#because it might not seem like a big deal but ikon mean so much to me

[kimseunghoney]

,,

[sanstropfremir]

Okay, time for my weekly rant so buckle up. The vocal stages were okay-I cant really remember them well because I watched them only once so take what I say with a grain of salt. Well I watched the Spark one once and I only got through half of the other one because I can’t stand ballads especially when there’s no interesting movement on stage to keep me engaged. Like it’s no fault of the members themselves or the song (I actually think their singing was incredibly beautiful and Eunkwang always sings like his wife just left him with the kids which is how you know he’s good) but I physically could not pay attention. That’s why I liked the spark stage a bit better-there was enough movement that I was able to focus on it. I really liked the use of the fire and the way they were walking in and out of the frame trading off parts so there weren’t too many awkward moments where the other members where on stage but not doing anything. The opening was gorgeous with each members being lit by the spotlight as they harmonize. So stagewise, I prefer Spark but vocally I think the other group was stronger. I love Spark and Taeyon is such an incredible vocalist (I mean the song is great because of her) so I don’t get why their delivery was, I don’t want to say weak, but subdued might be a better word. The only one that really stood out was Junhoe (but also that man couldn’t not stand out even if he tried, not with that incredibly rasp) and even he seemed to be holding himself back a bit. Though it was a bit slow it built up well to the two last choruses but still the first half could have been stronger. I know they were trying to draw it out to a strong pay off but I don’t really know if it was enough. And yes the suits were *chef’s kiss*. I think at this point in their career the FNC stylist has put SF9 in so many suits they’ve got it down to a science. Also I’m a sucker for those shirts with the triangle cut out and we got not one but two of them here.

Okay moving on, I’m not sure which group was next but I’ll talk about the Ikon stage. It seems like they finally realized that they’re on a performance based competition show so they decided to pull out the big guns. Love the little skit at the beginning (making sure people don’t forget that they’re YG), it was cute and refreshing. I really appreciated how they leaned into the campy acting in this stage (Stray kids did it too-just adding to the similarities between their stages). The song was meh but I also don’t really like BP especially not their recent stuff so it’s not a big deal. I would have preferred if they had gone with another song maybe Whistle or As If It’s Your Last or if they’d done a 2NE1 song like Chanwoo mentioned some point in the episode. I also think the stage would have been way smoother if they’d let Ikon and Lisa interact. Like if the boys appeared in her set after her section and then they all moved back to the first jungle set and then the whole thing turns gold and they did a dramatic outfit change (but with better jackets because theirs look like they came out of Party City). I also get what you mean about the dancers outfits not being that great. I actually really liked the outfits of Lisa’s dancers in isolation but they didn’t match with her or the set so they threw me off a bit. At least with the ikon members they were going for a modern look so the dancers outfits didn’t look that strange in comparison. Do you think it would have been better if they were white? How would you have improved then? The best way I can describe this performance was that it was a stage, stuff happened, I enjoyed myself but I don’t plan to revisit it anytime soon. Oh and we also have to give points for them cursing on national television not once but twice (at this point Jinwan deserves to say fuck).

Now to Stray Kids. So I feel like I need to preface this with the fact that I am actually a stray kids fan (I won’t call myself a stay because I don’t associate with the fandom) and though I’ve been really critical of them and their stages tend to be my least favorite I still have a soft spot for them (I got into this show because of them after all). I loved, loved, loved the intro with Felix (and yes his biggest flaw is that he’s Australian but I forgive him for it) and the way it immediately transitions into the chorus of DDD-the abrupt transition does fit really well with the Deadpool theme and I guess it is the closest they’re going to get to the feeling of yeeting themselves into traffic like in the movie. Interesting choice to start with the chorus. Now that I’m rewatching it I do really wish they stuck with the comic theme. I think that’s my gripe with SKZ-they have a lot of good ideas but they move on too quickly from them. Just pick a handful of things and sprinkle them throughout instead of cycling through them at breakneck speed. Like okay they’re doing Deadpool and he’s a comic character so keep the comic styling (it would have been a good thing to put in the projection behind Seungmin’s scene), maybe in the subway they could have had some fight choreo so the guns coming in at Lee Knows part aren’t out of nowhere (also someone please tell me they were trying to recreate the meme with the cat and the knives, please I need to know). I absolutely agree that them having a goal or an antagonist would have really helped the story along. I mean they literally have a spoken intro so why couldn’t Felix just tell us who they were fighting (and I’m pretty sure in the movie Wade tells us he’s trying to kill Francis in that scene sooo). As always they put more focus on the rappers (please can we get less Changbin and more Seungmin, Jeongin, or Lee Know or at least give Felix more parts). Seungmin was the real mvp of this stage and he had the best outfit (I think it qualifies for Hanya’s best gay little outfit list). Personally I with they hadn’t gone with Gods Menu again. I’ve been hoping that they would perform My Pace (and maybe remix it with their B-side TA off their Go Live album) because that would be such a fun stage. Again, I enjoyed myself but I won’t revisit it anytime soon. At this point the only groups I actually look forward to are BTOB and SF9 (they’re doing fucking Move and I don’t know whether to be excited or terrified-there’s a clip of Taeyang covering Move from a variety show or interview and I think he does it really well so I know at least one of them can pull it off). Again thanks for creating space where I can info dump and I hope I said something of interest to you!

i think you wrote more than me!! i love this, im gonna put my response under a cut im not being super obnoxious on the dash.

i get that the mayfly stage would be not as visually stimulating for people and usually i would count myself in with that crowd because i love a good spectacle but i think because i watched the spark stage first and my colour perception is sometimes weird so when there's a lot of movement with very little colour variation my tiny pea brain loses track of whats happening really quickly. especially with red. so it was kind of difficult for me to pay attention to the spark stage in the second half. also i absolutely HATE watching people flub on stage because it brings up such visceral secondhand feelings that i couldn't even watch the stage when i started the full episode today.

i love a good suit but you know what i would also love: sf9 in more costume variations. tbh im just getting nitpicky about it because im a costume designer down to the core and i got trained by a designer who specialized in doing avant garde costuming so i tend to skew more towards wild than reserved. it looks like the move stage wont be be suits so ill take it, but oh man to do i want to see some really crazy stuff. which i know they'll never do because idols have to be pretty at all times or the fans get mad but oh i want it so badly.

do you mean how i would improve ikon's backup dancers outfits or lisa's? here why dont i do both. for lisa's dancers i would have just done away with that harness shape all together, its almost exclusively a military style. the jackets by themselves would have been fine but really what they should have done was put them in something that matched the gold but contrasted enough to give them shape. by having at least her dancers in all black on a gold stage there was a lot of "haha look at me do a duck walk because lets throw in some voguing for spice." they could have gone with a mesh bodysuit idea similar to what she was wearing or even just different colour coats. as for ikon's backup dancers, firstly pants. not black. or even a longer skirt. genuinely a part of the reason why i dont watch girl group content is because i HATE the hem length of the shorts they make everyone wear. words cannot describe how much i hate that cut. kpop is so obsessed with showing off women's bodies and especially their legs but they do it in the LEAST flattering way possible because it "can't be too risqué," just shoot me now. i hate it. i hate it so fucking much. yea yea everybody was on cocaine in the 80s whatever but at least they were all wearing french cut bodysuits so their legs looked fantastic. stop interrupting the lines!! anyways. pants so the only section of skin showing is thigh to mid calf, especially because they weren't even doing any fun legwork! if they really wanted to keep the full sleeve bodysuits they shout have done them in a fabric with a texture or external embellishments, like a patent/vinyl or sequins/rhinestones. something to catch the stage lights so we can actually see the shape of the limb. but the easiest way to fix it is literally just cut the arms off the bodysuits. stages are lit to show off skin, sometimes the best way to have something be seen is just to have it bare.

i agreed skz cycles through ideas way too fast, they need to just pick a couple and stick them out through the stage instead of just adding more and more different ones throughout. also ok good someone else noticed that there is just...so much changbin. we don't need that much changbin. i know there's other boys in the group let them do something! also im pretty sure theyre not recreating the cat knife meme but actually the promo image from john wick chapter two, which i also could have sworn i saw a deadpool version of as an instagram ad back when movies were happening, but now that im looking for it it doesn't exist so i might be crazy.

im excited for the move stage but im also trepidatious because...its move. i have NO clue what the concept is from the previews so i just hope its weird enough to take it enough out of the taemin context for me to enjoy it.

