3rd and 4th gen stans need to realize Kpop existed before them.

Quote from Versatile

I see a lot of comments these days, all this paving the way discussion and it's making me hella confused.

I've known of kpop since 2009. The first group I heard of was bigbang/2ne1 in lolipop, then SNSD then Super junior. Then so on so forth.

You know what group I didnt hear of first? groups that hadnt debuted yet, aka your faves.

Kpop didnt start when groups like bts twice blackpink became popular, and as surprising as it may seem to you all of those groups were modeled after previous kpop groups, 2NE1 was BP, snsd was Twice and BTS were bap/Big bang inspired. Even if you look at groups like G-idle and Clc, they are modeled after 4Minute.

Basically what I'm getting at is, Kpop has existed for a long time, TVXQ is into their 17th year in kpop, Shinhwa is past 20, 3rd/4th gen didnt pave anything in kpop... it doesnt even make sense Kpop was already existing when they debuted.

Streams, sales, everything is at an all time high in kpop, so the top groups now benefit from that and do amazing things, but that doesn't mean that we downplay how vital it was for those groups to do what they did. Reaching a billion views on youtube? great, but remember SNSD reached 100 million first, BIGBANG reached 200 million first, at a time when views were hard to get.

Sell over a million albums? thats also great, but remember which groups were selling 3-500k back in 2008-12 when the album market was dead in korea?

Basically I'm not trying to downplay any artist here, what 3rd/4th gen did has been beyond phenomenal but Kpop did not start with them, and all of what they done was made possible from the second gen. This is just plain facts. There is no need to get offended, just please. your fave didnt invent Kpop... come on now.

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The audacity.. just because you are a mod here doesn't mean you can go around saying BS.

these 2nd generation stand just can't get over their head that the era of their idols are over and all the accomplishment that their idol have been eclipsed.

if want to talk about paving the way. then even your idols did not pave anything then. it was just SEO taiji who paved the way for your idol to exist. then there is nothing for you to brag about.

I also hate the fact that you guys have the audacity say that your idols paved the way. if your idols paved the way why the fuck you guys mocked BTS when they are gaining traction in the West. you even keep. spouting bs that since your idols did not make it in the West and globally, how dare BTS from the night company even try. if it was not for BTS, BP would not be able to dominate globally. your hypocrisy is showing hun.

yes 3rd gen/4th gen did not invent KPOP. newsflash so does BB TVXQ SNSD. they also did not start shit. it was SEO TAIJI for the boys and BOA and SES girls

I agree. Some toxic users here are so dumb that they ignore their seniors.

Those threads are getting old. Of course everyone knows kpop didn't magically appear out of nowhere once bts, twice, bp and any other big 3rd gen group appeared. Stop acting as if no one acknowledges the fact there were groups who did their own thing and did well even before our faves - we ain't stupid.

Those 1/2 gen groups might have "paved the way" in Japan, China and that's it. Meanwhile 3rd gen is much more impressive in the West and literally everywhere. If we judge by impact, recognition, achievements and etc, 3rd gen is doing much better than any other generation has (thanks to bts mainly)

So idc about what you all have to say about these generations, facts speak more than words, 3rd gen is untouchable and paved their own way into the west

I do agree with op, 2nd gen brought kpop exposure to many countries like Asia and after that minor interest in Western countries, without them nobody would even care to even look at kpop videos on youtube... People nowadays just think bringing kpop into America = you are the creator.... That is not how it works..

My faves and fandom don’t claim to have invented kpop. No thanks.

Quote from HopeOnTheStreet

The paving the way it refers to the western market. TVXQ, SNSD, BB didn't succeed in doing anything impressive there. 2nd gen paved the way in Japan/China even SEA but anything beyond that is just delusion. The whole "inspired" is BS and just trying to downplay 3rd gen. Any group launched tomorrow will look like some other group that happened before, that doesn't mean it's inspired by them.

I know kpop since 2nd gen in 2011 but most people from here never heard of anything apart from GS until 3rd gen came over. So using yourself as example is a moot point.

