot of members; bear with me.

1) Yesung (Kim Jonghoon). Best singer in the group, at least for the first several years. Has not been taking care of his voice, got vocal cord nodules, got them fixed, didn’t improve his technique afterward so is probably going to get them again. Known for doing his “octopus dance” whenever he is prompted to dance solo. Says that Super Junior is not actually friends, but they succeed as a group because they have good working relationships with one another. This is patently not a statement blanketly applicable to everyone else in the group.

2) Kim Ryeowook. Currently #2 best singer in the group according to your writer. Maknae, if you can still call him that, now that he’s 30. Is a tiny elfin little man who wears comically high lifts in his shoes. Tends to generally strike me as “your weird little brother,” and in defiance of his general image, has a history of performing the most “adult” solo songs in Super Junior concerts. Is possibly the least successful member of the group at looking or acting “tough” and “hard.” He is currently in the military (all South Korean men are required to complete around two years of military service at some point).

3) Kangin (Kim Youngwoon). Singer with a voice that’s consistent but not too exciting, kind of like the person you see at work every day who greets you in the exact same way each time. Probably the most successful member of the group at looking and acting “tough” and “hard”. Got in an actual bar fight in self-defense and has two DUIs. After the first one, they sent him to the military; after the second one, he’s on what seems to be perpetual hiatus. Not sure if they are ever going to let him participate again. I have mixed motherly feelings about whether he should ever be allowed to.

4) Lee Sungmin. Singer and sometime featured dancer. The cute chipmunky one who does lots of Chinese varieties of martial arts, and also the only one who is married. Despite being the most traditionally “cute” one, he’s struck me for some time as the most serious member. Some part of the fanbase is mad at him for being married, and for blatantly prioritizing himself and his fiancé/wife over ELF. Even his mom thinks he deserves it. Could he have been more sensitive about it, almost definitely, but does it merit ELF insisting that he not be allowed to participate in anything, and SJ/SM bowing their heads and acquiescing? Iiii don’t really think so. Do these things happen because SM thinks the hardcore semi-aggressive Korean fans (#notallKoreanfans) are all that remain or all that matter, and if they leave, there will be nothing left? You have lots of international fans who are much more chill, you maroons.

5) Kim Heechul. Singer and occasional rapper. Does not normally have hair this spiky. Is well known for running his mouth on TV, on all of the TV actually, and for looking like a girl. He doesn’t really do the girl bit much anymore and sanded off some of the rougher edges of his personality after coming back from the military, probably because being in the military gave him enough free time to grow up a bit. Basically went from “asshole” to “jerk with heart of gold”. Has several cats, loves Anna from Frozen, and is friends with lots of women in Kpop. Had a nasty car crash in 2006 that shattered his left leg, and it never healed quite right; dance routines are hell on it and he’s admitted that it’s caused him significant worry and shame as Super Junior prepares for their latest comeback. My second-place bias.

6) Leeteuk (Park Jeongsu). The oldest member and leader of the group; better at dancing than at singing. (tw: violent crime) Publicly struggles with depression, and this terrible thing that happened didn’t really help. Is a strong big brother who really works hard to make sure the group functions as one. Is simultaneously someone who has a tendency to say sexist crap. 

7) Eunhyuk (Lee Hyukjae). Lead dancer and lead rapper. Bestest of the best friends with Donghae. Has the gawkiest face and compensates for this by doing the sexiest dances. Was acting leader of the group while Leeteuk was in the military, which coincided with a huge argument in the fandom about Zhou Mi and Henry, and he ended up having to make a statement about it at a concert, and then later when Leeteuk was back, Eunhyuk did an angry solo song and dance in the next tour about how fake fans would never understand him. I’m sure that wasn’t related at all!

8) Shindong (Shin Donghee). Secondary dancer and rapper, and occasional SJ music video director. Does a lot of hosting on TV in his spare time and was a comedian before joining SJ. Is the “fat one” of the group, and has therefore participated in many, many embarrassing fat jokes. Not embarrassing that he’s fat, just embarrassing for whoever had the idea, that they kept putting him in those situations. His weight has seesawed around for the last several years, but he says fat girls are gross, so that pretty much makes him an ass. Don’t be an ass.