[mingishoe]

50 kpop questions

Just because I’ve been stuck inside for exactly 31, almost 32 days, which is terrible for my mental health sO i’m doing this to keep my mind off of things. Also I’m really sorry for not posting this week, I’ve been working on requests and I’ve just been taking my time and stuff so yeah. Thank you for being patient babes~~

1.)The first song that got you into kpop? So surprisingly it wasn’t a  BTS song even though Run was the first kpop song I heard... it was Sorry by The Rose  

2.) The first group you starting staning in kpop? So sorry was a song that really stuck with me for the longest time and almost immediately after I started staning The Rose. Usually when I tell people its a band and not necessarily a ‘normal’ kpop group that has choreo and stuff, they’re always really surprised because even now they’re not super super popular. 

3.) Your first bias? So even though The Rose isn’t a normal choreo kpop group my first bias was Dojoon but pretty soon after I got into BTS and before I learned their names I was really drawn to Namjoon, so I’d say either one of those.

4.) Your first bias wrecker? Okay so in The Rose I didn’t really have one but in BTS my bias wrecker was Yoongi and obviously he wrecked me because uhh yeah Yoongi is now my bias BUT it’s still Yoongi after years sooo...

5.) Your favorite boy group? My favourite boy group is Ateez (obviously lmao)

6.)Your favorite girl group? My favourite girl group currently is Itzy but I’m really stuck between BlackPink as well.

7.) Your ultimate bias If it’s not obvious enough, its Mingi... hence my username

8.) The main fandom your apart of? I’d say I’m mainly Atiny, but there’s a huge Army inside of me.

9.) Your ultimate group? My ult group is also Ateez

10.) Your favorite era of your ultimate group?

Dude all of Ateez’ eras are literally all perfect but I’d say either this past comeback, the Answer era or the Wave/Illusion era.

11.) Your opinion, black haired idols or dyed hair? I love me a good pretty hair colour *Cough* mingi’s red hair and Yoongi’s mint hair *cough* but also P L E A S E let their hair B R E A T H E BEFORE IT FALLS OUT!

12.) Aegyo master girls?

So the groups I watch honestly don’t really like/don’t have the best aegyo but Lisa is really cute so I’d say her

13.) Aegyo master boys?

We all know our boy Jooheon- as much as it makes me wanna invert on myself it’s also insanely cute

14.) Your favorite maknae

So you know... it’s between Jongho and Jungkook but I think I’d have to say Kook.

15.) Your ‘child’ group?

I don’t really know what that means so UHHH

16.) The group you could see yourself becoming best friends with?

Dude honestly as much as I love ateez I just wanna be best friends with BTS so FUCKING BAD like dawg they’re just so funny and yeah 

17.) Your favorite boy group kpop song ?

This is a really hard question because there’s like a million answers but I’d say Utopia. That song without a doubt makes me cry every time I listen to it because it’s just so beautiful and it just makes my heart so happy,

18.) Your favorite kpop song girls?

I don’t wanna be basic or anything but it’s either ddu-du-ddu-du by BlackPink or ooh-ahh by Twice

19.) Are you more into girl groups or boy groups?

I’m more of a boy group stan because I’m not a huge fan of the cutesy stuff most girl groups do, but I do enjoy girl groups as well it’s just more difficult for me to get into them.

20.) Favorite kpop girl dance?

Once again I don’t wanna be basic but I really like either Whistle or BOOMBAYAH by BlackPink or Cheer Up by Twice. 

21.) Favorite kpop boy dance?

I really like Love Shot and Ko Ko Bop by EXO or Serendipity by Jimin BTS 

22.) If you were stuck in a horror movie you’d want which group with you?

Okay so no matter what group I’d pick I’d be dead bUT I think my best bet would be maybe Ateez because they got Jongho and that boy is strong and not scared of anything.

23.) Favorite fandom light stick?

By far my favourite is the BlackPink light stick because it’s literally the cutest thing ever aND IT SQUEAKS!!! like someone please buy it for me. Please and Thank You.

24.) Favorite fandom name?

I really like Ikon’s ikonic and Ateez’ Atiny

25.) Visual king?

Yeosang PERIODT, baby gets slept on way too much on his visuals and KQ was right to make him a visual.

26.) Visual queen?

Dude Jisoo from BlackPink. She’s so beautiful and shes in my top 3 of female idols I think are the most gorgeous thing in the world.

27.) Dance queen?

Lisa from BlackPink. If you’ve seen her mentoring on that chinese show- BITCH you can see how serious she takes it and it’s so satisfying to watch but also I’d cry if I’d ever have to dance in front of her.

28.) Dance king?

Hoseok from BTS. Like once again you can physically see how serious he takes it and its insanely hot but also very scary and like Lisa I’d cry if I’d ever have to dance in front of him.

29.) Rap king?

This is an opinion and I’ve met so many people who have actually fought with me on this one but Hoseok from BTS is literally such a good rapper. I understand he might not be the best but he is my favourite rapper in kpop. I just absolutely love his tone of voice and idk UGH i just love Hoseok overall.

30.)Rap queen?

I know a lot of people are probably gonna disagree with me on this one but uh I think Moonbyul, Hyuna, and Jessi are some of the best rappers because personally I just really like their tones and UGH they’re all just beautiful. 

31.) A group you’d really like to get into?

There are SO many groups I would love to get into but I’d say a girl group would be Dreamcatcher because I listen to their songs and they’re all great but I just haven’t found the time to sit down and learn their names or anything. A boy group would be MCND because I saw their debut like an hour after it released and it was really good and once again I really like their debut album but I just haven’t found the time to sit down and learn their names either.

32.)Your favorite ship?

I’m personally not really into ships so I’ll just use ships as friendships so I’d say either Yoonmin, sope, but probably Vmin would be my favourite, which are all BTS ships.

33.) Your favorite intergroup friendship?

I think I’m gonna say Jackson Wang from GOT7 and Namjoon from BTS. They’re both just really cute so yeah kjdfskd

34.)Ballads or upbeat songs?

Personally ballads because I prefer slower more cute or sad songs or the complete opposite and like trap with a loud ass bass.

35.) Have you ever met any of your idols?

No but I would love to. Rationally thinking I think I would completely shut down and not know what to do because some of these people I look up to so highly and literally thank them for the sole reason of me being happy and being able to get through such difficult times.

36.) Do you prefer cute themes or sexy themes?

Once again I don’t really like cutesy themes that much so I’m going to go on the sexy themes side. also i’m a hardstan so obviously.

