As defined on Soompi, “A somewhat vague term for a ‘citizen of the internet.’ K-pop and K-drama netizens are known for taking small non-existent issues and turning them into huge career-ending situations. They also enjoy acting as the moral police and will even create online petitions to try and get entertainers either punished and in some cases, have a K-drama storyline changed. The antics of netizens are alternately aggravating and hilarious, depending on your mood that day.”

As cited by the definition above, although one would expect that a netizen’s actions would have ignorable consequences, there have been many cases in which their rumors and complaints have had a direct effect on people’s careers.

Notable examples are f(x) ex-member Sulli and the hate she received for, among other things, having a boyfriend, and Lovelyz’s Jisoo not being able to debut with her group due to the stress she sustained while being falsely accused of commiting crimes.