Incorrect. Bullshit is believing that Gallup is useless and that charting digitals = popularity in SK as if that's a 100% in-sync correlation.
But hey, you don't see me immediately go for the lazy ass, easy solution by calling others delulu stans just because they hold other criteria in higher regards than the ones I do.
The thread title question was: who was more popular at their peak, not during their whole career.
It all depends on what you consider the main metric for popularity.
There's charting, there's Gallup, there's number and quality of CF's, etc.
If you see Gallup as the best measure for popularity in SK, then SNSD are the clear winner, with higher popularity scores and ranking.
If you see k-chart digitals as the best measure for popularity in SK, then Big Bang are the clear winner, with better digitals.
I see Gallup as the best measure for SK popularity, so that's why SNSD. But if you don't believe in Gallup and/or want to use digitals as main measure for SK popularity, then BB is the better one.
Whether EXO were 3rd gen or 2nd gen is another discussion - after all, girl groups before 2014 are still regarded 2nd gen yet EXO from 2012 is 3rd gen...
But EXO had their own peak and metrics where they surpassed SNSD and Big Bang, so that would've made it an interesting comparison in its own way :)
Unless you're trying to make a bad joke, will you please stop with trying to make insulting, degrading comments like that? It's offensive and if you weren't joking, then you clearly intended it as an insult.
Everyone who has more than 2 working braincells and actually using them and not being intellectually lazy knows that being a fan of 1 group - or even 2 groups - of a company, doesn't make you a company stan of that company.
Where SNSD had more longevity than BB in SK? This is not true and you can clearly see their releases from 2015~2022 to know which group were far ahead of the other. That's longevity.
I'm in shock with how some sones are really trying to paint SNSD as the biggest group in Korea ever since the other thread like... Calm down, they were amazing, but BB longevity is something that can't be compared when every BB era was hit after hit in SK and Asia... 2015 alone proved how they are the top 2nd gen group and 2022 was a joke to others when they had the most successful bg song of that year without promoting.
Anyways...
What I meant was that SNSD' peak of popularity, where they topped their popularity in SK, was higher and longer than BigBang's in SK, using Gallup as main criterium for popularity.
To elaborate: in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 (3 years straight), SNSD were the #1 most popular artists in SK with popularity scores of 29.8, 31.5 and 26.1%.
The only year that BigBang topped the Gallup rank as #1 most popular artists was in 2015 with a popularity score of 15.5%, only 1 year.
... hopefully this explains what I meant with longevity, even if you disagree with the use of Gallup as a means of looking at popularity.
B.I. is a very good leader, great composer, song writer, made several hits, his group relied on him. But that's it.
GD was more than that, he was much more influential in many ways, a trendsetter, a kpop icon, he's a celebrity between idols. His last comeback was years ago but he's still remembered and respected, if he made a comeback it'll definitely be as if he never went on hiatus. Theres a reason why he's called the king of kpop.
I'm not belittling BI and Soyeon I like them both and I think we should have more artists like them in kpop but if we want to compare Soyeon to GD but omit all the other aspects in which GD by far surpasses her, we might just as well compare her to BI.
I get what you're saying 
GD was truly iconic, a performance artist aside from being a songwriter/composer/producer - which, for example Teddy is too - but Teddy is no GD. GD after all elevated YGE to the next level as YG the man himself admitted as much, and GD was the reason that YG could boastfully claim that YG idols were all 'real artists' => utilising GD's skills and talents as an illusionist's mirrors, confusing K-pop stans into thinking that all YG idols were GD level artists.
While no idols can truly compare with GD taking all his personality traits, talents and skills taken together, I think that in 4th gen Soyeon comes closest when looking at GD's core strengths of songwriting, composing and lifting up their group with those.
This is kind of an interesting comparison, both were the iconic top groups, each with their own legendary achievements
As for popularity, it all depends on what you define as 'popularity', and then you have the separation between popularity in SK, and internationally.
Both groups have their own core strengths where they excelled in. But SNSD seems to have the edge: SNSD were both more popular in South Korea with a higher, longer popularity peak. And SNSD were more popular cq had stronger global recognition internationally.
... would have been even more interesting if EXO were included in this comparison with SNSD and Big Bang, rankings in some metrics would have shaken up including EXO too. Maybe for a future thread, Yama-Chan
For example since SM never disbands their groups super junior could as well never officially disband, hell they have probably made more comebacks in the last 10 years than a lot of 3rd gen groups but by all means they are totally irrelevant group who barely anybody checks out, and new kpop fans may recognize them a little since they are an important part of kpop but is just that,
And in no time some groups like red velvet, nct 127 and nct dream will be there too, they just have the SM never disbanding their groups thing in their favor, but they are on the edge already.
? SM groups like TRAX, f(x) and The Grace are disbanded though, there's a clear difference between SM groups like SHINee, TVXQ, EXO etc that still have activities and groups like f(x) and The Grace where all members aren't even around anymore.
Super Junior have their own sublabel where they have full control over their own group career and activities, kinda like YG's TheBlackLabel, which is the complete opposite end of being either officially or inofficially/informally disbanded.