But 2nd gen groups still helped 3rd gen to get into west. Why? It's KCON. KCON has only started in 2012 in US because there were enough kpop community in US. 2012's KCON was small and humble. But people have really interested in kpop because of the performance. The groups like BigBang, Block B, SNSD and 2ne1 had powerful and unique performances which was different from mainstream western artists. 2013's KCON has attracted more people. Lots of TV channels have distributed KCON 2014 in the west. It was published in lots of news publications in US and western countries. It was big step during that time. In 2015 Emma Stone has mentioned SNSD and 2ne1 during tv. The crowd was already shouting and clapping hands which shows kpop was already known in there. PSY's contribution was making us realize importance of YT and twitter. After GS has reached 1 billion views (the first MV ever to reach that milestone) and he was went viral in Twitter. People have understood the signifance of YT views and twitter mentions. Then mass streaming & mass mentioning begun. It has became common practice for kpop fans. Their impact may seem small now but at that time it was the biggest step they could do in their situation.

Quote from jenniesslot

The audacity.. just because you are a mod here doesn't mean you can go around saying BS.

these 2nd generation stand just can't get over their head that the era of their idols are over and all the accomplishment that their idol have been eclipsed.

if want to talk about paving the way. then even your idols did not pave anything then. it was just SEO taiji who paved the way for your idol to exist. then there is nothing for you to brag about.

I also hate the fact that you guys have the audacity say that your idols paved the way. if your idols paved the way why the fuck you guys mocked BTS when they are gaining traction in the West. you even keep. spouting bs that since your idols did not make it in the West and globally, how dare BTS from the night company even try. if it was not for BTS, BP would not be able to dominate globally. your hypocrisy is showing hun.

yes 3rd gen/4th gen did not invent KPOP. newsflash so does BB TVXQ SNSD. they also did not start shit. it was SEO TAIJI for the boys and BOA and SES girls

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Not even Seo Taji it was Kim Sisters.

But in this regard TVXQ should take credit because they have saved the extinct industry.

I have no idea what sparked the recent round of 'paved the way' or 'generation vs. generation respect/disrespect' posts. Neither do I intend to participate in the debate. But the whole timing makes Epik High's 'Rosario' lines so much more hilarious for me :

CL - 'I'm a legend and I'm here to stay

Did it my way

Where I set foot becomes the way'

Tablo - 'I paved the way

             For everyone that is pavin' the way'

Awesome song with awesome lyrics btw. Highly recommend

Bla bla bla Jpop paved the way. If we're really gonna attribute the success of the current gen to the pioneers, then the Africans paved the ways since all genres practically originated from them. Hell, cavemen paved the way. THERE!

tbh i am tired of hearing BTS and BP paving the way. i mean ya, they are super popular now. but before BTS, there are alot more kpop groups. SJ, SNSD, TVXQ, and SHINWA etc. and lot more. i got into kpop in 2009. so i may not know other popular groups before.

The sad truth is that it's not that they don't know that the first 2 generations existed, it's that they just don't care for them. Happens in every single genre of music.

Quote from itiswhatitisss

Literally obsessed

Of course they would be obsessed with their ult group

Paving the way discussions are so stupid because people act like there is only one person/ group that can pave the way. Like no, since the begining of time, artists have been building off of one another to create new things and break into new markets. Kpop today is amalgamation of the impacts of all of the previous kpop groups, no sole group "paved the way". Its so stupid

If kpop died after first generation how is that the first generations fault? If it died after first generation then why was there a second generation? Was there a 1.5 that was so bad they just skipped it and went straight to 2. Idk care about the paved the way discussion because history will write itself and the millions of discussions y’all have on this forum won’t change the narratives everyone else had but I’m so confused on what made first gen “dead” and second gen better. Wouldn’t the example of the idol industry dying after first gen be equivalent to second gens failure to “crack” the west like they planned to. Kpop really didn’t start to explode in the west till this year so what’s the difference.

Quote from icyruios

3rd gen stans: 2nd gen didn't pave the way for our faves they popularised KPOP and made it easier to break into other markets

Also 3rd Gen stans: OUR FAVES PAVED THE WAY FOR EVERYONE 4TH GEN 5TH GEN SUCH TALENT MANY MUSIC

ARMYs: BigBang has never paved they way for BTS.

Also ARMYs: BTS have paved the way for ATEEZ. Otherwise ATEEZ are flopteez.

But ATEEZ leader Hongjoong: G.D & Zico are his role model and the reason he got into KQ entertainment and participated MixNine to become an idol/artist.

What's wrong with the kids of this forum? Everybody enjoys the second gen songs including their idols and ofc it needs to be respected