#imfact maknae

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Ep 8, Part 2: 💖Guilty 💖

Hello and welcome to another Build Up recap in the series! In the previous one we saw a team rock out! In this one, we’ll see a team get sexxxy. I have a lot to say! Let’s do this! 

We start off with the team coming out on stage as usual and greeting everyone. They joke that Donghun and Jeup are the parents and that Woong and Bain are their sons #1 and #2. 

Left to right: Bain (Just B), Donghun (A.C.E.), Jeup (IMFACT), Woong (AB6IX)

Their name is transliterated Dongupjadur, I think? It’s written in a really stylized way and my hangul reading skills aren’t quite up to it. 

As they’re coming out, the other teams backstage wonder out loud if the guys will be showing their abs -- specifically, if Jeup will be showing his abs. When I was watching this episode for the first time, I didn’t know that Jeup showing his abs was that a thing that could happen. I was like… What? Jeup? Abs? Tell me more!  

Ohhh.

등 부시러 갑니다 = “I’m going to break my back.”

So you’re telling me that he just looked like that? Under his s w e a t e r s? THE WHOLE TIME?

Anyway, the team is going to… perform? A song? Something like that. What? Yeah, a song. This is a singing competition. I remember now. 

The judges say that the combination is unexpected, and yeah, it kind of is. They’re all good, but aside from Donghun and Jeup singing one song together, no one in this group has performed with anyone else from this group so far on this show. So… what is the unifying concept? Why did Jeup pick them? You guys. YOU GUYS. I have so much to say. More on this soon. 

We flash back to them meeting… on a… I don’t know, staircase. A big wide staircase. 

Just like, a good staircase to have a meeting on, you know? We’ve all had meetings on big indoor staircases, why am I even explaining this?

Woong asks Jeup why he chose Bain and himself. 

s w e a t e r

Jeup basically answers that Bain and Woong are good singers and he wanted to work with them and make a team that can do anything. Hmmm. 

On a first watch, I wondered if maybe the real reason was that he wanted a group full of debuted idols? Bain is from Just B, Woong is from AB6IX, Jeup is from IMFACT, and Donghun is from A.C.E. But that just doesn’t seem convincing, does it? Ok, like I said, more on this soon. 

The guys do a little skit where they pretend to be choosing a song together, but it seems obvious when you watch it that they already know what they’re doing, and what they’ll be doing is Guilty, the song by Taemin. That’s a ballsy choice! A choice full of balls! 

Ok, a little bit about Taemin, in case you don’t know him well. He’s a member of SHINee, the same group that was once home to Jonghyeon who we talked about a lot during the 2x2 round. Taemin was only 13 when he debuted, and at the time, he basically couldn’t sing. At all. Like, at all at all. He was there to dance -- and boy can this guy dance -- and to be a cute maknae.

Over the years, a combination of a lot of hard work and some really good vocal training has made him a quite good vocalist. He also absolutely, positively drips with charisma -- both as in the sense of “star quality” and in the sense of “sexiness”. If you have never listened to Move or Want, you’ve been missing out, so rectify that ASAP. 

Guilty came out in October of ‘23, shortly after Taemin came back from military service. He’s said in interviews that he drew inspiration for the album from a book called Erotisicm by a philsopher named George Bataille. A summary of the book: “Bataille challenges any single discourse on the erotic. … Investigating desire prior to and extending beyond the realm of sexuality, he argues that eroticism is ‘a psychological quest not alien to death.’” Well, ok then! So that’s the book that inspired him. What about the song itself? Well, the lyrics could be summarized: You know you want me, baby! 

In other words, my friends, the song is a fuck song. And boy, do fuck songs do well on shows like this. Consider Boys Planet, if you will. Songs like Love Killa were always going to beat songs like Home. Team Over Me was always going to place ahead of Switch. 

In addition to being a fuck song, Guilty is a good song, but I don’t know if it’s fucking good, if you feel me? Something about it -- I don’t know, I didn’t fall in love with it the way I did with Move and Want. In fact, the day I first watched the episode, I had actually skipped Guilty  when it came up in my shuffle. Twice. Don’t get mad at me sometimes I have to hear some EXO or I’ll die okay? 

