More iconic songs than any other gen.
By far more talented vocalists than any other gen.
By far more beautiful idols.
Average age of an idol was 21 (not 16 like today).
Did not need tiktok to make a song successful.
Kpop and idols were actually popular with Korean public unlike today where it's a niche subject.
Way more full albums.
Collab stages were frequent and hugely popular.
2nd gen wasn't trying to target West nearly as hard.
Nearly every single group had at least one iconic song everyone knew.
Add more if you think of any.