SEOUL, Feb 1 — Fans shunning K-pop idols for dating or even just rumours of dating is an unfortunate part of current K-pop fandom but Jay Park’s new boygroup LNGSHOT got an early taste of that just for dancing.

In the music video of their track Facetime from their debut EP, the four members of LNGSHOT (Ryul, Ohyul, Woojin and Louie) have a partner dance segment with four girls said to be their labelmates and upcoming girl group.

The group then brought the girls back to perform the song with them at the music show Inkigayo.

According to some fans online, the girls’ appearance triggered upset reactions with apparently a retake being needed as when the girls came onstage upset fans began shouting disapproval.

Some fans have even stated they would stop stanning the group with one purported fansite announcing they were quitting and hoped that LNGSHOT would ‘reflect’ on their actions.

However for the most part the disapproval was mostly heard from Korean-speaking fans. International fans, for whom co-ed performances are not seen in as limiting a light, were generally supportive of the group and the dance segment.

The incident does highlight the prevalence of parasocialism in fandom, with idols being expected to adhere to almost monk-like behaviour standards — no dating, no smoking, no clubbing — while having to mostly sing songs about love.

With LNGSHOT’s debut getting favourable reception thanks to its concept and the members’ skills it would be a shame for their career to be derailed because some fans insist on projecting their fantasies onto them.