Ageism in kpop?

At first i thought with more western fans joining kpop it could become more tolerant to age or weight.

But i guess i was wrong. While we talk a lot about how backmindet korea in some regards sometimes is.

In this regard it looks like western fans are even more intolerant. While some artists like IU or BG can maintain or gather a proper korean fandom even if they get older, thats not the case with international fans.

Kpop is into selling 'fantasy', music is just an excuse. That is why they idols and not artists.

And the ultimate fantasy is 'youth', this is generally true even in life and Kpop is an industry which exaggerates this aspect to extreme.

So understandably age is a major factor, to sell that escapism.

And on that note - 'beauty', as well, goes with age.

Though there are occasional exceptions, the standard expectation is young and beautiful.

So yes 'Ageism' is norm in Kpop, but it is a market responding to consumer demands.

Quote from xoxoshawol

So the Zennials struggles (too young to Millennials, too old to Gen Z) are also shared with Xennials?

I feel less alone in this now

We're in this together.

kpop is a niche genre targeted at teeny boppers (and also ahjummas for BGs). When your target audience is like 10 to your mid 20s, yeah late 20s is reaching the end the idol life cycle.