Does it make any sense to say that the fourth generation of K-pop surpassed the third?

makes as much sense as me saying i surpassed newton because i knew gravity existed as a kid

with exo mention, its funny they are still way more popular than nct above all of sm efforts

4th gen is not close to surpass 3rd gen power, influence and dominance yet

Specially on BG side. There is literally only two 4th gen BG among the best selling this year, the others are all 3rd or even 5th gen

On GG side things can change in a couple of years. GGs are such a hot topic now. They are selling a lot and releasing many hits. I can see them surpassing 3rd gen after many years

It’s inaccurate, I still think BTS, Blackpink and TWICE are the most popular groups.

Heck, even EXO puts many 4th gen bg’s to shame.

Quote from hypernova

Heck, even EXO puts many 4th gen bug’s to shame.

They put all them minus TxT and Stray Kids

4th gen BGs never really take off. I think things will get better in the 5th gen, there are many heavy hitters waiting to be unleashed in the next few years

In terms of overall popularity and impact, the only 4th generation group that can start to be mentioned in conversations with their predecessors is NewJeans, but even they don't have anywhere near the legacy of the powerhouses of the 3rd generation and that's more of a projection/prediction based on their historic career arc since debut.

Plus 3rd gen groups laid the foundation for all the crazy numbers we see from the 4th gen today, and the biggest acts are all still thriving and promoting with dedicated fanbases still supporting them fervently.

We won't know how 4th gen compares as a whole to 3rd gen until we're at least ankle deep in 5th gen

The biggest boy group and the biggest girl group are 3rd generation.

But below those 2, it is mostly 4th Gen.

besides blackpink and bts there are twice, seventeen and exo people really underestimate the power of longevity and the impact they had in the Korean music industry they set the standard.. Blackpink and twice touring power is insane I doubt any other 4th gen gg can achieve that anytime soon.

the closest boy group to come close is skz but they are on the transitional generation 3.5 (same as G idle) they aren't even fully 4th gen and have been active for a few years now. Groups that debuted in 2020 and upwards are making waves and achieving a lot in short period of time, which is impressive but 3rd gen groups aren't backing down despite all these years they have been around.

Though, the 4th generation is strong - the top groups at the moment are still from 3rd generation despite the 5th generation having been started (according to Mnet). Even most survival shows still give examples and missions of 3rd generation groups whether they are active or inactive, which says a lot about their industry. The reason 4th has a easier time making records is because of 3rd generation’s service.

Most of the biggest 4th generation acts debuted at the peak of 3rd generation, where 3rd generation was setting new records (and still is today for both 4th and 5th generation). The impact they had and still have is a LOT greater than what 4th generation has on 5th generation. They are still numerous 5th generation groups debuting with intentions of replicating the 3rd generation, you just don’t see much of that for 4th generation (whom also looks up to 3rd generation).

No, I don't believe so. Third gen has BTS and that takes a lot of beating imo.

No, doesn't make sense at all!

I mean I honestly can't see anyone peaking above 3rd gen. For BGs I doubt anyone will ever reach above the level of BTS, for girl groups they might get close but I think honestly on the world stage kpop is a trend, and trends come and go and I don't think it'll be at this level for much longer and won't be for sometime.

Edit: This is not to say it's not possible, but the odds of it happening so soon all of a sudden is like a 5% chance.

Internationally that's not the case.

Tho we can discuss for Korea.

Quote from Slayurfaves

the closest boy group to come close is skz but they are on the transitional generation 3.5 (same as G idle) they aren't even fully 4th gen and have been active for a few years now.

both of the groups have been considered as fourth gen since their debut btw. There's no such thing as 3.5 gen. Nobody calls them 3.5 gen group other than insecure kpop stans.

bts are above this conversation ...kpop fans should stop mentioning them in these threads. The second most popular kpop group is bp and bts have × 10 their sales and streams. Not to mention their impact on the industry as a whole or the fact that they Literally built the most powerful kpop company as of now

No

If we ignore the elephant in the room thats called BTS...