37.) How long have you been a kpop fan?

So I’ve been around Kpop for a really long time because a few of my friends listened to BTS and Super Junior and stuff like that I always listened to it but I was forcefully trying not to get into it but eventually I gave up and secretely got into kpop around 2017 but then i “Came out of the kpop closet” as my friends like to say after the Burn The Stage movie came out because my friend took me to go see it with her when it came out in 2018. But yeah if I let myself I would’ve been a kpop stan a long ass time ago.

38.) Your favorite comeback song?

There were so many comebacks that I really loved so there’s a few but Got7 You Calling My Name and Ateez Wonderland are two of my favourites.

39.) Do you have any kpop company you tend to prefer?

Not really, but I’d say I listen to many artists from JYP.

40.) Barefaced idols or make up?

I WILL A L W A Y S SAY THIS! BAREFACED IDOLS ARE SUPERIOR! THEY’RE S O BEAUTIFUL NO MATTER HOW MANY “IMPERFECTIONS” THEY HAVE!

41.) Is you bias list as out of control as mine?

My bias list is pretty much all rappers except maybe 2 or 3 so I’d say I have a type sdfskfhskjd

42.) How many groups do you actually keep tabs on?

A lot more than I actually realize but mostly Ateez, BTS, Monsta x, and Itzy. But I heavily rely on twitter for the rest of my groups

43.) Your current favorite kpop song?

I really don’t even know... but I’d say Utopia by Ateez.

44.) First kpop dance you’ve attempted to learn?

So I attempted to learn a bunch of dances but I really just gave up bUT a dance I’ve actually solidly learned is Ddu-du-ddu-du by BlackPink.

45.) When I hear kpop songs in public I....?

Personally I’m not ashamed to like kpop in public or anything. Like I’ll wear merch and stuff in public sO I’d probably not even make a big deal out of it and just sing along quietly.

46.) If I knew someone irl who had the same bias as me I would...?

Honestly we could like thirst and bond over having the same bias> I don’t get the people who get actually offended if people have the same bias and then defensive and possessive whenever they do have the same bias.

47.) Kpop idol I would most like to meet?

I probably would like to meet Wooyoung or San from Ateez. They both just seem like the nicest, sweetest people ever and I’d just love to have that experience.

48.) Kpop idol who is like a role model to me?

Namjoon from BTS. Do I even have to explain that? Honestly that man should be a role model and an inspiration to everyone but...

49.) Favorite kpop lyrics?

Sunrise by Ateez. The lyrics have helped me through many difficult times and every time I listen to it it’s a reminder that everything is going to be okay.

Why is my life so dark? Why, always makes me hard? A lost heart The burden on my shoulders Let's wait a little longer, even if it's cold. It's gonna rise. Sooner or later. Let's wait and see, alright. What I want someone to say to me, even if it's a lie. "You don't have to worry." "You're doing great." "Just keep it up. Just like you do now."

50.) If I had a whole day with my bias I would....”

I would honestly just wanna do something chill. Like Imagine just chilling and watching movies while eating snacks with Mingi- idk about you but honestly that’s probably the best thing I could imagine.

[fairyshuuu]

libra sun, capricorn moon, sagittarius mars and venus, libra mercury

Song Yunhyeong from iKon

This sweetheart is an aquarius sun, taurus moon. His plans and dreams can be so big that they are laughable, but you best believe that he’ll slowly and steadily work his way there. He has a lot of water energy in his chart too so he’ll most likely be very keen on showing his caring nature to you. He can be quite stubborn as most taurus are, but you can handle that just fine with your libra energy. He’s very faithful and always concerned about his family and friends, and gives himself to others fully. Once he’s made up his mind about something he’ll stick with it. He also has a fire sign in mars so you both have the same temper, but one that is easy to deal with if you talk.

Kim Jinhwan from iKon

Jinhwan is an aquarius sun as well, but with a capricorn moon. He’s very witty and very persuasive, in a good way. He’s very logical and sees things objectively which might seem harsh for a dreamer like you but he does it because he cares. He has a lot of self-respect, that rubs off on others easily. He’s also never mean or heartless, though he does need to learn some tolerance. Once he finds a flaw within himself though, he tends to focus in on that one thing. Which is where your libra side can help him greatly. He’s a ball of care in an equally bright and cheerful packaging, and loves being around the people he cares about.

Jung Yoonoh from Nct

Another aquarius sun, taurus moon. However, Jaehyun is more air heavy in his chart, so he’s more of adaptable personality, less like the stubborn rigidness of taurus. He’s too charming for his own good, and often knows it. He doesn’t use this to get away with stuff though, he merely enjoys the attention and praise. He plans things well and sticks with them well too. Though he might have some strange ways of showing it, he really cares much more than he’ll admit. He will most likely be very grateful for your understanding nature and your will to change, since his opinions are set in stone.

send me your birth chart and i’ll give you your star matches!!

[noona-clock]

Study: Jung Chanwoo

In which we dig deeper under the surface of our favorite KPOP idols.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the gifs used in this post. I am not an astrologer nor am I a professional psychologist. These are my opinions based on the research I have done personally/as a hobby. If you disagree with any of these statements, please do so respectfully.

-Admin B

Sun Sign: Aquarius (Air)

So... almost half of iKON are Aquarians. Honestly, that makes a lot of sense. iKON is a pretty weird group, and Aquarians are weird. But, like, we’re proud of it! (I’m also an Aquarius, so I have to refer to Aquarians as ‘we’ - deal with it). We are very authentic to who we are, and we don’t apologize for being ourselves. I can definitely see this in Chanwoo because he doesn’t hide what he likes - baseball and video games. He doesn’t ever apologize for playing video games for hours on end or for watching baseball games while he’s getting his hair and makeup done. He also isn’t afraid to be sassy and savage to his hyungs; he doesn’t act like a typical maknae. He’s truly himself, and that’s a sign of a genuine Aquarius.

Aquarians are also known for being big humanitarians. We like to help people, and we are very focused on making the world a better place. We’re usually very involved with charities, fundraisers, food drives, or anything which brings awareness to the worlds’ problems. Chanwoo participated in the ice bucket challenge, and I feel he truly wants to use his talents to make people happy - not only because he has a passion for entertaining.

On the other hand, Aquarians are known for being very reserved when it comes to showing our emotions, and Chanwoo has said before he’ll leave a room when he needs to cry. He doesn’t like crying or showing a lot of emotion in front of people. I can totally see Chanwoo’s Aquarius traits coming through in the personality he’s shown us on iKON TV, variety shows, and his Instagram.

Moon Sign: Capricorn (Earth)

So not only is there a lot of Aquarius in iKON (Jinhwan, Yunhyeong, and Chanwoo), but there’s also a lot of Capricorn (Jinhwan is a Capricorn Moon, just like Chanwoo, and Donghyuk is a Capricorn Sun). Overall, iKON is a totally good mix of all the signs. There’s lots of Air, lots of Earth, some Fire, and even a little water sprinkled in. They’re so well-rounded!

I view Capricorns as being the most conservative Earth sign. They’re very practical, logical, and they can be kind of know-it-alls. We will see in Chanwoo’s MBTI, he’s a Thinker, so the logical aspect of Capricorn definitely applies to him. Out of all the members, he’s the only Thinker, so his Capricorn Moon really shines when he steps up with the “now, wait a minute, let’s think about this.” Like in the hidden camera episode of iKON TV when he was very wary about investing in that fake scheme.

