kpop is dying in Korea, don't let them fool you

  • 3 - 4 years ago the relevancy of kpop in korean society was more noticeable. on the skreets you'd see idol faces in ads, subways, tv, radios. regular (non-kpop fan) koreans would bring up a kpop song they like, etc.


    now in 2021 kpop is barely visible. the music stores selling kpop albums is a tiny section, only a few middle school girls go there.


    barely any CFs or ads featuring idols, just a few jennie ads here and there now, when before Irene's face was on like every street corner.


    people don't bring up kpop anymore. they aren't up to date with the latest. Brave Girls is the only exception but they aren't even considered 'kpop', more like a temporary cultural icon.


    there's no "it girl" or "it boy" now. you may say Hwasa or Kang Daniel, but they are much less seen and heard of in recent years. Kang Daniel used to be everywhere in 2017. There used to be SM store, restaurant, museum open in several places. now it's all closed down and empty.


    the lack of live events and corona killed off the kpop hype. "but what about BTS", again it's mostly a large dedicated fandom supporting them and the public recognizes their success, but that's it. they have their CFs but it's not like the fever pitch hype Kang Daniel had with Korean women in general.

  • One thing that confuses me is when people act like a large Korean fandom doesn't count as Korean GP interest? If a lot of Korean people are fans of BTS then that means they're popular with Korean people, right? It's not some separate group of people from normal Koreans :pepe-use-head: This goes for other groups too but I see this sentiment a lot with BTS in particular... and this is coming from a non-fan. It just has no logic.



    Someone correct me I'm misunderstanding but Korean fans are Korean people, right? lol

  • STAYC, Brave Girls, aespa, OH MY GIRL, BTS, TWICE, and BP all having digital success; Big Mama and SG Wannabe having a huge resurgence on the charts; 2PM and SHINee having very successful comebacks after years of inactivity, etc.


    So unless you can provide concrete proof of these stories, I can't think you're right.

    Is he.....you know?

    투모로우바이투게더 방탄
    레드벨벳엑소샤이니에이티즈

  • Kpop has not been that big outside of the main acts in years dude. Kpop was probably it’s biggest around 2000-20012 or so with a few dips in between. But for the top groups it’s still decent

  • there's no "it girl" or "it boy" now. you may say Hwasa or Kang Daniel, but they are much less seen and heard of in recent years.

    This only applies to Daniel. HwaSa had 3 hits in 3 years: Don't (collab with Loco in 2018), 2019's Twit and the even bigger Maria from last year.

    Is he.....you know?

    투모로우바이투게더 방탄
    레드벨벳엑소샤이니에이티즈

  • Ask a Korean living in Korea how kpop's relevancy changed from the present compared to a few years ago. They'll tell you very similar


    Besides that, you can tell from the way certain companies are so eager to move their business into China and/or Japan despite heavy restrictions against kpop


    And it should be obvious to everyone now that Korean demographics are on decline. Every year there's less young Koreans, and hence less potential kpop consumers for the country. And yes, BTS is popular but their main source of success came from international support.

  • First of all, I am Korean. It's funny that you think K-pop is going under in Korea. Because BTS is so dominant, it seems like all the other singers are screwed, right? No, I don't think so. They're not screwed, they're just going up and down the stairs at different speeds. Don't undermine other singers to praise BTS.

  • BTS has been on the evening news multiple times for in depth interviews. That's not just fandom driven interest. The government just gave them a diplomatic role to promote culture and the arts... I don't know about other groups but you're mistaken about BTS.

  • One thing that confuses me is when people act like a large Korean fandom doesn't count as Korean GP interest? If a lot of Korean people are fans of BTS then that means they're popular with Korean people, right? It's not some separate group of people from normal Koreans :pepe-use-head: This goes for other groups too but I see this sentiment a lot with BTS in particular... and this is coming from a non-fan. It just has no logic.



    Someone correct me I'm misunderstanding but Korean fans are Korean people, right? lol

    No. What what do you mean. They're not people they're bots :pepe-use-head:

  • It's really waning in south korea since they're forcing every idol group to rap. Most of them can't even rap properly they're just mumbling and spitting nonsense. Rapping shouldn't be mandatory

  • And you know this because? Are you the God OF all things Kpop?


    And again with the BTS is fandom driven narrative. Y'all need to get creative cause these drags are getting boring!

    I never understood the "fandom driven" narrative; THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT! You WANT your song/album to be fandom driven. It's music business 101.

