Those "dark side of K-pop" videos/threads/articles...

I agree they paint k-pop like the devil personally hand crafted it

the problem is they take 2nd gen life and apply it to modern kpop

AND the take nugu groups as a cast over the entire industry, as if the lower industry of all music industries isnt fucked

Quote from superyeah

The only decent point that I'll give them credit for is that it's a bit questionable for young teenagers to become trainees, sacrificing so much, just for a chance to debut.

Sure but it's not any worse than young ballet dancers or gymnasts who go through excruciating training to reach top physical performance. Idols' training hasn't such a toll on their growth and body. But they're more exposed to public scrutiny so they definitely to be protected in some capacity.

Quote from superyeah

Exactly! I forgot to mention this. The points they bring up are really outdated and they ignore the fact that K-pop today is so different from how it was 10 years ago. There's so much more going on now and the game has improved.

There's bound to be a number of smaller agencies/companies that mistreat their trainees and idols, but that's the case in every industry in the world. Those are borderline scam companies that aren't in it for the right reasons. They don't represent the overall state of K-pop.

they always bring up the old slave contracts iv noticed

I am not much into kpop so my opinion may be very shallow but every industry has their dark side. There’s no perfect picture.

The only reason why the western media tries to paint kpop bad is because they feel threatened. That’s all

I think criticism is valid and we should denounce abuses and exploitation. However, some of these articles/posts/podcasts do come up as holier than thou and try to diminish others like treating Kpop artists like they have no agency at all or fans like they are automatons.

Sometimes these "critics" may go too far and invoke old stereotypes and accuse Koreans of being complicit of these practices and ignore that the public aren't really OK with these and there are regulations. I really dislike the dehumanization of the whole society when they try to present their arguments.

There are some shitty things in Kpop that are unique to it, but this is true everywhere. There are unique shitty things in everything from Hollywood, anime, and sports. However, I don't find it particularly worse than other entertainment industries. It's about the same level of shitness. Sadly it seems to be the nature of the beast. Over the course of human history, it's always the young who gets the short end of the stick.

The fandom is on the young side and social media engagements don't paint them in a great light, but at the same time, there is no need to be condescending. Young fans aren't as oblivious as some paint them to be. They are the first in line when shit things come to light.

Usually these "critics" generalize too much. Kpop isn't a simple industry. Its problems are complex. Dunno if they are fishing for response or it's fake concern or whatever. They are pretty lazy and possibly in bad faith as well.

Yet when fans screech about mistreatment they are always right