Capricorns are also known for being honest, sometimes brutally so. This is Chanwoo’s savage side, and we all know he has one. They don’t sugarcoat things, and, as I said earlier, they think they know everything. So if a Capricorn thinks you’re wrong, you’ll hear about it. They’re not extremely arrogant or presumptuous, though! As any earth sign, Capricorns are extremely down-to-earth.

Capricorns are also known to be extremely loyal and very family-oriented. They put their loved ones first. I think we definitely saw this in Chanwoo during one of the first episodes of iKON TV when he was totally humoring Yunhyeong. He was trying to help him and make him feel better and giving in to his cheesy requests. It was so sweet, and it was so Capricorn of him.

Chinese Astrology: Fire Ox

In Chinese astrology, the Ox is seen as a ‘hard and detailed worker who performs all tasks in a determined and disciplined manner.’  They know what they want in life, and they will not let any setbacks stop them from achieving their dreams. While I think this describes just about every kpop idol, I definitely think it really applies to Chanwoo because he was the last addition to the group. The other iKON members didn’t even want a seventh person to join, but Chanwoo worked his way in - literally. He worked hard on his dancing and singing because he was previously only an actor, and look where he is now! I know all of iKON and all of iKONics are so proud of him!

The Ox is somewhat of a deep thinker and can be quite serious. Chanwoo is definitely a thinker, and while he’s not a deep thinker like Junhoe, a fellow Fire Ox, he’s more of a logical, rational deep thinker. He takes his time thinking about decisions before he makes them.

The fire Ox, in particular, is known to be an influential and firm person as well as a durable and thorough worker. They tend to have very strong views and opinions; they do not have patience when things don’t go their way. These traits definitely apply to Chanwoo’s savage side. He’s totally the definition of Evil Maknae, and the members have even described him as ‘Cheeky.’ This, to me, shows he has strong views and is impatient. 

Numerology: Life Path 9

In numerology, 9 is seen as the most evolved with the strongest vibrations because it’s basically all of the other numbers wrapped up together. Life path numbers are only single digit, so it’s the highest number possible when it comes to this sort of numerology; therefore, it’s seen to be the oldest and wisest. I feel like this totally makes sense with Chanwoo because, even though he’s the youngest, he doesn’t really act like the youngest. He acts like he’s one of the oldest, to be quiet honest. This, I feel, is totally both his Capricorn moon and Life Path 9 coming through.

Those born with the life path number 9 are, in turn, seen to be old souls. We’re here to really develop spirituality, integrity, and wisdom in every aspect of our lives (I’m also a 9, so I use possessive pronouns here, too!). I feel like Chanwoo actually is working on developing his spirituality by involving himself in the activities he likes: video games and baseball. This might seem weird to some people, but spirituality really has nothing to do with religion. It’s about concerning yourself with your own soul/spirit, and what could make your soul more healthy than doing what you love, right? The fact he devotes so much time to doing what makes him happy is, in my humble opinion, a clear sign he is developing his spirituality.

Probably the most important piece of advice for a 9 is to go with the flow. Don’t get stuck in the past and learn to live in the present and embrace the future. Chanwoo needs to make sure he doesn’t get stuck on the fact he was the last member just kind of thrown into the group; even though he wasn’t a trainee for as long as everyone else, that doesn’t mean he’s not as valuable or doesn’t work as hard! He needs to focus on how hard he is working now and what he brings to the group now.

MBTI: ISTJ

Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging

Chanwoo is Introverted which means he gains energy from being either alone or with a small group of friends. I think the fact he likes playing video games is a clear sign he’s definitely an Introvert. He also likes baseball which is a pretty individualistic team sport, and he can spend a lot of time watching it alone.

Chanwoo is Sensing which means he learns through experience and using his senses. He looks at the details more than the big picture, and it’s difficult for him to imagine the possibilities of a situation. I know I keep bringing up video games and baseball, but they totally fit into his personality!! Video games and sports are very sensory, so it just makes sense why he’s so into them.

Chanwoo is Thinking which means he makes decisions more with his head instead of his heart. He is more logical and rational, and he is likely to make choices which make the most sense - not choices which necessarily make him feel better.

Chanwoo is Judging which means he prefers to live his life in a more organized manner. He’s probably not as spontaneous as other - think Junhoe - and he values structure. It also means he shows his Thinking trait the most to the world.

The ISTJ personality type is known as The Logistician. They are no-nonsense types who take time to analyze their surroundings and are known for their integrity, practical logic, and tireless dedication to duty.

Other Studies: Kim Hanbin, Kim Jinhwan, Song Yunhyeong, Kim Jiwon, Kim Donghyuk, Koo Junhwe

Master list // RULES // Submit a Request! // Read About the Admins

[jinhongseok0417]

My interpretation/analysis of JinHongseok’s relationship

First of all, please note that although I would try to base this mostly on facts, this is only my interpretation of them and it might not be 100% accurate (since I don’t know them personally) and you might not see their relationship in the same light as I do. Also, even though this is a ship blog, I don’t actually think they’re a real couple, so when I say “relationship” or “love” I mean it mostly in the platonic sense. So please, take this post with a grain of salt, as it’s mostly for fun :)

Ok so I’ve wanted to make this post for months but I kept putting it off and forgot, so here!

Okay, so let’s start from the most basic facts - how they got into Cube and joined Pentagon. As far as we know, they were the last two to join the group, with Jinho rumored to start training at Cube in March 2015, and Hongseok started in July 2015. Both of them started at a different company, both from two of the Big 3 companies - Jinho from SM and Hongseok from YG, which is funny too because of the SM vs YG rivalry, though that doesn’t really play any part in their relationship. (it was, however, what made me ship them even before PM started lol)

The key point, though, is that they were both known to the public under their old companies, and both of them almost debuted with an extremely popular boy group; Jinho was a part of SM’s project group SM The Ballad and was introduced as a member of their new boy group, which included some of EXO’s members, and Hongseok was in iKon’s reality show Mix&Match. So, as you can see, they had pretty similar experiences, and probably felt the same way after leaving their old company. The reason I’m pointing this out is because some of the other members have also come from different companies (or company, I only know that some of them were in JYP before), but the thing that sets JinHongseok apart from them is the fact they almost debuted and gained some fans under their old companies.

The difference between Jinho and Hongseok, however, is the time it took between leaving the company and joining Cube. EXO’s teasers started at the end of 2011, so we can assume Jinho knew he’s not going to debut with them since around the start-middle of 2011. He didn’t leave SM until around 2014 as far as I know (or maybe 2013, I can’t be sure), though he definitely left before the smrookies were introduced, as he wasn’t a part of them. So we can see that he had around 4 years since dropping out of EXO’s line-up until he moved to Cube, and there was a time (around a year I think) when he didn’t train at all and he worked as a vocal instructor, which if I’m not mistaken is how Cube recruited him to join Pentagon. Hongseok, on the other hand, left YG pretty soon after Mix&Match (sorry, I couldn’t find the dates when it actually aired and I didn’t watch it so I don’t know), and he decided to leave because he realized YG probably won’t debut him anytime soon and he decided to look for a company that will fit his style of music better, and decided on Cube.