9) Kim Kibum. Rapper and maknae. Went on hiatus in 2009 to focus on his acting career, and never came back. To be honest, probably the member of SJ that I feel the least about, because even prior to 2009 he was not a super-active member of the group musically; he didn’t feature much on songs, and he wasn’t in any of the subunits. His contract expired with SM in 2015, and therefore I don’t technically count him as a Super Junior member anymore. He has a surprisingly beefy neck in some videos, and had better English skills than probably anyone else in the group while he was still active as a member.

10) Han Geng. Former lead dancer. The only non-Korean member of the original 12, he is actually trained in 56 traditional Chinese dances. His Korean speaking skills were notoriously bad, which made it awkward every time they went on variety shows. Was visibly a lot more comfortable on Chinese TV. Eventually SM worked him so hard that he developed kidney problems, so in 2009 he sued SM, broke his contract, and went back to China, where he went on to have a successful acting and performing career. If this sounds familiar, then I’ll mention that I think EXO was originally intended to be a reboot of Super Junior, which makes it ironic that they had the same issues.

11) Choi Siwon. The “face” of the group. Probably the most famous member of the group to Western audiences, as he has appeared in a Jackie Chan movie! and got killed in it! Has a lovely chiseled masculine face and is rather tall and has many abs. Does more acting than any of the other members, to the extent that he sometimes does not appear in the dance portions of music videos because he didn’t have time to learn the routine. Always tours with Super Junior though and is as committed as everyone else. Also is super-mega-evangelical Christian and says he wants to be a missionary when Super Junior retires. Recently went through this scandal regarding his dog, in which I mostly want to shake Siwon by the shoulders and yell at him a lot. Is not on hiatus per se, but is skipping promotions for the new album.

12) Lee Donghae. Singer, dancer, occasional rapper, and bestest of the best friends with Eunhyuk. Known for acting like kind of a dope, and also for looking a lot like Amber from f(x), or vice versa. Lots of people ship Eunhyuk and Donghae because they are so close, and they ended up having to adamantly refute it on Chinese TV when the presenters started teasing them. Third-place bias because look at that faaaaace.

But that is not of course everyone, because that’s only 12.

13) Cho Kyuhyun. #1 best singer and #1 best bias thank you. Joined the group in 2006, because he had already been set to “rotate in” before SM decided to scrap the rotation concept altogether. “Evil maknae” because he likes to give the older members shit. I’ve seen subtitles of Korean shows call him “pessimistic;” I think “grouchy” might be a better word for it. Was involved in a terrible car crash in 2007, along with Shindong, Leeteuk, Eunhyuk, and Heechul; Kyuhyun nearly died and his voice was only spared because his father spoke up for him. He spent most of 2015-2016 promoting his technically-great-but-also-really-corny-and-boring ballad EPs (I hate that anyone even had the idea for this concert series) and I suspect he was getting burned out much like Heechul was; Kyuhyun is in the military now and I’m optimistic that he’ll come back refreshed. I wrote a much longer thing about him, which you can read here if you’d like. Suffice it to say, I identify with him a lot.

14 & 15) Zhou Mi & Henry Lau. Listed together even though obviously they are separate people, because they are the two controversial members of the group. This is because they were added in specifically for the Super Junior-M subunit, and ever since that day there has been much dispute about whether they are “real Super Junior members” or not. I think they are; SM-via-Eunhyuk says officially they are not, and for the sake of not ranting for paragraphs, that’s all I will say. Henry is Chinese-Canadian, can play pretty much every single instrument, and complained loudly enough about SM giving him nothing to do that SM gave him four singles in five months of 2017. He’s also best friends with Amber from f(x) and they’ve appeared together on songs. Zhou Mi is Chinese, is taller than Siwon, and is a sparkly sugarbun of cuteness with a gorgeous smile. Seriously, his legs are like six feet long on their own.

Now that we’ve gotten who’s who out of the way, we can move on to what Super Junior has to offer!

