ATEEZ became part of the historic KCON 2022 in Saudi Arabia, but the experience also gave them a painful memory.
After a long wait, KCON began holding its events again around the globe. For the first time, it visited Saudi Arabia and brought several K-pop acts for the two-day event.
Rain, Sunmi, PENTAGON, P1HARMONY, SECRET NUMBER, and THE BOYZ led day one, while HYOLYN, NewJeans, ATEEZ, ONEUS, STAYC, and T01.
Unfortunately, ATEEZ did not have a perfect arrival in the country before the event.
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ATEEZ Harassed at Saudi Arabia Airport
Saudi Gazette confirmed that ATEEZ suffered harassment at the King Khalid International airport before the K-CON festival in Riyadh. A video of the incident has since gone viral online, causing K-pop to express their rage against the perpetrator.
It shows how the man cursed at the members and made racist remarks as the group walked by at the airport.
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The authorities then reached the Saudi Arabian government, leading to the man's arrest.
"The arrested citizen appeared in a video clip on social media, calling the band with phrases that would prejudice public morals during the arrival of a specialized band at the airport to participate in an event in Riyadh," the police statement said.
ATEEZ and its agency have not responded to the issue and the arrest.
ATEEZ Focuses on Expanding Empire
Despite the foul statement they heard, ATEEZ members are focusing on becoming better for themselves and their fans.
Before the KCON 2022 Saudi Arabia, ATEEZ officially became a million-seller club as its new album, The World Ep.1: Movement, sold over one million copies. It impressed everyone as the group is not from the K-pop industry's big 4 — HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment.
The same album made it to Billboard 200's No. 3.
ATEEZ debuted in 2018 under KQ Entertainment, and it is now part of the USA record label, RCA Records.
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