When a K-pop act’s career becomes stagnant, many factors are posited to explain the stall. Fans and critics point out that the group’s songs and choreography are not catchy, or that its stage outfits are not stylish. But for girl group Brave Girls, some suggest another unexpected factor — the high ratio of male fans.

The group which debuted in 2016 remained obscure until early 2021, when its song “Rollin’” (2017) became a sleeper hit four years after its release. The song brought Brave Girls its first-ever No. 1 on music shows and charts, as well as numerous advertisement deals and television appearances. However, its following songs “Chi Mat Ba Ram” (2021) and “After We Ride” (2021) were unable to live up to the commercial success of “Rollin’.” Its latest EP “Thank You” released on March 14 sold around 32,600 copies. Considering that girl groups fromis_9, STAYC and (G)I-DLE’s sold between 104,000 to 176,000 CDs this year, Brave Girls’ sales are relatively low.

The group’s music and styling are also seeing increasingly negative reviews. Most recently last week, Brave Girls’ performance video for the upcoming Mnet survival show “Queendom 2” was overwhelmingly criticized as being out of date.

What happened to the popularity that the girl group was basking in just a year ago? Some blame its management agency and some its stylists, but many attribute the group’s overall decline in popularity to the fact it relied on a predominantly male fan base.

The breakout success of “Rollin’” last year was largely thanks to support from men in the Korean Armed Forces, who mandatorily serve 18 to 21 months depending on the service branch. Brave Girls performed frequently on remote military bases to entertain troops, despite the low appearance fee. This led Brave Girls to accumulate loyal fans among servicemen, who appreciated the group so much that they reportedly taught “Rollin’” to new recruits.

A compilation video introducing enthusiastic comments from current and former servicemen toward Brave Girls performing “Rollin’” was what shot the group to stardom overnight in February 2021. Naturally, the military is a large part of Brave Girls’ identity. Well aware of this, the group has paid extra attention to male fans, thanking members of the armed forces on television and inviting members of the reserve forces to its concerts.

“Based on sales statistics, it’s well-known in the idol industry that having a lot of female fans is an advantage,” said pop culture critic Jeong Deok-hyun. “Female fans are more likely to buy CDs and merchandise, while men prefer to spend on other hobbies or CDs of genres like hip-hop rather than idol pop. Women also have a strong tendency to remain loyal for a long time, so the popularity of groups with a mostly female fandom is less affected by aging. As a result, boy bands are considered to be in a more advantageous position, but recently girl groups have also been attracting female fans by adopting a ‘girl crush’ style.”

“In Brave Girls’ case, the success of “Rollin’” was thanks to strong support from men in the military,” Jung continued. “The group’s nickname guntongryeong [president of the military] shows that its fandom is mainly male. Although fans in the military shot Brave Girls to stardom, it’s a different story whether that popularity leads to fans actually buying CDs and goods. To maintain a long-term career, it’s necessary to secure a female fan base that spends more money. But Brave Girls continued to portray a conventionally pretty image rather than a girl crush style that’s trendy among female fans today.”

The high ratio of male fans may come with another side effect. Many female fans of Brave Girls point out that the predominantly male fandom often dismisses feedback from female fans.

Initially after the success of “Rollin’,” the group also garnered many female fans as its story of years of endurance inspired men and women alike. But over the past year, several controversies that occurred within the mostly male fandom have led many women to stop being active fans.

For instance, shortly after the success of “Rollin’,” fans on a predominantly male online community uploaded a design draft proposing that Brave Girls’ light sticks be shaped like military shovels. A light stick is a portable flashlight-like device used to show support for K-pop idols, especially during concerts. Some fans, mostly women but also some men, disapproved of the design reasoning that a shovel is not an aesthetically pleasing design for a girl group’s merchandise and that Brave Girls’ identity is not limited to military-related things.

Those who disapproved, however, were met with comments calling them “anti-military,” “man-hating” or “feminist.” Fans who identified themselves as anti-feminists strongly supported the shovel design and military theme, hoping it would discourage feminists from becoming fans of Brave Girls.

Similar friction ensued as Brave Girls went on to release new songs. Fans who gave feedback on how the group could improve elements of their music and fashion, especially as chart performances dwindled, were dismissed as “women who are jealous of Brave Girls’ beauty” — although it is unclear if all the netizens offering feedback were women. Another controversy arose when a male fan wrote a post in repose to a female fan who expressed concern that it must be painful for Brave Girls to dance in high heels.

“Only you find high heels uncomfortable because you are a fat pig,” reads the post, along with other insults about the person's physical appearance.

“That’s one of the reasons I became a passive fan,” said a 25-year-old woman surnamed Ji. “I found Brave Girls’ success story touching and kept supporting its new songs. I’m a fan of other K-pop groups too, and K-pop fans gather online to talk freely about their opinions on new releases or where the group’s career is going. Even if it’s negative, fans know it’s constructive criticism for the group and its agency to improve next time. People criticize boy bands’ bad fashion choices all the time.”

In Brave Girls’ fandom, however, Ji says she felt that negative feedback is not tolerated.

“Brave Girls’ music or outfits don’t exactly follow the latest K-pop trends,” she continued. “People who point that out do so in hopes that the agency monitors feedback and gives Brave Girls a trendier style. Otherwise, it’s such a waste of hard-earned momentum. But anyone who says something remotely critical gets called jealous and ugly in the comments section. It just made me keep my opinions to myself. I now support them quietly.”

Division within the Brave Girls’ fandom has only been growing worse. One bizarre conflict dubbed the “coffee truck incident” was sparked last year when female fans sent Brave girls a coffee truck while they were filming for the SBS entertainment show “Running Man.” Coffee trucks are custom-decorated food trucks that make coffee for cast and staff on set, sent from fans or fellow celebrities. The truck’s banner read “from 2030 female fans,” referring to fans in their 20s and 30s, which outraged male fans who questioned why the truck has to specify it was sent by women. The senders were accused of attempting to divide fans based on gender.

Later that summer, member Yuna came under fire after she said “five trillion and five hundred million,” a hyperbolic slang term used to express a large quantity of something, during a livestream. The phrase is argued to have misandrist origins, and Yuna received a slew of direct messages demanding her to explain her stance on feminism, as well as a past photo of her wearing a t-shirt that reads “No power like girl power.” Yuna shared the hate messages she received on Instagram and responded with a link to a past video in which she says, “Actually I’ve never thought about feminism. I’m not really interested.”

“As a woman, it wasn’t pleasant to see a female celebrity openly say she’s never thought about feminism,” said Na, an 18-year-old fan. “I’m not sure how she expected female fans to react to that in today’s social climate.”

Although the performance video for “Queendom 2” was met with strong criticism, fans continue to offer feedback online. But since tensions between the genders are only escalating in Korea, similar incidents are likely to remain a side effect of Brave Girls’ fan demographics, which the group will have to deal with on top of its music and sales.

“I’m just disappointed these controversies, that didn’t even have anything to do with their music, ate away at fans,” Na added. “I hope they focus on good performances on ‘Queendom 2’ and restore their momentum. The members waited so long and worked so hard for that ‘Rollin’’ breakout.”

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]