[chrisbhng]

I honestly didn’t want to say anything but things are getting ridiculous

We have been waiting 2 years for this comeback and now sungmin isn’t going to be a part of it??? Honestly why do these so called “fans” have to ruin things for us

Sungmin never did anything wrong!! Is getting married a crime? No it isn’t! Okay sure he could have told us better beforehand but even if he did he would have gotten hate! He had no way of winning cause of these “fans” who believe that just cause hes an idol he isn’t allowed to have happiness and live his life with the person he loves! Just cause hes an idol doesn’t mean that hes not a normal being and that his whole existance is to ‘serve’ us!

Whats even more ridiculous is how that your blaming the members for not supporting sungmin! Even if it is label sj, it is all controlled be sm, you should all know that by now!! I’m sure the members tried to convince him not to take decisions, but honestly can you blame sungmin, you were all going to boycott the concert, you hate on his wife etc, so all cause he wanted his brothers comeback to do well he opted out of it! Imagine how hard of a decision must have been for sungmin and the members!

Honestly Sungmin and the other members have done so much for us that we could never even repay them even if we tried! Tbh we aren’t even trying, cause look what we are doing, we are not allowing sungmin to have a happy married life, were not allowing him to participate in the comeback or the concert! All we are doing is ripping the group apart!!! This upsets me so much cause what sort of fans are we do being doing all this?? When did elf become so toxic?? I’m honestly so dissapointed in our fandom! But then again those who are doing this are not elf… they don’t deserve to be called that cause elf stands for everlasting friends and we were supposed to support them for a life time, not turn our backs on them…….

Either way i will always be an elf and support super junior till the end! I will always support the members and try to keep the group together! I will try and make this comeback successful by promoting and streaming the hell out it! The boys have been working so hard for this comeback and for them we should make it as good as possible!

[theatreslave]

I'm mad. I'm just mad because if k-elf for once just thought about how wrong it is for them to dictate idols lives this wouldn't have to happen. But it is. Look I love Super Junior and I support Kangin and Sungmin just like most I-elf. And I hate that Sungmin had to pull out of the comeback but at this point he had no choice. Granted he didnt need to keep apologizing but pulling out of the comeback is the only way to ensure that Super Junior will have k-elf support. And they need it. As an I-elf this is so frustrating but they have no choice. Really. I think Leeteuk alluded to this on instagram a little bit ago when he said something about not always having a choice. They need k-elf support because those are the people who will go to music shows and vote for them, who will request their songs and stream them. We I-elf can only do so much and I would rather they don't get black oceans or for Sungmin to be completely ignored if he was in the comeback. If Super Junior wants a successful comeback, from a business standpoint, they have to give in to their main market. And I know it feels like they are ignoring I-elf but they aren't. They are just looking after the interests of the group. I just hope that if this comeback is successful that K-elf will finally forgive Sungmin. Because we all know how much it hurt him and how much the rest of the members will hurt when promotions start and they are so incomplete. That is a huge sacrifice and K-elf better recognize that. I support all the members. I will support the new comeback. I wish them a huge welcome after their long hiatus. I hope they can build a vocal line now that the main vocal line is gone besides Yesung, who hasn't sounded quite the same since he sang through his nodules. I hope they get the respect they deserve and that the next comeback is even bigger, better, and more complete. But for now my heart will hurt for a bit.

[skyoras]

Why are you blaming Super Junior for this? Maybe this was not their decision. Maybe this was Sungmins. Maybe Sugmin does not want to deal with this constant negativity. Who would? Imagine how strong he will have to be to go up there and face a crowd of people that hate him. Imagine how scary that would be. How hurful that would be. Sungmin has his limits. Maybe this is it. I don't think it is right for us to ask for him even after this decision. It seems selfish to do so. I don't want him to do something he wont be comfortable with. I don't want him to do something that will only cause him grief. That will hurt him endlessly. He is a member of Super Junior but he does not owe us any of this. He deserves to able to take his time if he wishes to. And we don't know what the future holds. Hopefully someday, the fandom, Sungmin and Super Junior will be in a place where they can promote without all this unnecessary drama.