    Kakyoin Cherry Cherry Licking GIF - Kakyoin Cherry Cherry Licking GIFs          JenniesBTCH on Twitter:       Yena and capybara - 9GAG

  • I never understood the "fandom driven" narrative; THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT! You WANT your song/album to be fandom driven. It's music business 101.

    People also don't realize that "GP" listening to all your releases are actually fans too

  • First of all, I am Korean. It's funny that you think K-pop is going under in Korea. Because BTS is so dominant, it seems like all the other singers are screwed, right? No, I don't think so. They're not screwed, they're just going up and down the stairs at different speeds. Don't undermine other singers to praise BTS.

    I am gonna assume you don't understand English because BTS are not being praised by OP. So you got that wrong here.

  • People also don't realize that "GP" listening to all your releases are actually fans too

    Building an audience is like a layered cake. For example, you have your hardcore fans, your lapsed fans, and then you have the fans that come and go and get replaced or grow by newer fans i.e. casuals.


    That's where the "general public" comes in. The name of the game is to make some of those casuals hardcore fans. It doesn't always work that way tho, as history has shown us.

    Kakyoin Cherry Cherry Licking GIF - Kakyoin Cherry Cherry Licking GIFs          JenniesBTCH on Twitter:       Yena and capybara - 9GAG

  • BTS has been on the evening news multiple times for in depth interviews. That's not just fandom driven interest. The government just gave them a diplomatic role to promote culture and the arts... I don't know about other groups but you're mistaken about BTS.

    And all of that because of their overseas success. They make good ambassadors because of their popularity to non-Koreans. It’s not because Koreans love kpop so much

  • You are saying this when 12 out top 20 right now on Melon are idols lol, at one point 7 out 10 in top 10 were idols, i would agree last year which was pretty bad for idols but this year??

  • You are saying this when 12 out top 20 right now on Melon are idols lol, at one point 7 out 10 in top 10 were idols, i would agree last year which was pretty bad for idols but this year??

    here’s the thing tho, Korea doesn’t exist in the digital world

  • First of all, I am Korean. It's funny that you think K-pop is going under in Korea. Because BTS is so dominant, it seems like all the other singers are screwed, right? No, I don't think so. They're not screwed, they're just going up and down the stairs at different speeds. Don't undermine other singers to praise BTS.

    The dude is not praising BTS though. He’s dragging them and calling them nugus among gp

  • Hmmm..... Some people on akp r always saying idol groups aren't popular and can't chart due to that reason but now disagreeing with op lolz.

    But I don't think u staying in Korea for few days gives a full picture either.

    °⨳°·..·°⨳°⊹٭ 𝓙𝓞𝓨 ٭⊹°⨳°·..·°⨳°

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  • The dude is not praising BTS though. He’s dragging them and calling them nugus among gp

    When it comes to huge hits, you're always going to have valleys and peaks when it comes to the casual audience or "general public".


    But typical, the name of the game is to get the people to sell the music for you.

    Kakyoin Cherry Cherry Licking GIF - Kakyoin Cherry Cherry Licking GIFs          JenniesBTCH on Twitter:       Yena and capybara - 9GAG

  • I think people are misinterpreting the OP, because the OP is... well... Teshub.


    But from what I understand, OP's been in South Korea for a full month, and compares it with other visits of him to SK years ago.


    And then he notes that K-pop presence seems far less abundant and around while wandering around in the city than it used to be years ago.


    Which might be a valid point.

    It's kinda similar to the discussion in the other thread, where idol presence to the general public was far higher in 2nd gen era, when idols not just of the top groups but all kinda idol groups were everywhere on Korean tv and variety shows, where as now that seems far less the case.


    Still, comparing being a month in SK now with former weeklong stays in SK is still just short moments to make surefire grand observations and conclusions.


    But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if K-pop presence all around has decreased in SK itself, while internationally it has increased.

    You can see that K-pop companies have been focusing far more on the international market and also on building up their fanbase, than on being everywhere on Korean tv and variety shows and have the Korean general public as their main focus.

    'No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk.'


    SWJ1P.gif

  • And all of that because of their overseas success. They make good ambassadors because of their popularity to non-Koreans. It’s not because Koreans love kpop so much

    Well yeah. Hasn't kpop often been largely about soft political power? It seems that its importance is maybe just measured differently now. It's not domestically important as something to be consumed but still important as a cultural export. I might be misunderstanding whatever you're trying to say in your original comment though.

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