My list of hot takes: #1 Stray kids, especially BangChan, has been treated like the punching bad of the K-pop industry for far too long. Ex: Heeseung leaving En-hypen. I DONT get that at all. If you're gonna say smth make it make sense #2 RCTA is just glorified / romanticized racism. #3 If you have a disorder then you shouldnt use that as an excuse for anything. #4 Every fandom has a toxic/problematic side. Even the calmest fandoms still have those. #5 Things like SH depression bed rotting mental hospitals, ec, are WAY too heavily romanticized on the internet. It's not an 'aesthetic' thing. Its a genuine problem & should not be treated as something you use to get attention. #6 Most K-pop groups are just visual concepts with a song attached. The "music" is secondary. You arent buying an album; youre buying a 30-minute VR experience where you feel like you know strangers. If you remove the choreo, the color-coded outfits, and the fancam edits, 80% of the discography is indistinguishable from each other. #7 The "Debut" is a lie. By the time a group debuts on M Countdown, they have already been on reality shows, in training videos, in sub-unit promotions, and in variety content for 3–5 years. They aren’t "new." They are just old content repackaged with a new title. You’ve been watching their "debut" for half a decade #8 "Fandom Wars" are orchestrated by labels to boost engagement. The toxicity between BLINK, ARMY, and ONZ isn’t natural organic rivalry. Labels know that hate drives engagement. If you have a common enemy, your fandom unifies. The constant subtle digs between companies (ex, "our girl is more independent," "their boy is more talented") are calculated to keep your blood pressure up and your wallet open. TikTok killed the K-pop song structure. Songs are now written for 15-second clips, not for listening. The chorus is shortened, the intro is cut, and the "hook" is designed to be danced to on a vertical screen. This has led to a homogenization of melody and rhythm across all groups, regardless of genre. Especially KATSEYE. (yes, I know they aren't K-pop) Jay Park needs to stop being in LNGSHOT 24/7. Like, ok. I get that it's his group that he made, under his company. But he is not IN the group as a member. He's acting more like a helicopter dad than a CEO to his company and group. Plus, bringing them on tour with him when they have two VERY different concepts is weird to me. It kind of feels like he's using them for cashflow for his own tour. And the fact that Louis is still a minor with the female fans throwing undergarments on stage while he's still up there is very inappropriate. Plus, his involvement in their albums, ex: 4SHOVILLE, in insane. it says "Jay Park and LNGSHOT" not even "LNGSHOT and Jay Park". Most K-pop idols are overworked and underpaid. The "idol slave contract" is real. Many idols earn less than minimum wage in their first few years, working 16-hour days, 7 days a week, for a label that owns their image, their name, and their body. The "success" stories are the exceptions, not the rule. "Maknae" (youngest member) is the most overrated role. The maknae is often given the most screen time, the most cute moments, and the most "baby" treatment, not because they are the best performer, but because they are the easiest to market. It’s a lazy way to generate fan affection. K-pop’s "global" appeal is largely built on cultural erasure. Groups like NewJeans or BLACKPINK succeed in the West because they strip away specific Korean cultural markers (language, references, hierarchy) to become "safe" for Western palates. The ones who keep their Korean identity (like Stray Kids or ITZY doing heavier concepts) are often labeled "niche" or "too loud," proving that K-pop’s global dominance relies on assimilation, not diversity. The "Visual" standard in K-pop is increasingly homogenized because of plastic surgery and AI filters. We are looking at a generation of idols who look like each other because they all use the same surgeons, the same lighting, and the same editing apps. The "natural beauty" narrative is a lie sold to keep fans from realizing they are looking at identical products. "Sasaeng" culture isn't just crazy fans; it's a symptom of a system that trains fans to feel they own the idol. Labels reward obsessive behavior with exclusive content, "personal" photocard messages, and close interactions. We create the monsters we complain about by incentivizing parasocial ownership. If you treat a human like a shared pet, they will act like one. The "trauma dumping" aesthetic on TikTok has made mental health look like a personality trait. Gen Z K-pop fans don't just have anxiety; they curate their anxiety as part of their fandom identity. "I cry every time I hear this song" is no longer an emotional reaction; it’s a social signal that says "I'm deep, I'm sensitive, and I am part of this platform." It’s performative vulnerability.
(continuation) #18 Fandom wars are necessary for the industry's growth. Labels want us to fight. Hate drives engagement. If everyone liked BTS, ARMY would be bored. If everyone liked BLACKPINK, BLINK would be bored. Conflict creates content. Conflict keeps us awake at 3 AM. Conflict keeps us buying albums. The toxicity is a feature, not a bug. #19 "Introvert" is no longer a personality type; it’s a personality disorder for people who just don’t want to try. We’ve pathologized normal social battery limits and turned “I don’t like crowds” into “I have a clinical inability to function in society.” Im an introvert. But that doesn't mean I'm lazy. #20 We have normalized trauma as a currency. If you don’t have a tragic backstory, a chronic illness, or a unique psychological quirk, you feel invisible. We’ve turned suffering into a status symbol, so now people compete to see who is the most broken. (People literally compare SH on the internet btw. That is just sick.) #21 "Self-care" is the most expensive way to avoid solving your actual problems. Buying a $40 candle and taking a bath doesn’t fix your toxic relationship, your debt, or your career stagnation. It’s just a pacifier for adults who are afraid to do the hard work of changing their lives. #22 KATSEYE was not meant for kids, and still isn't. The girls themselves said they prefer the more mature concept. #23 The "Girlboss" era was just capitalism in lipstick. It didn’t empower women; it just taught them that their value is tied to their productivity and their ability to consume. Being a "strong independent woman" now just means you can afford to buy things that tell everyone you’re a strong independent woman. #24 Nostalgia is a lie we tell ourselves to avoid the present. We romanticize the 90s and early 2000s because they were simpler, but we forget the lack of diversity, the higher crime rates, the worse medical care, and the fact that we were just kids who didn’t have to pay rent. We miss the feeling of being young, not the reality of the era. #25 Feminism isn't bringing men down to lift up women, its treating both men AND women EQUALLY. Thats all. Might make a part 2. Baibai! Xx, Gracy~
