MY K-POP RANT

  • ok, so warning: I think this is gonna be a long thread, divided into 2 posts, and it's not about any fandom at all, just my personal rant after seeing many things in this forum and outside of it.

    I'll discuss 3 main points, but I apologize in advance for the possible messiness or repititiveness of some ideas, I didn't write this in an organized way, was basically just writing whatever crossed my mind, line after line. there's a short summary at the end of the 2nd post :oops:


    recently, some things have been bothering me in the kpop community:


    1. looking down on idols

    I'm gonna be honest and admit I've been partially guilty of this in the past. although idr myself ever being rude about it, deep inside I wasn't always as "open minded" as I am now, I mostly blame it on the way the industry works, but no industry is perfect I guess. I still think there are some major issues but I won't adress them now since it's another topic.

    so back to the point, I noticed that some people here have a genuine hate towards idols; and no those users are not the inspiration behind this thread. you guys aren't that relevant and I am not obsessed. I was watching a chinese show and some hip hop artist there looked down on idols, so it reminded of all the instances we've seen before of both underground rappers being rude to idols, and western artists' fans doing so, plus even some kpop fans spreading their idol hate everywhere. and I guess that was added to all the frustrations I had before so I decided to rant about it all in one thread.

    so since I derailed again lol, back to my point. I feel like it's really sad that many people writing hateful comments about artists have barely watched few seconds, or few minutes max of their work. ofc no one got time to dig through content of artists they aren't interested in, and everyone has the right to offer criticism. I think we can all agree on that. but when people start to act obsessed ? and act like they know everything about that idol's career, musical idendity and ambitions ? it's ridiculous. the more I think about it the more sad the situation seems to me, that it is possible for people to disregard someone's years of efforts, someone's genuine love for music, someone's several pieces of work, only to dismiss that person and judge them in a blink of an eye. it's a bit scary to know some people on the internet are ready to judge whether you can sing or not based on a few seconds clip taken when your vocal condition was in a bad state, can judge whether you can dance or not based on a clip that was a taken when you were probably feeling stiff, can judge whether you can perform well or not based on one clip of you not "doing enough", can judge whether your music sucks or not based on few seconds or few minutes of music they personally hate .... I guess it all comes with the fame and it's unavoidable, but it's a bit sad that it's become very normalized and people feel 0 guilt and 0 shame when they act hateful for no valid reason.


    I struggled/hesitated a lot to find my own definition of an artist (in a musical context) tbh, at first I thought it should be someone capable of completing a stage or work on their own, whether it be composing a song, singing it, performing it .. (and I think that's still kind of similar the opinion I have rn). actually to be completely honest I thought of dancing as a nice addition for idols, but I didn't consider it enough since their main job is supposed to be 'singers'. (that being said I can totally respect dancers who don't sing as long as they don't label themselves as singers, and I think dancers deserve more recognition so I'm happy korean dancers started gaining some of it last year). I also thought singing/dancing following a strict guide without adding a personal touch couldn't be considered as artistry. and I probably still think the same way lol, but I think I've gained a new additional perspective.

    [btw this paragraph was probs the most confusing, and that's exactly how it was meant to be, I'm still confused about it too, and I tried to write an honest version rather than an filtered nice ideal one]

    so my final "new vision" of an artist that might be an unpopular one here, is that anyone who genuinely loves music and works hard to present art in any form can be considered one. whether I decide to admire them or not is a different matter, and it would depend on whether their style fits my taste or not. but I think the least I could do is not meddle with their business (aside from giving genuine criticism from time to time after thinking carefully about it, not just throwing random hate for the sake of it). ofc we'd never know who actually loves art/music and who doesn't, while it's obvious in some cases, it isn't clear enough in others, and some people might argue certain celebs are only in it for the fame. but I think that's my point here, we'll never know and it doesn't matter that much, if that celebrity considers themselves as artists and takes pride in their job then that's enough. they don't necessarly have to prove it to everyone, it would be difficult to please everyone anyway.

