3rd gen was the peak for kpop and here’s why.
Part of what made 3rd gen so fascinating to watch grow and explode was because they eerily mirrored 2nd gen. so in a way those who missed out on 2nd gen’s golden era got a taste of that with 3rd gen. 2nd gen groups were getting older and their replacements kept coming one by one. 3rd gen groups were always getting the title of “The Next so and so” (e.g. BTS the next Big Bang, Twice the next Soshi, Blackpink the next 2ne1, Seventeen the next Super Junior, Red Velvet the next Wonder Girls and so on and so forth.) Those groups had expectations to live up to and seeing them reach them and exceed them was thrilling.
But with 4th gen because they debuted at the prime of 3rd gen, it isn’t as exciting watching these groups. They aren’t surpassing 3rd gen for 3rd gen are still surpassing their predecessors. So 4th gen is kind of this awkward kpop stage where non of the groups here will surpass 3rd gen. So watching them and waiting for releases aren’t as exciting.