Alright, back the episode. Where were we? Oh yeah, the guys were pretending that this was the moment that they chose the song. The show reminds us that Guilty, with its attention grabbing choreography, is a popular “challenge” right now, for idols and just anyone who thinks their belly is flat enough. (Hwang Soyeon, where are you?) 

Woong points out that they really have to do the up-the-shirt-neck-grab move -- and he’s right, I mean imagine doing Gashina and not doing the finger guns? Some choreography is so connected to the song that you can’t take it away without missing it a lot. They also know, though, that they have to prioritize good vocals. 

Next question -- should they all show their abs? The immediate answer is yes, but -- and this is really interesting to me -- Donghun gestures to his ab area and says “I’m going to wear Heattech in here.” I did some research and can’t find anything on singers traditionally keeping their abdomen warm in order to sing better, though it doesn’t seem completely crazy. I have a chronic illness (endometriosis) and I know that heat is really great therapy for a lot of things, but I just have never heard of singers doing this. 

Plus, go with me on this -- even though in their little skit Donghun is the one who appears to suggest Guilty as their song, he apparently hadn’t thought through the necessary ab exposure or he wouldn’t be bringing this up now as a possible issue. See what I mean about it just being a skit? I’m pretty sure that Jeup had already picked out the song when he put the group together and then for some reason had to make it look like someone else was suggesting it when they filmed this scene. 

And poor Bain is like, um, guys, I don’t *have* abs. Bain isn’t skin stretched over muscles like most kpop idols, it seems. That’s ok, Bain, I still love ya! I sure as hell don’t have visible abs. He says he thinks he needs to work out, as if it’s possible to go from not having abs to having abs in like, two weeks. Sorry, dude, that is not happening, or at least, not without doing something super dangerous for your health.  

Anyway, luckily for the team, they have a leader who can also lead them in personal training.

The show gives us some good shots of Jeup’s bod, and in the interest of thoroughly covering this topic, I’ll take a screen shot.

What can I say -- I’m a hard worker. (That’s what he said!)

Then the guys go work out with Jeup and he does fucking leglifts hanging from a bar the way you’d lift a single finger.

“It’s easy,” he says. “Just hang on. And just put your legs up.” Sure. Just do that. Just. Do. That.

They all take a turn doing this incredibly difficult advanced move. Woong asks Jeup to hold him up from behind and says “I feel like I’m going to die,” but he can do it. He has abs already, anyway.

Donghun also needs Jeup to hold him up, but he can also basically do the move. 

It turns out that Bain absolutely cannot do the move -- he can’t hang there and he can’t lift up his legs. So the whole team helps him.

I think it’s supposed to be funny? It’s a weird combination of horrible (because Bain is the butt of the joke) and oddly wholesome (because they’re all approaching it with kindness), but it’s also kind of wrong, because “abs start in the kitchen,” meaning, that it’s much more about whether you have abdominal fat than whether you have abdominal muscles. So all this work will not actually give him visible ads unless he, IDK, does this for two hours a day and also doesn’t eat, which is a bad thing to do. 

They also do some rehearsing at BR N  W MUSIC, whatever that might be! 

And that brings us to performance day! Right before they perform, Yeo One backstage says that Donghun drew his abs on with a marker. Hey, man, don’t blow up his spot like that. 

It’s time to perform, which means it’s also time for a commercial! 

Full version without reactions

Alright, I want to talk about the performance itself and believe me I will but first, get your tinfoil hat ready because I think I know why Jeup picked out this group. It became clear to me as I watched the performance and did some thinking.

It’s because

Jeup is very smart

Jeup knows what a mostly-female survival-show audience loves best is sparkles in their pants

Jeup selected the other three guys on the show that can pull off a sexy concept most easily. 

Look, I am not saying that I find any of these guys besides Jeup particularly sexy when they’re just goofing around. But they’re all sexy when they perform! Or rather, I should say, they create a sexy mood. Let me explain.

Have you ever listened to a sad song that makes you tear up a little, even though you’re not actually sad about anything in real life? Or maybe a song kind of makes you feel inspired and lifted up? Into the New World by SNSD does that for me. Or maybe a song makes you feel snarky and sarcastic, like Wife by G-Idle. It’s like that, but with sexiness. You get to live in a sexy world for a few minutes, without it being focused at anyone or anything in particular.  

