RIIZE Fandom Name Changes From 'SUNZ' To 'BRIIZE' After Backlash

KEY POINTS

During RIIZE's debut showcase, the group revealed its official fandom name, SUNZ
Some fans shared their worries about how SUNZ could cause controversy for the group
RIIZE released an announcement via SNS regarding the group's fandom name issue

RIIZE announced that it would be using a new fandom name after considering some fans' worries over SUNZ, the official fandom name announced by the group during its debut showcase on Monday.

On Wednesday, RIIZE took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce RIIZE's new fandom name.

After thanking fans for their support, RIIZE announced that it will be replacing its previously revealed fandom name, SUNZ, with BRIIZE starting next Tuesday, Sept. 12.

BRIIZE, which means breeze, represents fans being with RIIZE anytime, anywhere, helping the group to fly like a breeze blowing anywhere.

[공지] RIIZE OFFICIAL FANCLUB 관련 안내 말씀드립니다.

안녕하세요.
RIIZE의 데뷔와 함께 많은 성원을 보내주시는 팬 여러분께 진심으로 감사드립니다.

팬 여러분의 많은 응원 속에서, RIIZE는 9월 4일 (월) 데뷔와 동시에 앞으로 RIIZE와 함께 할 공식 팬클럽명을 공개하였습니다.

팬 여러분께서…
— RIIZE (@RIIZE_official) September 6, 2023

"We introduced the fan club name to SUNZ, which was voted by the fans the most, but there were many opinions from fans who were worried that SUNZ could sound negative, so we confirmed that the good meaning of SUNZ to grow with RIIZE could be distorted," RIIZE said in the announcement, according to an English translation by Papago.

"As all the fans who support RIIZE are called by a good name and decided to grow together, we would like to change the name of the fan club to 'BRIIZE,' which received the most votes as the next best, so we ask for your understanding," the group continued.

Put them both together, and what do you get?

K-pop fans and companies never think 2 steps ahead, and we end up with things like fandom names related to fascism. https://t.co/jD3IFfntka pic.twitter.com/GKxEIcvkn7
— Carolyn Hinds 🇧🇧 #WGAStrike #SAGAFTRAStrike✊🏾 (@CarrieCnh12) September 4, 2023

After SUNZ was initially announced as the official fandom name for RIIZE, some fans aired their concerns about how putting it side by side with the group name could end badly.

While the meaning of the selected fandom name was clearly explained — fans that will always shine brightly on RIIZE and grow up with the group like the sun in the sky, other fans pointed out that using RIIZE and SUNZ together could be problematic.

Putting RIIZE and SUNZ together may sound similar to "rising sun," the name of the flag used by the Japanese during wars. Koreans, who have been colonized by Japan and impacted by its militarism and imperialism reportedly compare the Japanese rising sun flag to the Nazi swastika.

ok so to sum up, kfans dont like sunz at all bc they hate the ring of seonjjeu since 썬즈 sounds like 씹즈 ("shit" in korean), they are all in for briize meanwhile ifans like sunz the most and not too much on briize 😭😭 our first civil war
— 넷 (@riize_net) September 2, 2023

Other Korean fans of RIIZE also reportedly don't approve of SUNZ because they don't like the ring of it. "Ok, so to sum up, K-fans don't like SUNZ at all [because] they hate the ring of seonjjeu since 썬즈 sounds like 씹즈 ("s--t" in Korean), tweeted one fan.

Another added that Chinese fans didn't like SUNZ because its spelling resembles "sunzi," which means grandson in Chinese.

RIIZE (라이즈) and BRIIZE (브리즈) 🧡 pic.twitter.com/qkgwjWSLIm
— riize updates (@riizefolder) September 6, 2023

Now that SUNZ has been replaced with a new official fandom name, fans are sharing their thoughts, quoting RIIZE's tweet.

"While SUNZ would have been a cute fandom name for the [international] fans, if it has negative connotations in other languages or culture or it may potentially bring harm to RIIZE by [people] with ill intentions, then I'm all for the change. We [should] protect RIIZE from any potential harm," stated one fan.