Whoa... that's a really weird, unexpected repackaging 
Sigh. Like I already said elsewhere, 99.9% of all the 'scandals' and controversies in and around K-pop are complete non-issues and blown up, petty dramaqueen stuff. Popcorn fodder for the braindead 
I'm kinda sceptic about the numbers, 50 million dollars for paid ad views feels insane, beyond any reason. I mean, what'd be the ROI, return on investment, for that? Because we're also only talking about 1 platform, there's also other platforms like Spotify etc.
Wow... unexpected, but impressive nonetheless. Well done! 
Yeah, first they started increasing their sales x2 each release to almost sell 1M sales per album, and then all their old catalogue started shipping thousands of sales "somehow", we now confirm it was all a fraudulent scheme. And yes rv should have never crossed the 300K range, they have never been more popular or have a fandom as big as twice when they were selling 300k on 2018 and rv was selling 100k at the peak of their career, 300k-375k with the legal methods of boosting sales like lot of versions, digipacks, etc is the most I can believe from them, 990k sales for a red velvet album on 2022? No way.
While Red Velvet were never 1 of the top album sellers, they were still 1 of the better sellers only having to leave TWICE, BP and IZ*One above them. It's also weird when you only acknowledge TWICE's restocks as valid album sales but not Red Velvet's when it's a wellknown, documented fact that SM has been notorious for understocking RV and other SM groups for years - so yeah, no wonder that as soon as restocks are available in a growing international K-pop market, RV's sales will grow too.
And if you think all the album sales increases - except for TWICE? (of course) - have been part of a K-pop wide all-companies-encompassing scheme, proven by the big drop in overall album sales. Then how do you explain the drop in other K-pop areas and metrics, like K-pop Spotify streams, youtube views and overall international K-pop popularity, that others have noted and commented on?
Are all those part of the same K-pop wide conspiracy that the artificial albums increase-and-drop-afterwards were a part of?
In terms of producing? Yes ig.
I don’t think Soyeon is an above average rapper tho. To me, her flow is boring and she doesn’t have the voice for it.
Personal preferences aside, Soyeon did end up pretty high in that Unpretty Rapstar show, competing against professional rappers.
Interesting comparison.
What would you think would be the main differences between GD and B.I. in this?
We have a few. Zico, Highlight guy, LE, Miryo, all gave their groups hits, but none on GD scale imo.
Soyeon gave them a top position for sure and this alone is amazing, but as also stated above GD made BB legends and YGE a big3 so while comparing their writing and producing, in the end I think it's still different situations.
But if it's just about giving national hits I think they are in similar grounds then with the others I mentioned.
Btw I think it's worth praising Soyeon alone without comparation bc what she achieved imo is incredible. I mentioned LE and Miory, but I think it's the first time a female "idol" put her group on the top with her own songs. This is incredible.
That was actually what I meant, how many idols songwrite/compose/produce their group's songs to the extent that their contributions make those songs and their group rise to top tier.
It's true that Soyeon didn't lift Cube up in the way that GD did with YGE - but I can't think of that many other idols who come close to what GD did in lifting up their own group with songwriting/composing/producing aside from Soyeon.
You mention Zico, LE and Miryo, if they were the ones behind the hit songs that launched their groups to massive popularity and success, then they're in that same category, although now in 4th gen times, Soyeon's the one that seems to be the only one left in that category.
Nope, GD gave BB national hits multiple times big enough to make YGE a big3 and he also obviously wrote for himself with incredible successful solo career and wrote for others members.
She has great songs, but to be on GD level is more than writing and producing for your group, is putting them in legendary status.
Well, of course, obviously GD is GD and Soyeon is Soyeon, they're separate persons - 1 is male the other is female - with their own careers, so naturally there'll be differences.
But in the category 'great idol performers that also compose/songwrite/produce their own groups' top hits with great success' aren't really that many idols hanging around.
Besides GD and Soyeon, who else who can also stand on their own (so not just 'co-credits' in a long list of contributors for 1 song)?
Also 'Tomboy' put (G)I-dle in the spotlights and lifted the group to a higher tier since then, anyone else recall how (G)I-dle wasn't even included in the top 4th gen gg discussions before Tomboy, or at best as an afterthought?
These RV shorts are killing me, I can't resist clicking on them whenever new recommended ones pop up
G-Dragon wasn't just a great performer, he was a great songwriter and composer. He was the hitmachine behind BigBang, like Teddy was behind 2NE1 and Blackpink, delivering megahit after megahit.
There aren't many idols like that with that level of success, but it looks like 4th gen now has its own: Soyeon of I-dle.
Not only is she great on stage as a rapper/performer, she is also a great composer and songwriter, delivering tophit after tophit for I-dle.
I used to think that it was Cube that did at least something good with I-dle. But nope, looks like all the mistakes and bad decisions that they make with all their groups are solely to be contributed to Cube, but the good decisions and songs when it comes to I-dle, now that's actually Soyeon's contribution.
So what do you think, Is Soyeon the G-Dragon of the 4th gen?
Personally, I can't think of anyone else coming close right now, besides Soyeon 