[spoliarium98]

Only ELF can understand their words….

Leeteuk: In the past, we have always had activities separately.Many have expressed their unhappiness about it. But I always tell my fans, we have 13 members and will only have 13. This determination must be present within us.SJ is our house. A house will not leave behind or forget any member. Although this house is not big, but everyone one of us need you. Heechul: We have many members, there are many times where we are apart, but i hope we can cherish the times we spend together.Even if there’s only a minute.Even if we are so busy that we are unable to meet.I still hope the members can enjoy the happy times together and comfort each other during hard times. Hangeng: Its been 7/8 years since our members have been together, since trainee days. we cared for each other ,received awards, go through tough times and cried together. There are many things that I’m sorry as well as grateful for towards our members.I have never said this before. But i really want to thank the members, who have always been by my side no matter what. And I’m really sorry for not being there during difficult times. Yesung: The past have already passed. Everything will start afresh.We shall not forget that we are Super Junior’s members. We are a family. Kangin: I don’t wish to think what will become of us in the future or how long more can we be together. Once i think about it, I’ll feel very sad. But no matter what happens in the future, separation, or not being an artist, I wish I can tell others, these are my family members, we are Super Junior. Shindong: I kept thinking that it was because I couldn’t fit in, I can leave Super Junior. But come to think of it, although there might be this determination, but it is impossible to leave and forget about everything. The members who have always been worried about me. The worried members who called back from China upon knowing that I was on diet.Then did i know my thought of leaving is not being good to them but just pure selfishness.I wish to stay by your side…and a Suju member that does not embarrass the group. Sungmin: I’ve always felt that Super Junior is a group that causes one to feel tired easily. Hence, I’ve been jealous of DBSK sometimes because they can have activities together without leaving anyone behind. But i still think our group is the best! Although we often have activities separately, but during introductions, we will always say I am Super Junior’s XXX . This is the best moment. Eunhyuk: I’ve always been thinking, what exactly can i do? Other than dance and rap, what can i give the members? How lucky am I, the not so special me, to always get introduced to others by the members proudly. Thank you our members. No other words or emotions can express my gratitude towards you. Donghae: Others told me : I trust and love you. This is what i want to tell our members now. The members who tolerate whatever mistakes I’ve made.The hyungs who have been like a father to me.I love you.Forever.To me, you are my family who’ll never change or leave me. Siwon: When we are promoting in China, it is very tiring, and i really miss the members in Korea.However, regardless if it is M or H, there is a SJ in front. whenever i think about it, it makes me feel as if the members have always been together. Ryeowook: When we go China, the fans will always raise huge placards.There are also Suju ones.Whenever I see these placards,I will start counting our members, from 1 to 13.When I reach 13, it feels as if the members are together again. I always believe, being apart is only a matter of time. We will definitely return and be by their side again. Kibum: Although I seldom attend activities with the members, including 3jib, therefore there are many times where people ask me: are you a member of SJ? I’ve never been able to express how apologetic I am to the members.Compared to other forms of addresses, Super Junior is still my favourite. Although I’m unable to be on the stage with the members, my heart is still with our 12 members. Please believe me. Kyuhyun: China fans wrote a sentence on the pearl sapphire blue sea photo. If one day, the world betrays Super Junior, ELFs will betray the whole world too.I’ve always been thinking, what did we do to deserve such love from them. But come to think of it now, it is not just for me, but for our 13 members. Though we were often separated, the members who have never stopped working hard for this team called super junior, THANK YOU! Source: http://theelfphilippines.multiply.com/notes/item/293?mark_read=theelfphilippines:notes:293&replies_read=2

[ifonlysj]

heyyyy i'm a relatively new elf and i loooove sungmin but i have a question. you said sungmin "made a mistake in the way he treated fans who were supporting and even helping out his wedding". what is that about? i only know that he got hate for marrying which is bullshit but what happened with supportive fans? thank you, love your blog

hey anon! as promised: here is my opinion about how sungmin handled the situation~ and please take it with a grain of salt and form your own judgement.

