Perhaps this got lost in the shuffle a bit given the array of racism/appropriation controversies against Black people that have plagued K-pop recently (and forever, really), but soloist From20 (ex-BIGSTAR‘s Raehwan) was a part of that as well after a picture teaser for his “Eye Candy” comeback showed him rocking a durag.
#EyeCandy Concept Photo 01#from20 New Single ‘Eye Candy’
25.04.11 (FRI) 12:00 (KST)
Coming Soon#프롬트웬티 #아이캔디 pic.twitter.com/KvKsihW8Si— WAY BETTER Official (@WAYBETTER_GB) April 3, 2025
Despite the backlash, it didn’t seem like it would even be addressed, but apparently he was busy trying to set a new standard in trying to learn from his mistakes (and maybe helping others avoid them). Over a week later, his company WAY BETTER (he co-founded) posted a roundtable discussion with From20 dedicated to education about cultural appropriation.
In addition, he made multiple tweets apologizing for and addressing the controversy.
I sincerely apologize to everyone who was hurt by me wearing the durag.
Moving forward, I will become an artist who continues to respect, listen and learn.– from20 – https://t.co/UE5SeHVYVB
— from20 (@from20_official) April 12, 2025
I want to sincerely thank Janae, Nee, and Joy for taking the time to educate me about Black culture. I’m truly grateful for the stories you shared and for helping me understand why wearing a durag as a non-Black person can be harmful. I appreciate your openness and patience.… https://t.co/DSIq4PPVvR pic.twitter.com/ogX0lgR39l
— from20 (@from20_official) April 13, 2025
Like with other incidents of this, I’m not really one to arbitrate the thoroughness/satisfaction of the apology, and ultimately steering clear in the future will be the actions. That said, I think this seemed very helpful, not only for himself in terms of leaving a detailed trace of what he did wrong and who he is apologizing to, but also having a roundtable where others watching could probably learn from it as well. And as he mentioned, the participants also did a great job breaking it down in a productive and educational way. It does also make one wish that one of the more prominent artists involved in this (no offense) mess also took this route just for the increased eye balls on it.
