SM Entertainment Girl Group Faces Harsh Backlash Over Poor Press Photos

Hearts2Hearts is facing backlash over their latest airport press photos.

The SM Entertainment rookie girl group was spotted at Incheon Airport heading to Hong Kong for the 2025 MAMA Awards earlier this week. But instead of praise, their official press shots sparked massive criticism online.

Photos shared on Korean forum Pann got over 40,000 views fast. A viral post called the images “terrible” and said member Ian is “carrying the whole group.”

Ian is really the one carrying the whole group… Ian’s shoulders must be heavy.
— Viral post on Pann

The post started heated debates. Some netizens agreed with the harsh words, pointing out certain members’ visuals.

Others pushed back hard, saying the photos are just unflattering stills and don’t reflect how gorgeous Hearts2Hearts actually look in videos.

One comment said:

These are just unflattering photos… They look pretty in videos anyway, so what’s the point of dragging them over split-second shots?

Another noted:

Even just looking at Jiwoo, she looks way worse than usual… Isn’t this just a worst-case photo taken when she looked a bit swollen?

Other comments included:

“Ye-on… honestly, I don’t even know what to say.”
“Yuha is pretty though.”
“Bringing out the terrible photos to make them look worse is so pathetic lol. Anyone can see how they look in videos… does forcing a narrative with a few pictures even work? lol”

The photos continue to be a hot topic in the K-pop community.