    I just felt like it was really unfair to think you have the right to judge whether someone is an artist or not based on your own standards, and want to apply that personal standard universally, to the point you can't stand other people liking an artist you don't respect, and always feel the need to add your unwanted negative takes that you consider as the gospel truth.

    also, most the haters or antis are usually the first to announce a controversy, which makes me wonder how ? if they follow the artist's content that much, how can they still have the same negative thoughts ? maybe it's just me but even though I've had some negative impressions of idols before, I've rarely disliked any of them after getting to know more about them (few exceptions would be mostly cause of their attitude)

    I mean notice how majority of kpop stans think their faves are talented, nice, and passionate towards music. are they all somehow brainwashed ? probably not. is everyone completely right ? most likely not. then who's right ? ofc most of them would claim kpop sucks but only their faves are awesome, it's ridiculous tbh. if you don't know all idols individually, and if you haven't gone through all their discographies and extra content thoroughly, then how can you affirm with confidence that they have 0 appeal ? if that idol can bring happiness/comfort and entertainment to some people and you're not one of them, that's your business. won't change the fact they deserve their place and don't need your approval.

    wich leads me to another point, how some fans love labelling others visual stans, fake stans, success stans, company stans, ... how do we know ? some people act like psychology majors. how would you know the exact reasons someone chose to stan their faves and who are you to decide how they should show their support ? (as long as they're not being rude to anyone ofc)

    I forgot where I've seen this and it's a bit off topic but I'll say it, recently someone shaded fans for liking a certain company's producers, and trusting/stanning them or whatever. idc about the company argument, but i'll adress the producer part generally. now what I wanna ask is, can these people pick a struggle ? looking down on idols who can't make their music, looking down on fans who appreciate producers making good music. :S :S so unless someone is good at making music and performing it at the same time they don't have the right to put their work out there ? sounds like such a close minded opinion tbh, and I don't get how a music fan can feel this way. producing and performing are 2 different jobs, while it's perfect and great to master both, it shouldn't be a necessity. idk why some people are so pressed about fans liking idols who can't produce, or fans giving credit to producers who work behind the scenes and aknowledging they played a role in making music they enjoy listening to.


    [character limit: continued in the next post]

  • 2. idolizing any decent human behavior coming from idols.

    don't get me wrong, I'm all for praising and encouraging humanity. but it has gotten to the point that an idol (actors too tbh) would just breathe (not literally ofc, in this context I mean do a very simple nice gesture that you would normally expect from any decent human being) and they'd be called hot for it, and you'd have fans crying about how men like their fav don't exist and they'll never find any except him (I used the word 'men' here cause I didn't see enough concrete examples for female idols, they might be somwhere but I'm not sure so I can't include them directly). this overexagaration takes away from the sincerity of the praise imo. oh well kpop fans exagarate everything ofc, but in this particular case, it makes me wonder, are the standards of humanity that low ? that as soon as someone does a simple nice thing he/she's suddenly one of a kind and the best human to ever exist ? or is it a necessity to be gorgeous for your human actions to be recognized ? don't get me wrong I have nothing against pretty people. I admit that as much as I adore my faves' talents, their visuals probably played a part in me getting into them one way or another. after all visuals are the first thing we see and they're part of the person, it's hard to really separate the two. that being said, if you wanna praise visuals just be honest and do so, I find it a little weird that some people claim to be praising a human action (reminder I'm talking about small gestures mostly) and use such exagarated expressions. like I'm sorry but no your bias ain't the only nice person to exist on earth, and if you search enough you'll find plenty. none of them will be perfect, but newsflash, no one is perfect, all our biases included.

    this might sound like nitpicking and some people here might think i'm petty/jealous and can't stand people praising their faves in peace. trust me, it's not the case at all. I just wished we all treated idols like humans, and stopped praising them way more than we'd praise others if they did the same, cause it beats the whole point imo and leaves me unable to take those praises seriously. if you truly cared about the best for humanity you would be trying to see the good in people and encouraging it, instead of thinking your idol is superior and the only one capable of having basic decency towards others. it's not supposed to be a competition, we should be wishing everyone could be nice, and not fighting over the trophy of "best human to exist" to hand it to our faves.

    reminder, my main issue here is with fans who act like decency has disappeared on earth and their biases are unique angels. I have no problem with praising idols' good personality or sweet actions, I do that too, pretty often.