To put it differently: it’s like they emit the smell of baking cookies, only instead of baking cookies, it’s sex. You breathe it in instead of actually… having it. 

Woong, Bain, and Donghun can all do the sexy concept. Not everyone can do sexy. In EXO, for example, I’d argue that Xiumin and D.O. struggle with sex appeal in performances, despite their beautiful faces; that’s part of why a comeback like Obsession was only possible when those two were away in the military. Suho can kind of do sexy on stage, but that’s helped by the fact that to me he seems the sexiest off stage. I don’t know, I guess it’s all subjective of course, but “doing sexy” is different from “being sexy” and both are different from actual sex.

So yeah, Bain can do sexy, abs or no abs. That’s why his whispering “like a river!” in River worked. 

Woong can do sexy, as you can tell if you watch AB6IX perform. 

And Donghun can do sexy, despite being kind of not sexy at all in real life. 

Jeup knows that he’s a Kai/Hyunjin/Kang Daniel/Baekho/Wyatt type, and he knows that he has to give the ladies sparkles in their pants. That’s why he had to ditch Suhwan, despite Suhwan’s strong vocals. He needed a group that could be his backup sexies as he hit us full bore with the force of his sexiness. 

And boy can this boy do sexy. I actually learned how to make gifs in order to make this one:

Just Park Jeup stroking his mic stand lightly all the way down, while Donghun hits a high note. Jeup is a fucking genius, and yes, I mean that. He knows exactly what he’s doing. It's funny because I later on noticed that all of them are doing the microphone stand stroke, but Jeup is the one who the editors decided to highlight, and I mean, come on. Yes. He does it best. 

The ab reveal was fine. I think Jeup is sexier just staring into the camera, but that’s just me. Here are some gifs to delight you:

Did Woong tear his shirt?

As to the song and the performance itself. 

I am now the world’s foremost expert on this song as I have listened to it approximately one million times in the past few days.  I listen to it the way I listen to an EXO song -- noticing each new voice (“ooh, that’s Jeup! Ooh that’s Bain!”) and enjoying it. 

And in my expert opinion, this was PERFECT -- the perfect choice of song, the perfect group, the perfect performance. There were high notes for Jeup to croon, whispered parts for Bain to whisper, emotional parts for Donghun to emote, and sassy parts for Woong to sass. And they all did their jobs. 

I almost don’t even want to analyze their various vocals because I just love this so much, but I also do want to because they were so good. First off, if you listen to the studio version that was released and compare it to the live version, the live version is actually better. Seriously. There isn’t a note out of place here. 

GOD but my Bain is SO GOOD. I am so proud of myself for picking him out at the start of the show as my main pick. He’s so good. His voice is just perfect. His adlib at 3:16 in to the Youtube version is so gorgeous. His technique is so clean, with no closed throat sounds or a feeling of being out of control of pitch or anything like that, ever. No nasality that I notice. Just the perfect amount of vibrato. It’s just perfect overall. His vocals are my favorite on this team. 

Woong’s vocals are obviously not powerful and perfect like the other three’s but he adds this sassy contrast to the others. I wouldn’t swap him out for anyone else. He slightly reminds me of Woongki from Boys Planet -- offstage, not sexy at all, in fact kind of feminine seeming. And then give him the right concept (Supercharger for Woongki) and you see what he’s capable of. 

Jeup is an absolutely top tier vocalist in addition to being a gorgeous man. I don’t know if I have anything more to say than that. It’s just like, yeah. Did you hear it? You heard it, right? I’m getting used to his vocal color and liking it more and more.

Donghun does a great job here too, obviously, especially in providing harmonies with the lightest touch imaginable. That’s a real talent. In fact, I think my favorite part is from :39 to :47, when Jeup and Donghun climb up that lazy scale together. It’s like a hand moving up your leg to your thigh. It’s really something. 

See, Jeup is a genius. Everyone else kind of leans forward, like Donghun on the left. But Jeup keep his head up and just looks to the side, while leaning back slightly and tilting his pelvis up. He GETS it. How can someone look as tasty as Kai while also singing as well as Chen and not like, be the most famous person in Korea? I don’t get it. 

