T.O.P apologized on Instagram on November 1 to the operators and fans of CHOIDOT, the fan site that closed last month after 20 years, accusing him and his agency of taking fans' devotion for granted. "To the CHOIDOT staff and fans who were misunderstood and hurt because of me, I offer my sincere apology," the former BIGBANG member wrote.
The quotes from his post and from CHOIDOT's Korean statements are our translations, based on the text as reported in Korean media.
What T.O.P said
He addressed the delay first:"Under the circumstances, I felt I had to be careful with every word, so it took time before I could tell you how I feel."
Most of the post thanks the people who ran the site. "Even at moments when it was hard for me to believe in myself, you believed in me and gave me the strength to make music again," he wrote. He asked that their "time and effort, and the sincerity in them," not be obscured by "misunderstanding and speculation," and said he hoped the years they shared would not end up "a misunderstanding or a wound to each other."
One line answers the site's central charge directly. CHOIDOT had accused him of treating fans' dedication as a given, and T.O.P wrote, "I know very well that the interest and love you send me are never something to take for granted."
The reports on the post that we read mention no specific change in how he or his agency will deal with fans, and none reports a reply from CHOIDOT as of November 1.
Why CHOIDOT closed
CHOIDOT opened on August 24, 2006, and announced its closure on X in early October. The operators wrote that they could no longer overlook what they called T.O.P and TOPSPOT PICTURES' refusal to face reality, avoidance of responsibility and attitude of taking fans' dedication for granted.
Their complaints were specific:
- T.O.P's first solo studio album, Another Dimension, was presented as an album for fans, yet the performances and communication fans wanted most fell short.
- Without proper official channels, the site was left handling overseas fans' inquiries, promotion, translation and fan activities.
- The agency, in the operators' view, cared more that reservation numbers had been made public than about the underlying problem.
"Fans' love and support are not something to use when needed and ignore when inconvenient," the notice said. It also warned that the operators would answer any distortion of the facts or malicious attacks using the records they hold.
TOPSPOT PICTURES apologized on its official Instagram on October 10 for failing to give waiting fans enough news and communication. It said it would announce improvements through official channels once a plan was ready. We did not find a published plan when writing this.
Was it about Nana?
CHOIDOT says no. T.O.P and Nana confirmed their relationship on October 2, saying they began dating in June after meeting on the set of his "Studio54" music video. The timing fed speculation because of a fan exhibition that was canceled in the same days.
The fan-organized exhibition, inspired by Another Dimension, was set for October 31 to November 1 for 300 visitors, on a budget of about 9 million won. Registrations reached only about a quarter of that target, and after further cancellations about 50 people remained. Some of those cancellations did follow the relationship news, but the operators said not all of them did, and blamed low participation and costs they could not carry. The cancellation was announced on October 4.
The operators objected to the explanation that had taken hold. It was hard to accept, they wrote, that their disappointment and the canceled exhibition were being written off as "the actions of fans angry about a relationship."
What comes next
The next listed stop on his T.O.P PRE-STUDIO 2026 fan meeting tour is Tokyo on November 6, followed by Kaohsiung on December 19.