So, while Jinho had quite a long time to process everything, recharge and start from scratch, Hongseok didn’t have that long, so everything was probably quite fresh for him. I’m going to assume that they both felt a bit sad or disappointed in themselves for not debuting. Of course, I don’t know them personally so I can’t know how they really felt or how they handled the situation, so this is just my assumption, but I’m going to guess that it wasn’t very easy for either of them. I feel like it might have been a bit harder for Jinho, for some reason, or at least I think he took it worse than Hongseok (maybe that’s just the difference in their personalities), but still, I think Hongseok was a little shaken when he came to join Pentagon. Not to mention, since he was the last member to join, he must have felt a bit awkward at first. So, I’m going to guess that when Jinho saw him, and knew what he’s been through, and knew how he himself felt about it back when he left SM, he wanted to help Hongseok deal with it. Hongseok, who knew Jinho has been through a similar thing, really took Jinho’s advice and saw him as a source of help and strength, which is why I think Hongseok always looks like a puppy when he looks at Jinho, and why he seeks his approval more than Jinho seeks his (ex: their fight in Pentagon Maker. I think that’s why Hongseok cried while Jinho didn’t, because Hongseok just wants Jinho to love him). I think Hongseok sees Jinho as his “senpai” (and I do mean it in the trashy way of “notice me senpai”), and while Jinho definitely loves Hongseok as well, I think he sees him a bit differently, more like someone he’s really comfortable with rather than someone he wants to impress. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I think Jinho doesn’t love Hongseok as much as Hongseok loves him, but Jinho does seem a bit less touchy-feely (he loves being cuddled by the other members but I don’t think he initiates it much? I might be wrong though), and while Hongseok really wants Jinho’s attention, Jinho doesn’t really seem to care. I think another great example for that is when the members had to choose a leader in one of the missions in Pentagon Maker and Hongseok chose E’dawn instead of Jinho, and he made sure to talk to Jinho and explain to him why he did it. He didn’t really have to do that, because it was a part of the mission that the members had to choose the leader they want, and no one else explained their decision to the other leader, but I think Hongseok felt really bad for Jinho (who had less members) and wanted him to know that he loves and appreciates him and that he only chose E’dawn because he wanted to show off his dancing. I haven’t watched that clip for a year now so I can’t really remember how Jinho responded to that, but as far as I remember, he was very understanding about it, which shows that he wasn’t really expecting an explanation and he wanted Hongseok to do well too. I think their relationship, as a whole, is a very natural and comfortable one, though I do think initially they got close mostly because of their hardship and their understanding of each other, which is deeper than the other members.

Tbh I don’t think I’ve written anything that you don’t know, but I thought it might still be interesting to read :)

[shipme]

Admin Whiger

Well, hello you!  I think you might be lost if you’re reading but now that you’re here, you might as well make yourself comfortable.

So,if you really want to get to know me better: I’m a french girl, INTP-T, who loves to read, listen to music/sing/dance (all of the three at the same time)  and write (that’s a scoop for someone who is actually writing ships, I know, that’s why I felt the need to add this important information here). I often think of scenario although I hardly ever write them because I’m laaaaazy . I am very closed-off, witty and sarcastic (with a dark sense of humour), tend to be too stressed. I also overthink a lot... I’m a night owl and I only sleep around 3-5h per night -I live thanks to the miraculous invention that is coffee. I’m often connected on Tumblr so feel free to message me (my principal blog is @whiger-01  if you want to chat or need some help (I dealt and still deal with some problems so I may be able to understand your situation). 

One of my dreams would be to travel around the world and discover more about the history and the culture of the different populations. I also love to learn new languages but I don’t seem to find the time for everything... 

And for a blog that proposes ships, it would be a shame not to write my different bias so here you go! My favourite group is Big Bang -as I discovered kpop thanks to them, they hold a special place in my heart ^^. My ultime bias is G-Dragon, I totally respect him for the influence he has over the world, the fact that he can send trends by just wearing something... But I also respect him as an artist and a person: he is really talented -even if you don’t like his style- but he still is human underneath, something we could absolutely realise in his last album. The fact that he shared his fears and insecurities, the difficulties of his life, with everyone made me want to cry because everyone could sense the truth behind his words, the pain he endured and the fact that he didn’t want to admit it because he still is thankful to be there. If I really want to be specific, I would even say that my bias is 권지용 more than G-Dragon.

In BTS, my bias is J-Hope. I mean, he is such a sweetheart, who can resist to him -and his smile? This person right here always seems to bring me joy, even when I’m not feeling well. Just listening to Mama makes me feel better (the music is so joyful) and I could spend hours just looking at videos of his funny and cute moments. I totally admire his dancing skills too, I’m amazed by his skills (and also the fact that he can rap although he was supposed to be a singer). He is not part of the most popular members and it made me feel bad for him when some persons asked where the other members were when he made a V-Live, I don’t ask for everyone to stan J-Hope but please be respectful of him and his work, he deserves just as much affection as the others. He loves the ARMY’s dearly (I mean, he cried during a concert because he was thankful). He really is my hope and my angel, he is sentimental and I just wish he can keep on smiling without having to fake it. 

I also am a big fan of other groups such as EXO, GOT7, VIXX, IKON... But I don’t know enough of the members to have a justified bias.

Well, I must thank you if you have read my description (this is just so long, I’m quite sorry for you, I’m not even that interesting to begin with!) 

I love you all and hope you spend a nice day 💙

[reddragdiva]

excerpt: Business bafflegab, but on the Blockchain

If you’re a business guy you could look at the current construct versus the new construct and say ‘aren’t you just building a big database?’

– Charley Cooper, R3 Blockchain Consortium

As Bitcoin became more famous, its dubious nature became increasingly obvious to mainstream observers. So the buzzword of choice shifted from “Bitcoin” to “the blockchain”, or just “Blockchain”.

This really meant the Bitcoin blockchain, as the goal was to get interest up and the price with it. This particularly picked up around January 2015, when the Bitcoin price had cratered. The value proposition was that Bitcoin was the most secure chain as it had the most hashing power, so everyone wanting a blockchain should use that one. However, the limit of 7 transactions per second worldwide, blocks often being full anyway so transactions can’t get through, and that your Internet of Things light bulb was profoundly unlikely to add enough flash memory for 100 gigabytes of SatoshiDice spam were all a bit too obvious to the prospective suckers.

But by late 2015, “Blockchain” hype had taken on a life of its own as a business buzzword. If in a manner somewhat uncomfortable with its Bitcoin origins.

In the real world, nobody outside the cryptocurrency subculture uses blockchains proper, because they are ridiculously impractical and the most prominent one uses as much electricity as all of Ireland. This means their fantasy life is rich indeed.

Repeat to yourself: if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

What can Blockchain do for me?

If you start with “... but with Blockchain!”, then putting lots of different words before “but” isn’t likely to result in something that’s actually useful, not just interesting.

Merkle trees are excellent, and business is about to discover how to use them for tamper-evident transaction ledgers. These will likely be branded “Blockchain,” whether or not the product has anything else to do with blockchains. Merkle trees are the only good part of blockchains.

(If you have programmers and they save their code in Git, it’s got Merkle trees in – you can tell your management “oh yes, we’ve been using blockchain-related technologies for years now ...”)

Business Blockchain marketing claims are largely divorced from tawdry considerations of technical or economic feasibility, mathematical coherency or logical consistency. Normal people see these claims, see obvious uses for them in their own business and are left with the impression “Blockchain” can get them these things.

Some of the claims are sort of true in some sense, others are completely fanciful. Many claims start from a hypothetical use case – often lifted directly from the most fanciful Bitcoin advocacy – then tout the hypothetical as if it were an existing and practical technology.

