Is the bar for vocals in KPOP too low?

Yes. A third world country can easily beat S.K in a vocal competition

Generally yeah because I'd say even a lot of main vocals aren't very stand out outside of the idol scene but there are still really talented singers that deserve to be complimented regardless of being held to idol standards

A bit but with the focus on dance/performance it has to be. You can't easily have both with the difficulty of choreo nowadays

Quote from HyoeulgiUltra

Yes. A third world country can easily beat S.K in a vocal competition

What does vocal talent have anything to do with whether a country is “3rd world” or not?

For me it's 50/50. I find the best Kpop singers not that impressive compared to some Western singers and for sure, not everyone is an Ailee but a lot of groups have a solid vocal line and sometimes the whole group can sing pretty well.

I also find this subject a bit tricky to discuss : what are good vocals ? It's highly subjective and everyone has their own definition of the term. Some will only jugde according to technique, some will have others criterias. I took vocal lessons during a while, had two teachers and they didn't have the same defintion of "good vocals" at all.