just wanted to remind everyone reading this that i still think sungmin should come back to super junior too! if there is something you wish to correct/disagree with under the cut, let me know nicely. we don’t have to fight, okay? let’s do this like civilised people :)

it’s known that leeteuk and heechul have acknowledged that fans would rather hear about dating/marriage news from the members themselves rather than through articles and rumours. this of course makes sense, idols who have “asked for their fans’ blessing” have seen a much better response from their fans than those who got “exposed” by dispatch/sasaengs/whatever. sure, this isn’t a blanket generalisation, but you kinda get it right? i wouldn’t want malicious rumours about someone i like getting involved with someone else, not because i am “possessive”, but because i think the relationship between an idol and their fans can be trusted so that you know, we can celebrate together and stuff.

there are also other rumours about the ‘controversy’ surrounding his marriage, but they were mostly cleared through an article on naver. you can find it here. it should be pretty accurate, because sungmin posted a link to it on his instagram as an instagram post. 

here’s something that i don’t know if it’s been cleared ; sungmin allegedly changed his signature by replacing the star he normally uses with ‘Mi’, which is a nickname for saeun (his wife). this part is really a little bit weird. i don’t think he should have done that, considering how the fan who requested for the autograph has a name that doesn’t resemble ‘Mi’ in any way or form. you can find the original post on pann here. look at it this way, you travelled all the way out and did x number of things and basically worked hard so you could meet someone you liked, and the person gave you gift, that was actually a secret message for someone else. that’s just... not right. again, anything regarding sungmin and the controversy has been grossly warped by people to the point where it is difficult to check if anything is right/wrong. correct me if you want. 

something else; sungmin’s apology letter was released ahead of his army discharge. he handwrote it and apologised for hurting fans by getting married before his enlistment. i think he missed the point. fans aren’t stupid. korean fans aren’t stupid. i believe the ones who are possessive and think they own him is a minority. but i think it’s understandable that these fans felt angered by how he handled it. he didn’t apologise for the signature and he didn’t apologise for ’sharing’ his fan gifts with his wife.

this is a difficult post to make and this part is the worst bit of it, because i’m going to share about why i felt uneasy about his marriage. i’m not saying i’m against it. i’m just. i don’t really know, i had really bad feeling about this when the news first came out. disclaimer: i do not pretend to speak for fans or for anyone at this point, this is just my personal opinion and maybe you disagree with it and that’s okay. this is how i felt about it in 2014-5 and it was a long time ago. with age comes wisdom LOL and honestly i don’t feel anything when i think about it now. 

i felt uneasy when the news broke out because of the timing of it. the timing was, quite frankly, quite terrible. there are some issues that made it worse that sungmin himself couldn’t control, but i don’t think it would have hurt to think it through a little more before releasing the news. 

sungmin confirmed he was getting married in between super shows. i don’t know what kind of impression that gives you, but i’ll be frank: it gives me the impression that he’s acting more individualistic and not putting his group activities as a priority in his life.

for international fans, this could seem like a shock to you. of course he should put his personal life first, he’s in love! he’s finally found someone he likes enough to get married, and we should support him because we want him to find happiness. that’s an opinion, and you’re entitled to it. but what we’re looking at is the confucian principles of community and society that are upheld by most of the korean community. this is a culture that mandates military enlistment laws for all males (with very few exceptions). so really, through their perspective, the outrage could be perhaps more understood. it is also important to know that when the news first broke, the general opinion ranged from congratulatory messages (that hoped for a better public opinion of idols getting married/falling in love), to speculations if it was a shotgun marriage and if saeun was pregnant. consider that sungmin had not enlisted in the military at this point. for korean men, entering the military is a rite of passage into “manhood”. it was already bad enough for idols themselves to still enlist, and fans were already dreading his enlistment. to suddenly spring the news of marriage on them? it made the timing of the whole thing even worse. what’s worse is that the fandom was trying to support them, but sungmin antis and even some of sungmin’s sasaeng’s gave false reports about the whole situation (see: rumous about the wedding, etc.). 

