TBH it's about neither for me. I've come to realize it's all about individual idols for me.
My excitement for BP and Twice has faded as both are about to fade into history, but i still find myself stanning Lisa and Mina as much as i did five years ago. I still watch Sana's variety, Nayeon's Vlive clips.
I never loved or even strongly liked any of Izone's title tracks but i obviously love the members and will keep track of most of their individual post Izone content. Same with various idols like Karina scattered throughout a dozen diff groups like Idle, Stayc, Aespa, etc.
I began to notice more often fans of companies, rather than groups.
If Kpop-fans is really a fans of group rather than fans of company, there wouldn't be a word "Nugu" for group that debut in a small company
In general, it seems to me that fandom culture will end with 3rd generation groups; I don’t feel a similar attraction from fans to 4th and 5th generation groups.
I began to notice more often fans of companies, rather than groups, who change groups like gloves, sticking exclusively to one label.
If your argument for choosing is hit music, then it is a product of the company, not the group.
I believe compant stans are getting lesser over time.
Back in 2nd gen, you had the big 3 going with the "family" concept which breed the company stans that are invested in multiple groups within the same company. This was very true for SM and YG to certain extent (e.g. how Bigbang's fans were crossed-sell with 2NE1).
However, all these have subsided a lot over the years, mainly because (1) older groups left (2) minimal interaction between groups within same company (3) kpop fans picking on every single thing that male & female idols kept distance
Company fans are not as popular like back then. Cross-selling artists within same compnay still possible - see HYBE and its sub-labels' success. BUT, in the end, still the group that matter more than the company.
TBH it's about neither for me. I've come to realize it's all about individual idols for me.
My excitement for BP and Twice has faded as both are about to fade into history, but i still find myself stanning Lisa and Mina as much as i did five years ago. I still watch Sana's variety, Nayeon's Vlive clips.
why do you include bp in this narrative? and you have been saying this for years now just say you got bored of them it's ok
bp is literally the biggest gg globally and still carry the biggest legacy for ggs even until now it has been proven by the way have been trending a few days back (in K forums for example) they will make a come back eventually
The Company.
Fans will try to delude themselves and pretend their groups are what matter but in kpop only the company matters at the end of the day.
How many times have we witnessed successful groups debuting with great acclaim, only for them to fall into nothingness the moment their company gets tired of them and decides to move on to their next new shiny toy, and then the cycle can just start again. It's just sad at this point.
The Company.
Fans will try to delude themselves and pretend their groups are what matter but in kpop only the company matters at the end of the day.
How many times have we witnessed successful groups debuting with great acclaim, only for them to fall into nothingness the moment their company gets tired of them and decides to move on to their next new shiny toy, and then the cycle can just start again. It's just sad at this point.
Nope! At the end of the day, idgaf at the company at all. I stan one group. Just BTS.
I couldn't tell you the names of most groups not to mention names of their members because I simply couldn't care any less.
Other than the names of the Big 4, I can't name any other Kpop Labels.
Mention BTS . . . . you have my attention. 
Display MoreNope! At the end of the day, idgaf at the company at all. I stan one group. Just BTS.
I couldn't tell you the names of most groups not to mention names of their members because I simply couldn't care any less.
Other than the names of the Big 4, I can't name any other Kpop Labels.
Mention BTS . . . . you have my attention.
I mean that's good for you but that's not what I was trying to say.
In the grand scheme of thing it doesn't matter what group you personally care about or not. From a general perspective what drives the industry are not the artists themselves but the companies debuting them. Groups are just their products and their life cycle is short and predetermined: Debut, get promoted, gain fans, generate money, make place for the next group. Rinse and repeat. And a lot of kpop fans having company stanning tendency makes it easier for fans to migrate from a group to another. That's why companies will always try to prevent their groups from getting too big/bigger than them. They want to remain the most influential entities, free of disposing of their line of products as they wish, with fans following the cycle flow depending on who they want to put in the front line or at the back burner. As a results kpop groups tend to be easily replaceable.
Of course there are some exceptions, as some groups manage to gain more or less influence and legacy on their own but those tend to be outliners and I would argue the industry still manages to restrict them one way or another.
the group
i just follow the groups with music i enjoy + decent vocals.
Humm company makes me more interested in new content if I already heard too many songs by the same company and enjoyed all. It's the case for both Starship and SM. I have enjoyed so many songs by these companies including soloists that whenever something new is announced I get hyped about it. But to the point of stanning, I only pick groups when I like everything about them including members and concept. Otherwise it would be far easier and economic to me to just casually listen to them like I casually listen to Sistar, WJSN, Boyfriend, K.Will, SNSD, EXO, NCT, f(x), etc. For whatever reason, I get attached to some but feel indifferent to others. Probably that's normal.
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