    I've seen many girls diss all men of their country/region and say no one is decent around them, while praising kpop idols to the skies. honestly grass is always greener on the other side. there are good and "bad" people everywhere, and everyone has flaws. the impression that idols are somehow exceptional to that rule is definitely a false one. no one is 100% perfect and that's totally fine.


    3. my final point and probably the most obvious:

    I noticed that the values kpop stans expect from idols (correction: from idols they're antis of) are usually higher than their own personal standards, or standards they hold their faves to. I mean just go around stan twt, or akp anon section, or even the main section, people write vile stuff about idols very often !! now imagine an idol saying 0.000001% of that, they'd get cancelled ON THE SPOT ! I get that there's a difference. an idol is a public figure, so every word they say holds a lot of weight. but seriously ? just cause you're anonym online doesn't mean you can be human trash ? even if your irl friends don't know, even if no one around you does, all those words written somewhere on the net still came from you, it's still a part of your identity that can't be denied. I honestly wonder how some people manage to sleep at night without reflecting on themselves or feeling bad about their pathetic behavior. you'd think they would learn and change after months, after years... but nah some of them are still the same and I'm literally baffled. they have 0 shame and shield themselves using the "troll" label. you guys are not funny and not cool at all, it has gotten super lame and sad at this point.


    TLDR

    * stop thinking your biases are the only decent human beings on earth, you're delusional and disrespectful towards both your faves and the rest of good people

    * stop caring about useless titles/labels and look at each individual for who they are (in this context about the "idol" title, but in general I still stand by this)

    * stop thinking your opinion on someone's job and whether they're deserving of their spot is the absolute truth

    * stop thinking you can reduce someone's years of training and career to clips of few seconds (few minutes if we're being generous)

    * stop thinking you're a mind reader, you don't know for what reasons fans like their faves and it's not your business

    * stop thinking you have a say in what people decide to like or praise

    * stop acting like a jerk online, while cancelling idols over the tiniest hint of them being flawed. hypocrisy at its finest


    while this might seem directed at certain users or type of fans, it is actually also directed at my own self. as I've mentioned before I don't think I'm perfect either and I've most likely been guilty of some of these behaviors several times in the past (in a less serious manner than the one I described) this thread was mostly a rant, but also my attempt to correct myself through analyzing others. I hope no one gets too offended. unless the shoe fits I guess, lol.


    [end]

  • I agree with the last one it’s always funny when non fans except something extraordinary to groups they don’t stan. They are moving like perroquet, repeating the same old drag, clearly if you couldn’t with the group you don’t like then why are you lurking at everything they do. You’re clearly not the audience they target so move on. Lol.

  • i think its okay to judge artists' talents based on the few moments u see of them like i literally just avoid some artists i can't vibe with just based on the few instances i've seen them


    what i don't find ok is dragging them any chance you've got just based on the few moments like surely they have got something going on for them for others to stan them so y'know just avoid the artist don't drag them

  • * stop thinking you're a mind reader, you don't know for what reasons fans like their faves and it's not your business

    * stop thinking you have a say in what people decide to like or praise

    I'm only guilty of these two :pepe-notes: #selfawarequeen

    I still stand on ARMYmultis. But in the long run there are more BTS only stans so I've learned to curve my opinions on the loud absent minority. I'm working to be better, I promise :pepeflushed:

  • i think its okay to judge artists' talents based on the few moments u see of them like i literally just avoid some artists i can't vibe with just based on the few instances i've seen them


    what i don't find ok is dragging them any chance you've got just based on the few moments like surely they have got something going on for them for others to stan them so y'know just avoid the artist don't drag them

    I did mention it's impossible to go through all their content anyway, and some healthy criticism is fine. but if you have time to act like an obsessed anti, you surely have time to check more content and form a more solid and less biased opinion.


    I agree with you, I think we're saying the same thing in different ways lol

    and yup that last part is exactly what I meant, you can't act like they have nothing going on for them when you didn't see for yourself.