I think I’m going to be cheering for Partners at this point. I just want this team to release a whole cover album with them singing like, IDK, Taemin’s entire catalog. I want this team to manifest. Just more singing like this. 

EDIT: I just showed this performance to My Fella and he said, "So that won, right? That had to win. That made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up." My Fella is the best, isn't he?

Counter offer: I don’t really have one. This was the right song. Hoo boy. But if they had to pick out a song for next week (and I don’t think they do, based on what I think its next), I’d recommend Touch by NCT. There are lots of kinds of sexy, and they’ve already done the vaguely menacing kind of overt sexy, so next is the “boyfriend in jeans” sexy level to conquer. Alternatively maybe they could do Playboy by EXO (another song written by Jonghyun). It’s overtly sexy but in a jazzy flirty way instead of in an aggressive dangerous way. 

Ok, so in the MNET edit the focus seems to be mostly on the shirt lift moment. There was a cute bit where Jeup the Genius gently strokes his collar bone area, as if to remind everyone of what’s under his shirt, and backstage, Wumuti is like, “hey! I was promised abs!!” 

Wendy is impressed with Bain’s vocals

Jaehwan needs an adult!

So when they’re done, of course the audience goes batshit while the judges applaud. Jaehwan stands up and Wendy gives a thumbs up. 

Backstage, the other guys have mixed reviews. They seem to think that this was pandering to the audience, but I think that’s unfair. I have been *listening* to this performance for days. Just on repeat while I’m on the plane or driving my stupid rental car around. If I could listen without watching or watch without listening, I’d much rather listen. I love this performance vocally, truly, I do. I respect the sexy cloud they generated, too. That’s not easy to do. 

VCG compliments Woong and he lets out the cutest, goofiest grin. 

The judges vote, and the highest score is revealed: It’s a 95 from VCG. 

Seems like they’re pretty surprised by that. 

Backstage, Haram says to his teammates that he’s not surprised by that high score. “You can’t ignore the sense of presence,” he explains. That’s the name of my next Jeup x reader fanfic -- “The Sense of Presence.” 

VCG explains his grade. “I felt that the skills of reading the song for singers who have been on stage was different.” He also says that Donghun really understands the stage and how to change up his voice based on the flow of the performance. 

Eunkwang says that the team had good teamwork -- that they divided the parts properly and worked well together. 

Solar praises Woong, and he grins again. 

Wendy asks about the killing part -- “Did you all work out together?” Ha ha! 

VCG asks how they feel the ab reveal went -- did they get the response they were hoping for? I mean, if they were hoping from high pitched squeals from all the women -- and most of the men -- in the audience, then yes. Hilariously, Jeup can’t help but be honest and say that they had difficulties with that in rehearsal because their abs weren’t being revealed properly. They had to really work at it. I find the idea of them conscientiously making sure that their abs showed when they lifted up their shirts to be so funny. It’s this sensual move, and here they are like, “Is my shirt lifting properly? Let me adjust the angle. Hmm, I might need a different shirt. I think cotton slides more easily than poly blends.”

Solar’s like “it showed really well, don’t worry.” I mean, we know she was looking.

”Hey Solar, I know you do a bit of pole dancing. I do that too, on the side. It’s great for the abs. Want to hang out and work on our abs together? I know a lot of cool moves that will improve your balance and control. And abs. We can do ab lifts and drink supplement smoothies and then take pictures of each other for Instagram.” -- Jeup, probably 

Backstage, Soomin wonders if his team should also show their abs, and Seohyung continues to be everyone’s favorite when he says:

“It’s kind of weird to reveal abs while saying MILKY UP.” 

Dude, it’s kind of weird to do anything while saying MILKY UP. In fact, it’s weird to just say MILKY UP. I hate it. 

And with that, we reach the end of this segment! We didn’t hear a single word of praise for Bain or Jeup’s vocals. Fuck that shit, man. 

In the next post, we’ll visit with Waterfire, Wumuti’s team, who are doing a cover of Aespa’s Drama. See you then! 

