Fans Slam NCT Mark’s Agency SM Entertainment For Mismanaging Birthday Event
The event reportedly caused inconvenience to fans and damaged public property.
NCT’s Mark Lee recently celebrated his 26th birthday with an interactive special treasure hunt with his fans. Mark’s personal items and stickers were hidden around three specific locations in Seoul. The stickers were to be found using specific maps that Mark had shared online for each location. However, after the event was mismanaged by Mark’s company, SM Entertainment, fans’ excitement turned sour. Read on to find out more.
Why Fans Are Angry At SM Entertainment For NCT Mark’s Birthday Event
As a celebration for NCT Mark’s 26th birthday, special Mark-related items were hidden in three designated spots in public areas. The three locations for the treasure hunt included Jamwon Han River Park, Seoul Forest, and Namsan Park near the Seoul City Wall Trail.
The treasure hunt was scheduled to commence at 9 AM. However, when fans arrived early at the location, they found out that the city’s public workers were already present there. The mismanagement occurred when it was revealed that SM Entertainment had not coordinated the treasure hunt with the workers beforehand. Workers complained that they had to prevent the event from happening because of the hot weather. They also said that the people responsible for it did not think about the damage this event could cause.
NCT Mark’s fans were unaware that the event was not approved by city authorities beforehand. They became concerned that they could not participate in the treasure hunt and asked the workers to contact SM Entertainment. However, they responded by saying that they did not have any means to do that.
NCT fans then took to social media to voice their frustrations with SM Entertainment and understood the workers’ concerns. Announcements were to be made over loudspeakers to address the situation, but public workers ultimately collected and discarded all the treasure hunt stickers.
Many thought that the event would be cancelled after this revelation. However, the hunt continued as planned at the other two locations. Mark’s fans found stickers, but they found that they were not removable and left marks on public property.
서울숲 #20 찾았어요🥹 pic.twitter.com/EujiKlBMWE
— 앞니 (@Zxen0o) August 2, 2025
SM Entertainment’s Response
Despite all the concerns with the first location and the sticker residue problem, SM Entertainment did not issue an apology for NCT Mark’s treasure hunt event. They simply chose to just announce that all the items were found by people and the event had ended.
Their statement read, “Congratulations! All clear! Mark’s 26 treasures were all discovered as of 12:58 pm, so we are letting you know that the event has ended. Thank you for participating in the ‘Found & Marked’ event despite the heat. Have a Happy Mark Day!”
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Fans were outraged at the company’s actions and demanded that they address the situation and apologise for it. They accused the event of being a public nuisance and an inconvenience to them. The company is yet to address this backlash.
Source: AllKpop
First Published: August 04, 2025 2:03 PM