  • at least you're self aware, that's the best part :yesr::angryr:


    like I mentioned I'm not completely innocent either, just can't stand shameless people :peperun:

    Oh no, I'm always aware. I own my shadiness/aggressiveness but I'm keeping it to minimum for AKP ARMY. It's those that don't up to it/acknowledge it and play innocent that you should be side-eying and addressing here. :pepe-tea:

  • Some of my favorite points:


    * stop thinking your opinion on someone's job and whether they're deserving of their spot is the absolute truth


    Seeing the reactions to Girl's Planet 999 and other competition shows, this needs to shouted from the roof tops cause omg!


    * stop thinking you're a mind reader, you don't know for what reasons fans like their faves and it's not your business


    A lot of kpop stans are bitter and have to come up with a reason other than good music as to why someone would to stan. Fans need to stop being nosey kpop is an individual experience and no I will not have you label me a blank stan because I do x y z.


    * stop acting like a jerk online, while cancelling idols over the tiniest hint of them being flawed. hypocrisy at its finest


    People really need to think for themselves and stop being afraid to think differently. A lot of cancelling is due to band wagoning for fear of being digitally outcaste. You loose a few followers because you decide to let an idol have another chance, well so be it!

  • I agree.


    kpop fans need to stop being nosey, kpop in an individual experience.

    exactly, this can't be stressed enough.

  • Some of my favorite points:


    * stop acting like a jerk online, while cancelling idols over the tiniest hint of them being flawed. hypocrisy at its finest


    People really need to think for themselves and stop being afraid to think differently. A lot of cancelling is due to band wagoning for fear of being digitally outcaste. You loose a few followers because you decide to let an idol have another chance, well so be it!


    This rarely applies to me. Can't cancel someone I didn't stan in the first place. :pepe-toast:


    But on a serious note I draw the line when you do blackface with painted big lips and laughing about it. That was the only time I began to detest the idol group in question.

  • This rarely applies to me. Can't cancel someone I didn't stan in the first place. :pepe-toast:


    But on a serious note I draw the line when you do blackface with painted big lips and laughing about it. That was the only time I began to detest the idol group in question.

    In that situation hell yeah they getting canceled 10 times over lol! There are thing like that where just reading headline is enough. Other scandals in kpop I believe are worth researching and processing in your mind before you declare cancelation.

  • In that situation hell yeah they getting canceled 10 times over lol! There are thing like that where just reading headline is enough. Other scandals in kpop I believe are worth researching and processing in your mind before you declare cancelation.

    Never looked back since 2015. Make fun of black people's facial features and appearance and I will spit in your salad.

  • u so smart baby :pleading:


    ofc most of them would claim kpop sucks but only their faves are awesome, it's ridiculous tbh. if you don't know all idols individually, and if you haven't gone through all their discographies and extra content thoroughly, then how can you affirm with confidence that they have 0 appeal ?

    i mean it's okay to stan just one group or five groups and think others suck, but when u start obsessing over how everyone else sucks, it makes u look like an insecure hater.


    dk why some people are so pressed about fans liking idols who can't produce, or fans giving credit to producers who work behind the scenes and aknowledging they played a role in making music they enjoy listening to.

    yup some fans don't wanna admit that idols get help with writing and producing, and i can't grasp that. it's kinda cringe too especially when u look up song credits on wikipedia ^^


    are the standards of humanity that low ? that as soon as someone does a simple nice thing he/she's suddenly one of a kind and the best human to ever exist ?

    this cracked me up ^^ this whole part about exaggeration is on point and tbh i think it can make idols feel uncomfortable and put pressure on them (as if they don't deal with a lot of pressure to begin with)


    anyway, thank u for the post, being guilty of some of the things myself it's always nice to reflect :borahae: hope many ppl read it

  • this cracked me up ^^ this whole part about exaggeration is on point and tbh i think it can make idols feel uncomfortable and put pressure on them (as if they don't deal with a lot of pressure to begin with)

    I think it's important to remember idols are humans and try to treat them as such while showering them with praises they deserve :borahae:

    idolizing them too irreasonably might be even more pressuring as you said.

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