The entire event is like the Duke of Wellington going to USA to avenge the death of Pakenham, his brother in law, who got killed by US general Andrew Jackson at New Orleans in an attempt to take the city for Britain, and get killed by Jackson, whom few people in Europe had heard about but is now enshrined in the US $20 bill.
That event almost occurred if the US diplomats did not agree to make peace with Britain shortly before Napoleon attempted his comeback.
If he got killed by an American, Wellington, instead of being honored by United Kingdom all the way to this day, would have remained a bad joke. The Kingdom would have regretted giving him the dukedom, which would have quietly expired after the death of the 2nd Duke (who was 8 years old at the time of Waterloo) who would die unmarried since no fashionable family of England would have done anything to do with his family.
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The end of the Dowager Queen's interference with KPop is a momentous event which deserves to be commemorated for quite a long time.
For 12 long years, KPop had its limiter in the body of Lee Jieun.
Every KPop act, even the mighty BTS and BlackPink , had to fear IU because the latter still had an absolute stranglehold dometically, and despite of the fact that she was largely irrelevant outside of Korea, she had the power to mess up any act domestically at her will so they had to fear her.
I documented the phenomenon back in 2021 and 2022
Virtually all KPop acts worth their salt had to have some Korean promotions since if they ignored Korea for too long she would return and snipe them, like what she did against aespa in 2021 and Ive in early 2022.
The Koreans did not care about world conquest because they had IU, who fulfilled their domestic needs.
It is perhaps ironic that IU will start her world tour in a position where she is no longer dominant in Korea. Perhaps it is divine retribution for her interfering with KPop acts going around the globe to promote and sniping them without leaving Korea.
I compared that with all the eligible young men of the town being draft to fight at a war far away for many years, and return to see the town's belle married to the village buffoon, who was the only man remaining in the town during the war and got the best deal.
Now the stranglehold of IU, the chance that she would come out of woodwork and snipe at KPop acts, the possibility of IU becoming the #1 singer in Korea despite of doing nothing, etc, has ended the divergence of KPop from Korea will be accelerated.
I personally think any time an act spends in Korea is now a waste of time. IT is needed for rookie acts to get established and make a name, but after that I don't think any act should stay in Korea to promote.
But they were kept at home because they had to fear IU.
Now the Dowager Queen, who has limited Kpop since she defeated SNSD decisively on Jan 6, 2012, and has lorded over as a Senior Singer since she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from MAMA in Dec 4, 2014, is put into an armored vehicle on the way to the Retirement Home from which hopefully she may not escape since there are no more Psy and Lee Hyori to rescue her from her last exile in 2017 after being defeated by Laboum and Suran (ft. Suga),
KPop acts don't have to worry about Korea anymore and can fly as far as they are able to reach the farthest corner of the earth.