[livinglifeonpause]

Build Up - teams of 4

- okay. So I just learned that Jay Chang is not Korean AT ALL. He is a white boy from Bergen County Jersey. my pussy is DRY. - but, In all my years of life, I have NEVER thought a man's HANDS were sexy before I saw Jay Chang's. like put them on me Jersey boy. - okay, here we go HUN-MIN-JAY-BIT V2: Jay Chang (22) (ONEPACT) - 8.5 > 8 > 10 > 5 > x ( V36: Bitsaeon (28) (M.O.N.T) 5.5 > 3 > 10 > 5 > x ( V1: Seunghun (24) (CIX) 4 > X > 7.5 > 8 > x ( V39: Kim Minseo (21) (nothing) 4 > 4 > 5 > 6 > x ( - I like that Jay's the short one haha! - omg, SO fucking cute Minseo wanted to team up with Jay since day 1. AND he loves Seunghun? Minseo is me. - Seunghun suggesting Woodz <3<3 - in tshirts, Jay looks super petite next to Seunghun which is saying something cause Seunghun keeps himself like gross thin for promotions - Minseo;s voice could be alot better but it does have a REALLY pretty tone to it - I mean, I dont care about this song TBH. I ONLY want to hear them do R&B. - wonder how main vocal Seunghun feels about being backup to Jay - I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they love Seunghun (sooooo, spoiler alert. I know they win). I think their positions will be: Bitsaeon - Leader, lead vocal Seunghun - main dancer, lead vocal, visual Jay Chang - main vocal, face of the group Minseo - maknae, visual PARTNERS V34: Park Jeup (30) (Imfact) 8 > 10 > 8 > 8 > x ( V20: Lee Donghun (30) (A.C.E.) 6 > 10 > 8 > 7 > x ( V3: Bain (22) (JUST B) 9 > 6 > 6 > 7 > x (orange hair) V11: Jeon Woong (26) (AB6IX) 3 > 4 >4 > 5 > x ( - god, Jeup's pretty. TBH, HE's the one I want to get the most recognition and success. Every thing he tries he comes up JUST SHORT of big success. Imfact. The Unit. His solo shiz. Plus, his laugh is EVERYTHING. - oh! Bain looks 1000% better with the darker hair - yuh, Jeup has a whole ass other instagram dedicated to working out - Jeup's always been in shape and dedicated, but he crazy bulked up. wish he would bulk his waist too though. - the combo of Jeup & Donghun voices is fucking butter. - Jaehwan goes "Oh yeah!" - okay. fuck. Jeup picked his team good. I wasn't sure about Jeon Woong, but he comes with a built-in fanbase. I get it. - Donghun really is pretty. and sexy in this. which is funny cause compared to the rest of A.C.E, he's the least sexy dancer WATERFIRE V4: Sunyoul (27) (UPT10TION) 2 > 2 > 6 > 6 > x ( V12: Wumuti (24) (Solo?) 8 > 6 > 7 > 6 > x ( V7: Kang Hayoon (20) (Loud) 7 > 5 > 5 > 2 > x ( V17: Choi Suhwan (22) (X101) 3 > 4 > 7 > 9 > x ( - so this is dumb. it's a dumb song to begin with. Suhwan should swap with Jeon Woong from the last team, and I'm there. - meh. I meannnnnn MILKY UP V30: Jung Soomin (19) (Solo) 4 > 7 > 4 > 6 > x ( V10: Lee Geonwoo (22) (JustB) - 2 >2 > 3 > 2 (pinky hair) V18: Kim Seohyung (22) (musicals) 2 > 3 > 5 > 3 ( V8: Choi Haram (22) (Musicals) 2 > 6 > 5 > 5 > x (

- okay, first off. Geonwoo this hair, this hair Geonwoo. SEE THE DIFFERENCE? omfg. so much better. - wait! the sweet deep-voiced baby Kim Seohyung speaks english?? - HOW is his voice that deep? and his face like that?? I do not understand it. DO RE MI FA V19: Lee Gwangseok (25) (solo) 1 > 4 > 4 > 2 > x ( V5: Lim Junhyeok (30) (Ex-Day6) 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > x (Day 6 kid) V40: Yeo One (27) (Pentagon) 2 > 2 > 3 > 2 > x (pentagon kid) V29: Hwang Inhyeock (25) (Nada) 3 > 6 > 4 > 5 > x ( - TBH, I skipped it. I just dont care.

