K-pop fans and their odd fixation with age

    I saw a different thread and began responding to it but it got me thinking about K-pop fans and their views on age. It's an interesting topic because K-pop fans tend to have an odd fixation on age.


    • They baby idols that are in their twenties but call fans in their twenties old or hags.
    • If an idol is in their late twenties or early thirties they need to leave K-pop immediately. There's no way they can dance anymore.
    • They refuse to stan groups with members younger than them because it's "weird", as if visuals or physical attraction is the only reason to stan members of groups.
    • If any idol couple has an age gap they flip out. How could two people born years apart possibly fall for each other?
    • In dramas, if the lead actor is older and the lead actress is younger they claim that they never should have been casted together.


    I'm sure I'm forgetting some instances but I find all of this so baffling. There is a lot of hypocrisy when it comes to this. I'm in my mid twenties and as I get older, this stands out to me more and more. As far as babying idols, fans act as if adult idols have no mind of their own and aren't capable of protecting themselves. More than that, I've been quite vocal about ending the stereotype that idols in their late twenties/early thirties are old and can't be as active and fit as they were in their early twenties. Usually only younger fans have this viewpoint, but it does not work like that, I promise you.

  • AllKill VIP
    Quote from 05riaha

    I saw a different thread and began responding to it but it got me thinking about K-pop fans and their views on age. It's an interesting topic because K-pop fans tend to have an odd fixation on age.


    • They baby idols that are in their twenties but call fans in their twenties old or hags.
    • If an idol is in their late twenties or early thirties they need to leave K-pop immediately. There's no way they can dance anymore.
    • They refuse to stan groups with members younger than them because it's "weird", as if visuals or physical attraction is the only reason to stan members of groups.
    • If any idol couple has an age gap they flip out. How could two people born years apart possibly fall for each other?
    • In dramas, if the lead actor is older and the lead actress is younger they claim that they never should have been casted together.


    I'm sure I'm forgetting some instances but I find all of this so baffling. There is a lot of hypocrisy when it comes to this. I'm in my mid twenties and as I get older, this stands out to me more and more. As far as babying idols, fans act as if adult idols have no mind of their own and aren't capable of protecting themselves. More than that, I've been quite vocal about ending the stereotype that idols in their late twenties/early thirties are old and can't be as active and fit as they were in their early twenties. Usually only younger fans have this viewpoint, but it does not work like that, I promise you.

    :yesr:

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    i mean... the age gap thing is valid most of the time. its never a 2 year age difference. its 10+ years difference like heechul and momo which is not only a power imbalance, but creepy when you know he was eyeing her since debut at the ripe age of 18.



    i agree with your other points tho.

    Yes, K-Pop fans make me even more insecure about aging tbh, like ageism is everywhere but I've never encountered so much fixation on age as among K-Pop fans anywhere else.


    A lot of it is also pretty misogynist (oddly mostly coming from stans claiming to be "woke" and "feminist"... Like how exactly are you "feminist" except for virtue signalling in your bio when you act like this?), e.g. telling female idols they're old and should retire while still babying male idols older than them, also as for age gaps in dramas many seem to dislike drama couples where the woman is older more (just having the term "noona drama" for that while the other way round it's just a standard romance is weird, even weirder is that there's quite a few people refusing to watch any "noona drama" even when the age difference is pretty small actually)

    Quote from azhra-0110

    I agree with ur post for the most part, except imo it makes sense trying to stay away from groups with many underage members when you are in your twenties or even older... it's just kinda weird but I guess this is also the companies fault for debuting them at young age

    I can see your viewpoint when it comes to underage members. So I guess I'm not necessarily referring to underage members but like, I stan Ateez and Stray Kids and they're all younger than me.

    Quote from Alex_Murphy

    It actually makes sense when I think of it. Most of these people are girls who couldn't imagine dating a younger guy. Since boy groups rely on an ideal boyfriend fantasy, their oppas need to be older (it's the very definition of oppa) for these girls to stan. They don't want to be a noona.


    Yeah I guess it's just personal preference. I'm older than all of the members of Stray Kids and Ateez but I just think it's strange to hyper-fixate on an age difference of a few years. Korean fans I could understand since it's part of their culture, but not international fans.

    Quote from earthcitizen

    Yes, K-Pop fans make me even more insecure about aging tbh, like ageism is everywhere but I've never encountered so much fixation on age as among K-Pop fans anywhere else.


    A lot of it is also pretty misogynist (oddly mostly coming from stans claiming to be "woke" and "feminist"... Like how exactly are you "feminist" except for virtue signalling in your bio when you act like this?), e.g. telling female idols they're old and should retire while still babying male idols older than them, also as for age gaps in dramas many seem to dislike drama couples where the woman is older more (just having the term "noona drama" for that while the other way round it's just a standard romance is weird, even weirder is that there's quite a few people refusing to watch any "noona drama" even when the age difference is pretty small actually

    How horrendous! I didn’t know it was that bad.

    Quote from yesni

    Very interesting indeed. But I’ve also noticed that I tend to like girl groups that are closer to my own age and have a more mature style. Think RV and MAMAMOO. Meanwhile I’d never listen to Blackpink or I don’t know... ITZY? At least for me it goes both ways. Or maybe I’m completely wrong.

    That's interesting as well! I stan mostly girl groups and I vibe with RV and ITZY. Even Cherry Bullet. I love mature concepts and I love cute concepts. Regardless of age, I don't think we should have to limit ourselves to being mature or cute just for the sake of what's considered the norm. I totally respect and understand your preference though.

    Quote from 05riaha

    That's interesting as well! I stan mostly girl groups and I vibe with RV and ITZY. Even Cherry Bullet. I love mature concepts and I love cute concepts. Regardless of age, I don't think we should have to limit ourselves to being mature or cute just for the sake of what's considered the norm. I totally respect and understand your preference though.

    Same. I've began stanning woo!ah! recently even though they're among the youngest groups you can find right now. Their songs and choreos are just so catchy and fun; plus the girls are so cute and lovely it's hard not to want them to succeed. At least one of them I can see becoming a star in the future. So yeah, they just won me over, whatever their age and mine.

    Quote from aclassyteaparty

    i mean... the age gap thing is valid most of the time. its never a 2 year age difference. its 10+ years difference like heechul and momo which is not only a power imbalance, but creepy when you know he was eyeing her since debut at the ripe age of 18.



    i agree with your other points tho.

    I might get some hate but this comes back to understanding that idols are capable of making their own decisions. On Heechul's part, some might consider it creepy. On the other hand, Momo is an adult and is capable of determining who and what is right for her.

    Quote from 05riaha

    I might get some hate but this comes back to understanding that idols are capable of making their own decisions. On Heechul's part, some might consider it creepy. On the other hand, Momo is an adult and is capable of determining who and what is right for her.

    i personally don't have strong feelings about it, and i agree that momo is an adult. but its not true that everyone makes good decisions for themselves. otherwise women wouldn't ever end up in abusive, unbalance relationships. i don't hate on heechul bc i don't know him but big age gaps like that do make me uncomfortable. all i can do is hope that all parties have good intentions.

    Quote from aclassyteaparty

    i personally don't have strong feelings about it, and i agree that momo is an adult. but its not true that everyone makes good decisions for themselves. otherwise women wouldn't ever end up in abusive, unbalance relationships. i don't hate on heechul bc i don't know him but big age gaps like that do make me uncomfortable. all i can do is hope that all parties have good intentions.

    Yeah I can understand that as well. I don't have an issue with their age difference because despite it, Heechul is widely known in the industry and he's always seemed like a good person.

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