IBM’s “What is IBM Blockchain?” page1 is a good example. Almost every “is” statement on that page is a “might” or “could” – no blockchain does all the things it describes in present-day terms, and certainly not Hyperledger, the basis of IBM Blockchain.

Many blockchain schemes promise the magic of full availability of properly cleaned-up data. The actual problem in every case is cleaning up the data in the first place; the barrier that such efforts founder on, over and over, is that no industry’s players want to create such a new monopoly. The proponents’ business goal is usually to become the organisation effectively controlling the newly cleaned-up data, with a monopoly maintained by network effect.

If your big goal is cleaned-up data across multiple organisations, the approach that will get you there is creating a data schema that is so obviously and elegantly the right thing that everyone just adopts it themselves, and a regulator eventually says “hey, use this schema.” Note lack of blockchains. (This is the usual approach in computing, though even there companies routinely try to set themselves up in the role of central octopus.)

If someone is trying to sell you on blockchains, the obvious skeptical questions will get you a long way:

Are they confusing “might” and “is”? (Almost all business blockchain claims are full of “might” and salespeople talking about “the possibilities.”)

Do they have present-day working blockchains that do every one of the things they’ve claimed you can get from blockchains? If not, which ones are missing? Will they scale to the size of your data?

How do they fix human error in their “immutable” blockchain or smart contracts?

If this is for working with people you trust less than the people you deal with now, how are they assuring the security of the chain – what’s their security threat model? (Get your system administrator along to ask pointed questions.)

If it’s for working with people you can already trust to that degree, why are you bothering with a blockchain?

What does this get you that a centralised database can’t?

Blockchain marketers frequently claim a prominent company “is using” a blockchain when there’s just been a press release that they are “investigating” running a future trial. This is because an “investigation” is cheap (this book is a legitimate business expense for this purpose, by the way), and worth the PR value in showing you’re fully up to date with current buzzwords. “Researching the opportunities” could mean anything, but almost certainly does mean nothing.

A sure tell of a reality-free writeup, completely detached from earthly considerations, is when a writer talks about “Blockchain”, capital B, no “the”. You should try mentally replacing the word “Blockchain” with “Cloud” and see if the article seems eerily familiar. Also try the previous business technology buzzwords “big data”, “NoSQL”, “SaaS” and “Web 2.0” and see how it works with those.2

1 Nathan C. Bybee. “What is IBM Blockchain?” IBM Blockchain, 2 September 2016. (archive)

2 I commend to you “Ignoring Blockchain Is Corporate Suicide: Why Blockchain is the biggest single threat to all CEOs for destroying corporate value” by Nick Ayton, in analyst newsletter Innovation Enterprise (7 July 2016) (archive). In the several years I’ve been following Bitcoin and blockchains, this is the single worst, stupidest and most incoherent piece of “Blockchain” hype I’ve seen; you definitely need to read it, to inoculate yourself against the worst excesses of this foolishness.

Ayton spends the first third of the article repeating how devastating Blockchain will be to business, the second third making technically garbled or meaningless unsubstantiated claims about the future and the last third on a list of predictions, many of which have already been shown unfeasible and three or four of which are literally out of ’80s cyberpunk science fiction, as if he read too much William Gibson as a lad and thinks Blockchain will make Mona Lisa Overdrive real – “augmented reality using VR and holographic systems will feed off sensory layers that will sit on the Ledger of Things connecting the world”, clearly visible to your new Zeiss-Ikon eyeballs.

I know of one case where a non-technical manager inadvertently sent this link around their company; they quickly realised how relentlessly terrible everything about blockchains actually is – anyone who’s survived in business where sales people exist doesn’t need to be a techie to notice there’s something deeply wrong and lacking in blockchain hype – but the article had by then caught the attention of upper management. The manager found themselves in the position of designated expert and having to quell this idea, mostly by a process of translating why none of this could ever work into sober and considered business speak from the original profanity-laced screaming.

direct link: https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/business-bafflegab-but-on-the-blockchain.html iI put it on Hacker News too, and i think it's eminently upvoteable (and maybe you will too). book status: but right now I'm on two weeks' holiday and I want to land this thing in that time. (still don't have a front cover finished ...) hopefully Bitcoin won't suddenly fork just before it's released, as it’s in eminent danger of doing, because everyone involved is a blithering incompetent.

[sanstropfremir]

excited to see what you have to say about todays episode cause like the other person said, the stunts from the atz/skz/btob also looked lowkey awkward to watch lmao. i feel like the dance part cant really be judged against each other just based on how different they were. also the ikon/sf9/tbz rap performance was much more khiphop inspired while skz/atz/btob were basically "kpop group's rapline does a unit stage" if you know what i mean lmao. im curious to see if you're going to talk about the judges and how some of them were picked solely to have exposure👀 or if there might be a reasoning behind all of them (the dance girl i understand but like... okay)

also, i have to ask if you watched rtk and if you'd feel comfortable sharing who you think should've won/if the boyz deserved it? as a deobi i know its not that big of a deal but i was lowkey proud and stunned by them during rtk and while i think they're doing good on kingdom too, their performances became way too overwhelming/doesn't leave an impression after for my little brain 🙃 i love them tho. also not that you care but i wish they would represent more their full dance line, because juyeon is doing amazing but it can be mentally and physically tiring to be the ONE guy who does all the dance and center parts, like do it as a trio or smt dont push it all on him while there are ten others on the team

i hope you enjoyed my (very) long review and my apparently literally opposite opinions from everyone else! that’s a lie they’re not opposite, i'm just looking at very different things. thank you for also clocking that the performance stages were two different styles! i'm fairly certain the rankings arent out yet for that stage at least, so i'm not envious of the judges having to decide between two performances that are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum. also i did make a mistake in my review, i just watched the first half of the episode and they do in fact call it the dance stage, so that’s on me. my point still stands though, group dancing is still dancing.

as far as the judges go........why are we upset about them.....? honestly they all seem fine to me. i mean, i can understand people being pressed about s*ju because they make people mad by just existing, apparently, but that doesnt negate the fact that they have nearly two decades of experience in the industry. if they arent going to have changmin do any judging than they might as well get some other sm vets, since yanno, they did kinda establish the industry (sm, not s*ju. although s*ju is the first kpop group i ever remember hearing way back in like, 2008. in canada. before having a personal device with internet access. sooooooo). and i mean, we all have opinions on the separation of art and artist and everyone can draw their own boundaries of who they choose to consume the work of, and that’s valid. i have lots of those lines too. but you can’t deny the sheer amount of experience, and shindong is a director and music video producer, so he ain’t stupid. i dont see any problems with having a lineup of some idol veterans, a frankly incredible choreographer, and some producers. oh wait, are people mad about the rookies????? why are people mad about the rookies?????????????? huh????????????? have people forgotten that rookies spend literal YEARS training before they even debut??? they’re not incompetent, they’re members of the industry that have worked hard to be there and have valid opinions and abilities to recognize what they think is good?? also.......what’s wrong with doing something for exposure? how do you think groups get popular in the first place? fuck, the prize for kingdom is a variety/reality show! which is exposure! you know that’s how arts marketing works, right? if you want people to listen to your music, you have to advertise it to people. you need an audience. if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it sell thousands of albums? thousands of tickets? why are you invalidating artists on the basis of wanting more exposure? are you worried they’re not going to ‘judge fairly’??? you know none of these groups' reputations are going to be hurt by their placement in the show, right. these are all high level groups already, with established brand rep. THEY are doing this show for exposure too. is this what people are complaining about on twitter?? so every stan account promoting fancams and comeback dates under hit tweets has to delete them now because artists aren’t allowed to do anything for exposure anymore. ?????? am i too old??? what happened to make people think that exposure was bad???