MY RANK: Partners (Taemin Guilty) HyunMinJayBit (I forgot what they sang) Water Fire (Aespa Drama) Milky Up (Uptown funk) DO RE MI FA (boring song) THEIR (Judges + Audience) RANK: Milky Up (Uptown funk) Partners (Taemin Guilty) HyunMinJayBit (I forgot what they sang) Water Fire (Aespa Drama) DO RE MI FA (boring song)

- haaaaa! Jay Chang squinting at the score. does he not understand the power of fangirls yet? we'll follow a handsome man anywhere!

[bitchburita]

.Na Ungjae.

Idk what else to write this is my first edit. Bye.

[mersuioh]

imfact ungjae

[shrimp-bebe]

Ungjae throwing water for your thirst…

[sailingawaaaay]

Happy Birthday Golden Ungjae🤍✨

[kpopboysilove]

[weareimfact]

Cute embarrassed maknae

[imfaction]

(●´□`)♡

[absolutebl]

Kpop Idols in BLs 

Ironically the first idol to appeal in a Korean BL role so far as I can tell is Japanese idol Terada Takuya (Cross Gene) who was ½ of the BL couple in 2015′s The Lover.

The first Korean idol to do so was Yoo Dong Kyun (Khan of ZPZG), who was in Tropical Night (2017). It v. sad.

Idols in BL Shows

2015 - Terada Takuya (formerly Takuya of CROSS GENE) The Lover

2017 - Yoo Dong Kyun (Khan of ZPZG, disbanded) in Tropical Night 

2020 - Cheon Seung Ho (Seungho of THE MAN BLK) in Mr. Heart

2020 - Kang In Soo (MYNAME, disbanded) in Wish You & Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (2021)

2020 - Lee Sang (IMFACT, inactive) in Wish You

2021 - Hur Hyun Jun (formerly Hwall of THE BOYZ) in Color Rush

2021 - Son Woo Hyun (Ghun of X-5, disbanded) in To My Star

2021 - Kim Yoo Hwan (SPEED, disbanded) in The Tasty Florida. I am gonna add that amazing body of his is well earned. He was one of SPEED’s acrobats and they had some of the greatest trick work EVER fielded in the industry (fight me). He’s the white shirt in this one (watch until the end, that swing flip I CAN’T EVEN. And he’s the ripped jeans + run dmc shirt in this one (yeah they’re fucking dancing in wheelies). 

2021 - Choe Chan Yi (formerly Chanyi of THE MAN BLK) in Light on Me (ACE did the song)

2022 - Park Bum Jun (Bumjun of band 2Z) in Behind Cut (2Z also appears in Ocean Likes Me)

2022 - Eom Se Ung (formerly Seung of THE MAN BLK) in Behind Cut

2022 - Park Jun Hee (Jun of A.C.E.) Tinted With You 

2022 - Han Sang Hyuk (Hyuk of VIXX) in Color Rush 2

2022 - Kim Ji Woong (INX, disbanded) in Kissable Lips & Roommates of Poongduck 304 

2022 - Park Seo Ham (formerly of KNK) in Semantic Error

2022 - Park Jae Chan (DKZ) in Semantic Error

2022 - Ok Jin Uk (trot group SUPERFIVE) in Cherry Blossoms After Winter

2022 - Holland in Ocean Likes Me (soloist, first out gay idol in a BL, also appears in Roommates of Poongduck 304)

2022 - Leo (VIXX) in Happy Ending Romance 

2022 - Karam (THE BOSS, inactive) in Happy Ending Romance 

2023 - JunQ (MYNAME, inactive) in Individual Circumstances 

2023 - Jaehan & Yechan (BOTH from OMEGA X) in A Shoulder to Cry On 

2023 - Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) in Unintentional Love Story 

2023 - Lee Dong Won (main rapper of KNK) in Happy Merry Ending 

2023 - Kim Kyu Jong (formerly of SS501, major stage musical actor) in Happy Merry Ending 

This has been a brief history of idols in BLs, Love in Spring not included. I’m sure I missed some and I’m sure there will be more. Comment with additions, please. 

I’m stopping now. Pretty much every new KBL has soem kinda idol in it from 2023 on. It’s actually stranger to see one without an idol now.

I did dither over THE MAN BLK legitimately counting for various reasons, but then decided Kpop-ness is not my judgement to make, and left them all in. 

