Fashion magazine W Korea (W Korea) bowed after controversy over the breast cancer awareness campaign "Love Your W." But critics say the "silence" before the apology was released and the responses during that period only deepened public distrust.
This controversy began on Oct. 15, at a hotel in Seoul during the "Love Your W 2025" event. Contrary to the original purpose of raising awareness about the importance of early breast cancer screening and supporting patients through donations, the event was widely criticized for becoming a "party for celebrities." In particular, the performance of the song "Body" by singer Jay Park on the afterparty stage became the center of the controversy. Parts of the lyrics were criticized for graphically describing women's bodies, which many said was inconsistent with the event's purpose of raising breast cancer awareness.
As criticism grew, Jay Park apologized, saying, "I participated because it was a well-intentioned event, but I am sorry if the performance caused discomfort." At the same time, he drew a line, saying, "I regret that a stage I took part in without personal motives became the center of controversy."
However, the organizer, W Korea, remained silent. They only deleted the video of Jay Park's stage, but did not issue a statement about the event as a whole. Their official social media still showed only glamorous party photos, and even the keyword "breast cancer" was hard to find. That prompted a flood of criticism, such as "a promotional party that forgot its original purpose" and "an irresponsible event that failed to consider breast cancer patients and their families."
The fallout spread to editor-in-chief Lee Hye-ju. Known in the past as a judge on Challenge! Supermodel Korea, she is now one of W Korea's leading figures and an influencer with more than 80,000 followers. As the controversy grew, she deleted all her social media posts and remained silent. Internet users reacted with criticism, saying things like "even the editor-in-chief disappeared and shut up" and "is image management more important than resolving the controversy?"
On Oct. 19, the fourth day of the controversy, W Korea issued an apology on its official website and social media. The magazine said, "We take seriously the criticism that the event held on Oct. 15 was not properly structured and conducted in light of the campaign's purpose, and we deeply apologize for causing discomfort and hurt to breast cancer patients and their families."
It also said, "Love Your W has been a meaningful campaign that raised awareness of the importance of early breast cancer screening and supported treatment costs for low-income patients, and we will use this incident as an opportunity to thoroughly review the entire process of event planning and execution."
But public sentiment remains cold. One internet user cynically noted, "They stayed silent for four days after the event and apologized only after the criticism grew," while another said, "What matters more than the apology is concrete improvement going forward." On the other hand, some urged caution, saying, "Now that an official apology has been issued, we should watch whether they truly mean to improve."<
[Photo] "SNS
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