i have only watched the stages from rtk, and not while the show was airing, so i dont really have any context for the show as a whole. do i think they deserved to win? i dont really think anyone ‘deserves’ to win a competition show, but they did produce a couple of phenomenal stages, so was i surprised? no. personally i would have picked pentagon because they had the best vocals and also they took a few more conceptual risks that paid off really well. their cover of follow is a fantastic remake and honestly we need more dramatic remakes like that, ones that really change up the sound. i made a couple of conclusions about tbz in my episode four review that are relevant here (they’re at the end of the tbz section). although tbz are good performers, the problem is theyre trying to showcase those skills by being heavily conceptual, but their creative team is ALL over the place and nothing is landing. I dont think they’re doing terrible in kingdom, they’re doing very well, but their creative team is not providing them with a stable conceptual base. i know i make designing sound relatively simple, but it's not at all. i'm just smart and very good at my job. there are a lot of mediocre designers out there, and tbz just do not have a good creative team for kingdom. and i do actually think it's a shame that they’re fronting juyeon so much, because one of their strengths IS their group work. they have a more of a contemporary flavour than most other groups at the moment and they can do some really sharp synchronization that should to be seen more. i wish they had actually done group work for the performance stage, because we’ve already seen juyeon do a solo stage, plus he has solos in all the stages. give him a break and let the others have a chance to do something at least.

[vskpop]

June 2017 ⋅  Critical Cute Concept

As If It's Your Last - BLACKPINK

In the last few weeks, I’ve been fascinated by k-pop fans’ obsession with finding similarities between Blackpink and 2NE1. I was particularly struck by the huge deal made about the fact that As If It’s Your Last is not a new song, as if songs weren’t composed and left there until the right person comes along since the beginning of time (and as if all Teddy songs didn’t have elements in common).

Just to make one example, Russian Roulette had been doing the rounds at SM since before Red Velvet even debuted, but I didn’t see anyone reacting with outrage to this, even though the song might well have been for f(x) for all we know. I am seriously shocked by the amount of energy that the k-pop fandom is putting into trying to take Blackpink down, as if that even made any difference in their favourites’ career.

That said, before the comeback actually happened, I had one real problem with it: the fact that it would be a single digital release. Blackpink have never been generous with their releases: they only put out two couples of songs so far, with no b-sides. I’m not sure why they would waste a perfectly good song and delay their “actual” comeback (and a physical release) even more.

All in all, I think it still worked out well for them. Even though it is just one song, it’s clear that YG is not doing things cheaply (despite people finding problems with the MV as well, of course): each member has seven or eight changes in the video, there are a thousand sets, everything is lusciously designed and studied down to the last detail.

As If It's Your Last is the limit of how many mismatched sections I can take; it switches quite jarringly from the head-spinning bass of the verse to the slower pre-chorus to the super-pop chorus to Lisa’s intense rap section (which is also, quite confusingly, entirely in English). It could have done with being a bit more cohesive, but with more listens, the haphazard structure of the song is drowned by how catchy it is.

Before the song was released, it was described as the first “pink” release from them, as opposed to the “black” of the previous edgier songs. I think that they made a seamless transition between their signature style and this colourful, more joyous version of themselves. They are cute, but not saccharine, “innocent”, baby-voice-y.

I’m waiting for Blackpink to do something I hate, but for now, I will keep following them as if they’re my last love (get it?).

Kwon Ji Yong - G-Dragon

 June has been a terrible month for Big Bang fans.

 The short story for people who have been living under a rock is that T.O.P was charged with smoking marijuana (a criminal offence in South Korea), expelled from the police where he was serving his military service, he overdosed on anxiety medication, was unconscious for a couple of days, then recovered and was moved to a mental health unit, then was tried and sentenced to two years of probation with ten months in prison if he breaks the terms.

 In the midst of this, G-Dragon had announced his comeback and had to go through with it because he was about to start a tour with 30+ announced dates, which would have been pretty complicated to cancel.

 I don’t think it’s necessary to explain that, like anything put out by G-Dragon, it’s a masterpiece. As usual, it has very little to do with what people expect when they talk about k-pop, and I would argue it doesn’t have a lot to do with pop in general.

 To me (and to him, considering the title is his real name) this is the definitive G-Dragon album. Even if he didn’t put out anything else, this would complete and explain his oeuvre. Each of the songs captures a particular time and feel of his career, and he has space to examine his public life, his persona, and his personal struggles. This comment on Reddit really explains the trajectory and the meaning of the album and I don’t think there is a lot to add.

Ceremony - Pentagon

I love everything that Cube is doing with Pentagon right now. Fresh from the good run of Hui and E’Dawn in Triple H, as well as the stellar success of the song that Hui penned for Produce 101 Never, Pentagon have a lot going for them right now.

 In a sea of tropical house (drink!), they reference Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock and find their voice with a hooky chorus and an image built around being ironic instead of trying to be edgy at all costs (which, granted, they had tried to do before).

 The costuming of this comeback deserves an honourable mention: they have been wearing some extraordinary suits on stage, and they are always tailored perfectly. Some favourites: M Countdown on 15/06, Music Bank on 23/06, Inkigayo on 25/06, Music Core on 01/07.

 I have especially come to appreciate the fact that the members of Pentagon have different enough physical builds (some tall, some short, some bulky, some skinny) to never look like a shapeless mass of people even though there are ten members. Each of them gets a moment to shine on stage, which is not always the case when a group a lot of members. I don’t like big groups, but this one just works.

Cherry Bomb - NCT 127

I have a long history of loving NCT despite the mess of their structure, but why do they always look so unhappy and try-hard on stage? I can’t find a single performance where they seem to be enjoying what they are doing.

While I appreciate that they are trying to be edgy and experimental - something k-pop always needs more of - I feel that they missed the mark with Cherry Bomb. The dissonant voices, the distortion, the intense bass, the mismatched sections are too much to work as a pop product this time.

The repetition of various sentences (“I’m the biggest hit on the stage”, “빨리빨리 피해 right / Cherry bomb feel it yum”) in Cherry Bomb makes up for almost the entirety of the song, which gets really obnoxious really quickly. I found “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands” funny the first five times, then I was tired of it.

Differently from Cube with Pentagon, SM just can’t seem to find a song that gives space to every member of the group. Johnny and Haechan are basically invisible in the performance; WinWin and Yuta get to mouth to some of Taeyong’s lines, without actually singing any of them.

Once again, the rest of the album is quite good, but sounds like they were given the scraps of other groups (especially SHINee, in this case). What’s important to note is that literally any song would have been a catchier single than Cherry Bomb (full disclosure: they’ve still sold like 70,000 physical copies).

Archangels of the Sephiroth - Stellar

 I ended up sort-of following Stellar because they were someone else’s unfortunate favourite - that group that’s always on the edge of disbanding or worse, wallowing in their trainee debt until the end of time.

Archangels of the Sephiroth is a sharp turn from their previous concepts; they have added a new member, and to celebrate this they have gone down the fantasy/dark route with a music video in which they literally drown the new girl in a bathtub full of blood.

