Heeseung’s ENHYPEN Departure Revives K-Pop’s Most Committed Protest

Heeseung is facing shockwaves after his sudden withdrawal from ENHYPEN announced on March 10 by BELIFT LAB.

The news hit hard across the K-Pop community. Fans, known as ENGENEs, quickly protested — sending trucks to HYBE headquarters in a show of frustration.

This recall fans’ passionate history. Back in 2009, a similar fan protest made international headlines when soloist Jay Park left 2PM.

Jay Park quit after old comments surfaced online. He had written unfavorable remarks about Korea in 2005, before debuting with 2PM. The controversy led him back to his hometown, Seattle, in September 2009.

Local news in Seattle, KOMO News, reported on Jay Park’s departure and the desperate fans pleading for his return.

One of the most popular pop stars in South Korea is holding up in, of all places, at his parents’ modest home in Edmonds.
He’s the former leader of the boy band 2PM. They’re not well known here in America, but they’re an absolute sensation with kids and teenagers in Korea.
[Jay Park] left the group and the country about 3 weeks ago, that’s after the internet lit up with outrage about an ‘I hate Koreans’ comment he made several years ago while training there with an entertainment company.
— KOMO News

Fans even flew a plane over Seattle with a banner saying, “J. WHAT TIME IS IT NOW?” referencing 2PM’s debut album HOTTEST TIME OF THE DAY.

ENHYPEN’s Heeseung controversy revived memories of that fan intensity.

On social media, K-Pop fans are comparing the current protests to Jay Park’s fan efforts in 2009.

nah fans just aren’t dedicated anymore, when jay park left 2pm in 2009 and went back to usa, his fans sent planes to fly banners in seattle and it ended up on the news
— Jay4sho (@neverletgoh0lic) March 11, 2026

This sht is so old most of the sites that hosted the fan project back in 2009 have shut down. These were the only pics I managed to find They even kept it discreet by using just “J” instead of his full name to respect his privacy while he was in Seattle. Thoughtful Jaywalkerz…*
— ᴅᴘɴ (@DPNIJP) March 11, 2026