Lee Daehwi Says Junior Idols No Longer Greet Like Before: “i’m The One Who Goes To Them First Now”

Lee Daehwi is opening up about one part of idol culture he feels has clearly changed and it is not about music or performance.

On the April 29 episode of MBC’s Radio Star, the AB6IX member reflected on the etiquette he learned early in his career and shared his disappointment over what he sees as a fading culture of greetings among younger artists. His comments stood out because they did not sound like a harsh complaint. Instead, they came across as the honest thoughts of someone who debuted very young, was shaped by strict advice from older members, and now finds himself on the senior side of an industry that feels different from the one he entered.

Lee Daehwi on Radiostar / MBC YouTube

The lesson that stayed with him from Wanna One

During the show, Lee Daehwi said he debuted at 17 and was so busy at the time that he was getting only about seven hours of sleep a week.

He recalled one moment during a music show pre-recording when he was so exhausted that he let himself say, “I wish this were the last recording.” According to him, the older members in Wanna One heard that comment and immediately called him over. Their advice was direct: he should not approach the job with that mindset, and he needed to remember to be grateful for the opportunity.

That moment seems to have stayed with him for years. Rather than treating it as scolding, Lee Daehwi described it as one of the experiences that taught him what senior-junior culture in the entertainment industry used to feel like.

“Not a single person comes to my waiting room”

That is why his next comment drew so much attention.

Lee said he now constantly tells his own juniors to greet people properly, but admitted that he feels disappointed by how much backstage culture has changed. He explained that although he wants to get closer to younger artists, not one of them comes to his waiting room first. He contrasted that with the past, when junior artists would personally go to seniors, greet them, and even hand over physical CDs. These days, he said, the situation feels reversed. Instead of waiting for juniors to come to him, he is the one who goes to them first to say hello.

It was a simple observation, but one that seemed to resonate because it pointed to something larger than personal manners.

Lee Daehwi on Radiostar / MBC YouTube

He says even greeting producers is disappearing

Lee Daehwi did not stop at senior-junior greetings.

He also pointed out that the culture of greeting PDs after music shows has largely disappeared as well. That detail broadened the conversation from idol courtesy to overall workplace etiquette in entertainment, suggesting that he sees this not just as a generational quirk, but as part of a wider change in how respect is expressed backstage.

A young idol already speaking like a senior

What made the moment especially interesting is that Lee Daehwi is still young himself, yet already old enough in idol years to feel the gap between generations.

That is probably why his words landed with more weight than a typical complaint about manners. He is not speaking as someone far removed from current idol culture. He is speaking as someone who lived through one version of it, and is now watching another take shape in real time.

For him, the issue is not just whether juniors bow or say hello. It is whether one of K-pop’s quietest but most meaningful traditions is slowly disappearing.