An act becoming too popular in K-O-R-E-A - a concern which will dominate a lot of 4th generation girl group fandoms

  • NewJeans' start in Korea is impressive.


    However, some fans do fear that NewJeans would become domestic, stuck in Korea.

    In early 2016, GFriend and Twice were at a par.


    However, Cheer Up began to get attention in Japan, which reflected back to Korea. GFriend could not do anything against it since it had no foreign members and its tiny company was not suited for any kind of foreign activities.

    (LeSserafim is not a Junior of GFriend. GFriend is NOT the Senior of LS. They are NOT related at all. The disgraced Kim Garam might be the only link between the GFriend era and now, but after her departure, there is no link between the old Source Music and the current Hybe subsidiary remaining.)


    GFriend is the last domestic only girl group which made a mark, and its end meant the end of Korea-only girl groups as a significant presence. (Brave Girls almost became such, but even Brave Brother knew it had to find a foreign base, which is why it toured USA , shunning the K-O-R-E-A-N fans.)


    People who fear NewJeans' reaching #1 in Melon appear to be afraid that because of its higher digitals it would be involved in more K-O-R-E-A-N activities, which will NOT help NJ in the long term.


    Ive is going to Japan. LS is going to Japan. If Min Heejin, who probably expected to create another Twice and probably not another GFriend, has the power to do so I think she will head NJ to foreign activities as soon as possible.


    With the changed dynamics, it might actually be harmful for an act to become dominant in K-O-R-E-A, because being dominant there won't really help an act to become more popular outside of it and actually hinder its international popularity.


    I have called for the divergence of KPop from K-O-R-E-A for a long time. Now it is happening, I am kind of glad about foreseeing the future. The cold truth is if an act wants to be popular around the world, K-O-R-E-A has to take a back seat.

  • Lol what? And why is Korea spaced out with dash marks? Girlies careers after being idols literally ONLY reside in SK where 90% of their fandom is. There is nothing wrong with a group having more Korean fans to international because where do you think the cf, brand deals, and acting gigs will be coming from? Hybe/ador has the means to schedule international events for NJ when they get their popularity up overseas because there WILL be demand, trust me, especially in North America, Latin America, and Southeast Asia as long as they keep this momentum. And why does anyone in their right mind believe that kpop needs to seperate itself from its home country to last? I’ve seen your comments about that and it never made sense to me. Korean pop music has survived before globalization and will continue to do so within the country regardless of kpoppies desperately trying to force diversify it 🤣

  • Lol what? And why is Korea spaced out with dash marks? Girlies careers after being idols literally ONLY reside in SK where 90% of their fandom is. There is nothing wrong with a group having more Korean fans to international because where do you think the cf, brand deals, and acting gigs will be coming from? Hybe/ador has the means to schedule international events for NJ when they get their popularity up overseas because there WILL be demand, trust me, especially in North America, Latin America, and Southeast Asia as long as they keep this momentum. And why does anyone in their right mind believe that kpop needs to seperate itself from its home country to last? I’ve seen your comments about that and it never made sense to me. Korean pop music has survived before globalization and will continue to do so within the country regardless of kpoppies desperately trying to force diversify it 🤣

    For a long time I have argued that Korea, the institution and the general public have been hostile to KPop's expansion and development, and in many cases Korea has proven to be a huge hindrance to an act's worldwide popularity.


    CF and acting gigs are mostly seen by Koreans only, and now the trend is group members don't really have time for acting if an act is popular outside of Korea. When Yoona acted in the daily drama back in 2007 they did not know how to run idols as we know now; but now most companies worth its salt know it is better to build an international fanbase as soon as an act can.


    KPop just originated from Korea an it is not going to survive just with Korean support. And the equation has changed since Korea has less younger population; an act being stuck in Korea actually might be harmful for the long run, which is why companies do limit an act's Korean activities after the first year. (In Lesserafims case 2 of the members are experienced so the time spent on Korea could be lessened.)

  • surely with the right promotions newjeans will hit big overseas too

    Probably, but that is just part of the point I am trying to make.


    Korean popularity no longer translates into overseas popularity, and it is now actually harmful for an act's long term success.


    With the changed formula, it is better for an act to minimize its Korean activities, which is hard to do if it becomes too popular in Korea itself.


    BTS was able to concentrate in foreign activities because it was not that popular in Korea to begin with . And that formula has changed the calculus of many acts nowdays.


    Min Heejin was let go from SM because Red Velvet did not beat Twice, BlackPink and even GFriend. (It beat GFriend later but that was too late for Heejin.) She would not want NJ to become another GF.


    It is likely that when NJ expands its overseas promo will be probably quite aggressive.

  • All this is speculative. Nobody knows how these things pan out. Existing cases are so varied


    Relatively

    BTS - was not dominant in SK, became dominant outside SK, became dominant in SK

    BP - was not dominant in SK, became dominant outside SK, still aren't dominant in SK

    K.A.R.D - might as well not exist in SK, but doing well outside SK

    Twice - dominant in SK, dominant in Japan (?), not dominant in the West.


    Each case is different and has multiple variables in their trajectory.


    But no company, group is going to ignore home ground, they will attempt that first and then depending on how it goes, will take the direction.


    It is not as though some i-fans will decide, since an act is already popular in SK, they will not be fans or such.

  • Lesserafim was custom built for Japan, even when they were pursuing Minju given Minju's popularity with J Wizones. Ive is also clearly making a concerted effort in Japan.


    I think Newbeans is designed solely for one market, and one market only.


    The United States of America.


    Diverse backgrounds, English proficiency, even the MVs with their foreign aesthetics (i remember reading they were filmed in Europe?) and nonconforming content, like having love interests and nontraditional ones at that.


    JYPE and SM both gave us their response to BP's rise after D4. Itzy and Aespa. Newbeans is Hybe's answer, their challenge to Blackpink's global supremacy.

      

  • True but look at the rest of Lesserafim, everyone knows how much i love my izone members but every Wizone knows how much of a meme their English skills were. ^^

    It doesn't really matter. I mean how popular is Lee Daehwi's group in the west? Barely. Speaking language is a plus but if the concept and music aren't there, you can't do shit. LF has more powerful image and concept, NJ are too Korean. Anyway, anything can happen but as things stand LF seems to have an advantage.

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