something to understand in korean netizen culture is that they literally live in a culture where paparazzi are so normalised and entertainment journalism literally puts out close to fifty new reports, news, and scandals out every day. on top of that, korea is notorious for their efficient, workaholic cultures that spares no time for research. imagine being bombarded with news about sungmin’s ‘misdeeds’ every week and every month. obviously your impression of him worsens. then he goes to enlist in the army, effectively disappearing, not making a statement until he nearly discharges, then going back to promote himself as per usual. you only have ten minutes a day, maximum, to see the news. you don’t have time to check for yourself on the internet what is happening. if you’re a fan, you go on twitter to check with the big fansites what is happening, and then you see that they are all quarrelling between themselves about writing petition letters. every single thing sungmin does gets uploaded as ‘breaking news’, paparazzi zoom in onto the other sujus’ “apologies” and “opinions” regarding their fellow member, and public opinion builds the impression that sungmin just doesn’t give a shit about his group. and remember! he’s literally getting married and having a honeymoon in between concerts, when the rest of the members are practising/rehearsing/working hard on TV to get more acknowledgement. gosh, sungmin really is throwing his group under the bus all for love... 

that’s a thought process i went through. i can hardly emphasise more about how this shit isn’t about me getting pressed and possessive about how he’s my oppa and he shouldn’t get married because i’m going to marry him one day. it’s not! it’s about me loving suju to the point where sungmin seems like he’s just going off on his own without caring about the group image. quite frankly if any of the sujus reveal tomorrow that they are dating someone, my response would be something like: “oh thank God!”, and if next year they say something like “y’all, we’re gonna get married”, then i would be like: “FINALLY!” because the sujus deserve nothing but happiness and i just want them to be happy after all the shit they’ve been through. [of course sungmin deserves happiness too. everyone does.]

i started rambling but... i just want to say that i really wish sungmin eased us more into it. the whole thing was aggravated because of how saeun handled it on TV also. sungmin enlisting right after was a good move, considering the damage already done. it would have given the whole thing to die down a bit, for fans to think things a little bit more through while sungmin basically removed himself from society for a bit. but while he was gone, saeun said some shit about how sungmin is really touchy and good with skinship, how sungmin drank 9 bottles of soju just to get the courage to ask her father for his blessing, and so on. that’s not right sis. why would you keep making headlines about your man when you should just lie low and wait for the hatred to pass... she then went on to like really controversial pictures, like the one where someone is slapping someone else. the slapper is labelled “international ELFs” while the one being slapped is labelled”K-ELFs”... that shit just ain’t cool bruv... obviously this started another internal fanwar, and i’m pretty sure a lot of ELFs have bad impressions of her. idk i feel like the sudden attention went to her head or something... why would you talk about alcohol... gosh...

anyway i don’t hate her or anything and i’m happy that she brings our boi happiness but i just don’t have a good impression of her... maybe she’s a really nice person IRL but you know, she’s a celebrity and we’ll never meet so i won’t pass judgement on her.

that’s... kinda it i guess? congrats if you made it all the way to the end. i just wanna rehash the point about sungmin returning to super junior. i think he should. he’s been away for long enough and i think that’s enough ‘punishment’, but i do think it would make it easier for the public to try and accept him again if the both of them just admit to what they did wrong in the past and apologise and then just move on. that shit is old as heck, i think. there’s what i think happened. lmk if i made a mistake or missed something, i wrote like 60% of this post thinking back to that time period and considering how, uh, i don’t live in korea, there might have been something i missed. the other 40% is stuff i searched online to double check, but you know. take everything that isn’t an article with a bucket of salt. lord knows how messed up everything is after those sungmin antis started spreading rumours and stuff. 

if you need a clarification about something said above, you can send me a (nice) ask and i’ll answer!

one last thing, i’m not saying what the sungmin antis did to sungmin (with regards to trying to kick him out of suju, threatening his wife, etc.) is justified by whatever i said above. i’m just saying it makes it a little bit more understandable. but it doesn’t make them entitled to such actions and i 100% believe that their actions are unjustified.