I don’t know why I’m so excited by the pseudo-satanic concept, but I love it and I love their new song. I like the intensity, the sort-of-mystical vibe, the shouty chorus, the big drums. I’m not so enthusiastic about the weird use of the Kabbalah they made in the insane additional material/game/alternate universe for the comeback (I was sure it was a Final Fantasy reference, oops), but I don’t have the instruments to understand how bad it is, so if you do, let me know. 

It’s bizarre to consider the title track Archangels of the Sephiroth in the context of the mini-album; the rest of the songs definitely belong to the “old” Stellar vibe, and most of them could have been good lead singles without the witchcraft.

  RAPID FIRE ROUND  

Stroke - Gummy

Whether Gummy qualifies as k-pop is part of a larger debate on what the label actually means, but this is hands down my favourite album of the month, so I will put it here anyway because I want to. Don’t miss Stop Talking and Room Service.

Shine Forever - Monsta X

Is this at all meant to be a conclusion to the story Monsta X started with All In (aka the song that got me into Monsta X)? Who managed to give some decent hair to Jooheon for the first time in his entire career? “I’m fascinated by the bright light of your beauty”?

Jinsoul - Loona

 I’ve been following Loona very very closely since the beginning of their debut project and I’ve been loving almost all of their releases (my favourites are still Heejin and Haseul). This second sub-unit of the final group has been receiving much more interest than any of the first five girls ever did, and I have to admit that I have fallen for Jinsoul’s future bass track Singin’ In The Rain. I’m curious to see how she and the other “girl crush” members will fit with the “innocent” ones ... in a year or so.

 MORE SONGS OF NOTE

I Smile - Day6

Finally - Mamamoo

Never and Hands on Me - Produce 101

What’s My Name? and Diamond - T-ara

Happy and Babyface - WJSN

STRAYS

Dreamcatcher save the day once more with their amazing rock covers:

iKON’s Bobby on King of the Mask Singer. His singing voice is incredible:

Is there anything better than Taemin’s Japanese releases? I don’t think so.

Day6 cover a bunch of Twice songs:

Kings of everything Seventeen on Immortal Songs:

[noona-clock]

Study: Kim Jiwon

In which we dig deeper under the surface of our favorite KPOP idols.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the gifs used in this post. I am not an astrologer nor am I a professional psychologist. These are my opinions based on the research I have done personally/as a hobby. If you disagree with any of these statements, please do so respectfully.

-Admin B

Sun Sign: Sagittarius (Fire)

Jiwon is honestly one of the most chill Sagittarians. We know Jiwon isn’t always chill, but for a Sagittarius... he totally is. Usually, Sagittarians are very daring and flirty and overconfident. They’re known to be kind of loud and very enthusiastic. Jiwon is definitely all those (although I’m not sure we can classify him as flirty), but he’s not as out there as say... Seungri, the ultimate Sagittarius. He’s more on the quiet side, especially when you first meet him. It takes him a while to open up, but when he does, his Sagittarius traits definitely come through.

Sagittarians are also known to be honest and fair-minded as well as very encouraging and dedicated. I think all of these adjectives describe Jiwon very well, as he’s certainly extremely supportive of his members and loyal to iKON. He’s also hardly ever in the middle of arguments, and I’m fairly sure he’s not known to be the member who lies a lot. 

I think the reason Jiwon doesn’t seem so much like a Sagittarius on the outside is because he’s Introverted (as we will see later on in this study). He’s not as outgoing and social as a lot of other Sagittarians are, so his traits are not as visible. But I can definitely see them under the surface, once he gets comfortable and is more open to be who he is.

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter which is the planet of luck, so Sagittarians in general are known to be pretty lucky. That doesn’t mean they don’t work hard for what they’ve achieved, but the universe just seems to be on their side a lot. (Of course, not when the downstairs apartment battled the upstairs apartment for $1000 on iKON TV...)

Moon Sign: Sagittarius (Fire)

Well, well, well. Look what we have here.

Finally, an idol who has the same Sun and Moon sign! So everything you just read about Jiwon’s Sun sign? Apply it here, as well, and attach all the traits to his emotions.

Done and done.

Chinese Astrology: Wood Pig

In the Chinese Zodiac, Pigs are seen as kind and understanding people, and they’re known for their peacekeeping abilities. Any unpleasantness or conflict makes them uncomfortable, so they do whatever they can to resolve problems. Jiwon’s idea of resolving problems? Figuring out the problem before it even starts. AKA spotting the hidden cameras and playing along with the prank. What a clever, clever Pig.

Pigs are also usually very popular and enjoy being around other people, and while Jiwon is not the most social member in iKON, he’s certainly one of the most popular! People tend to gravitate toward him (which is also totally his Sagittarius coming through), and seriously, who doesn’t love him?! 

Jiwon is a Wood Pig, and Wood Pigs, in particular, have a very friendly and persuasive manner. They like to be involved in whatever is going on around them at all times. This might be a bit of a stretch, but I could kind of take this trait to mean Wood Pigs are very observant. They know to know what’s going on, so they pay attention. Right? We know Jiwon is certainly observant because he saw those hidden cameras right away - and not just one of them! He found all of them!

The Wood Pig is also known for being extremely loyal to their friends and family and will always get a great deal of pleasure from helping people less fortunate than themselves. They are usually very positive and have a great sense of humor. This 100% describes Jiwon, and he’s such a dutiful son who would do anything for his friends and family (especially his mom!). 

Numerology: Life Path 3

Those born with the life path number 3 are known as The Communicator. They are very good at communicating and connecting with people. They’re also very creative, so they tend to communicate via creative means. Along with Hanbin - another 3 - Jiwon is a main songwriter in iKON. He writes his own raps, and he wrote all of the songs on his solo album - most of them by himself, too! I think it’s safe to say he’s definitely gifted at communicating creatively.

In fact, 3s often can be known for not communicating well through speech. Their minds move so quickly, so if they work with somebody who moves more slowly than they do, they can be a bit blunt. Most of the time, they communicate with compassion, but they’re always very direct. When they have the time to gather their thoughts and are not put under the pressure of working with a bunch of other people is when they really shine. Jiwon is somewhat shy, especially around people he doesn’t know very well, as we saw on iKON school trip. But once he got comfortable, he became very well-liked among the girls for being very kind and caring and communicating well, even though he doesn’t speak a lot of Japanese.

3s are very romantic and fiercely loyal in relationships, so whoever manages to snag Jiwon as a boyfriend in the future is one lucky person!

MBTI: INFP

Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving

Jiwon is Introverted which means he draws energy from within rather than from external sources. He focuses on developing his inner life and prefers to be by himself or with a small group of people instead of a large crowd. While Jiwon can be loud and rambunctious, we really only see this when he’s with people he knows really well. He is quite obviously not the most social of the group.

Jiwon is Intuitive which means he is able to think more abstractly. He’s more imaginative, and he’s able to look at the big picture and imagine the possibilities. 

Jiwon is Feeling which means his thinking and actions are governed more by his heart and how he feels. He makes decisions based on emotions. Jiwon is very much an emotional person, and he’s extremely caring and sentimental, especially when it comes to taking care of his family.

Finally, Jiwon is Perceiving which means he lives life in a more laid-back, free-thinking kind of way. It also means his Intuition function is what he displays to the world, so that’s what the people around him notice the most about the way he makes decisions.

The INFP is known as The Mediator. They are true idealists, always looking for the best in situations and wanting to make things better.

Other Studies: Kim Hanbin, Kim Jinhwan, Song Yunhyeong, Kim Donghyuk, Koo Junhwe, Jung Chanwoo

Master list // RULES // Submit a Request! // Read About the Admins