Also it should be noted that Rowoon of SF9 does a killer job as a bisexual character in The King’s Affection, but that’s not BL. 

Kpop MV BLs:

K.will - Please don't... - unquestionably the most famous, this is a tragic BL and features two extremely famous Kdrama actors from almost a decade ago! 

Park Won - Fuxxxxx crazy - features Han Se Jin from Mr Heart and Lee Ki Hyun from Light On Me) 

Park Won - Fuxxxxx crazy - in English, vocal by 스텔라장, with additional sexy footage 

The Rose - Beauty and the Beast - 3 fairy stories, one of which is gay 

OnlyOneOf’s hit libitO also has BL themes. 

LOVE is RIGHT

There’s a lot more sensuality and queer context out there, so I’ll pass you along to this fun video on the subject with samples. 

The OnlyOneOf BL MV series 

YooJung (main dancer, visual) - begin - BL love story continued in... 

KB (lead rapper, visual) - be free - continuation and other side of above story 

JunJi (lead vocalist, lead dancer) - be mine - second BL couple story continued in... 

Rie (lead vocalist, lead dancer) - because - other side of above second couple, this one has the BL pool trope and is a break up MV 

Mill (main rapper) - beat - this is my favorite of the series it’s a “saving him from his bullies” romance, very cute, completed in... 

Nine 'beyOnd' (vocalist, mak) - beyond - other side of above third couple, bit of a bad boy trope 

Bonus: 'Fuxxxxx Crazy' MV Making Film 

Most of Holland’s stuff is hella gay, but not necessarily BL. 

Taiwanese Bl actor, Lin Yu (OuWen in Love is Science?) featured in a sad gay MV

MOAR? 

Takara & Amagi were both played by Jpop idols. Arata Sato is a member of IMPACTors, and Oriyama Nao of Shounen Ninja (both groups are managed by Johnny's Jr). I’m not going to track the Jpops in JBLs because challenges.

That said, 2022′s The Usual Night (Twitter account) from Japan is a 10-ep fake documentary series starring the members of Jpop group the Fantastics. It flew under everyone’s radars but apparently has a BL subplot featuring Yagi Yusei (My Beautiful Man) and Seguchi Leiya. This officially means they beat OnlyOneOf to the punch as the first inter-group BL pairing. Keito Kimura (Onoe from Candy Color Paradox) is also a member of Fantastics and in the show. Source reddit.

Follow up question: 

Do I think any MAJOR idols will do BL? 

I think it's pretty unlikely right now.

ACE's Jun is probubly the biggest idol to have done a BL so far (at the time, pre-BL, not post). I do think the Jaehyun (NCT) possibly doing a BL thing thing was a rumor. Boy do I neither care nor want to argue about this, please don't comment on the subject. He's cute, it'd be fun, *waves hand in air* go away NCTzens.

If it's a major idol currently active it'll be a non-Korean (contract allowing) or one of those 3rd Gen out-of-contracts we are about to see a lot more of. (You better believe everyone is watching GOT7 to see what they do and how they handle it, so...)

But I think BL will still only be able to tap second tear idols even then - so VIXX not GOT7, for example. No shade on VIXX, they’re amazing, but they don’t have the same numbers in any arena, literally and figuratively. Also those from defunked and fractured groups seem to be fair game. And it’ll still be mostly the shorter idols who want to break into acting. And/or the ones old enough not to give a shit about reputation anymore. (None of this applies to Japan, attitudes are way different there.) 

The personality of the idol really plays into this too. Like I could see Ten or Yuta (NCT) being all “fuck it, I’m doing a BL” (eventually) but not Mark (GOT7) for example. 

It's unlikely any studio would allow a highly active 4th gen do a BL. And yes, I do think it's studio controls in place, they’re very careful with their stable.

You don't let a triple crown racehorse do dressage no matter how popular dressage becomes. 

That said, if the racehorse doesn’t perform well but dressage can somehow help?

Kpop group DKZ’s prior album first week’s sales? 1,482. Comeback in April 2022? 107,965.

The reason for that 100x increase? Most likely Park Jae Chan’s appearance as SongWoo in Semantic Error.

Apparently he had to convince his company to let him do it. 

Do you feel drunk with power BL universe? I do. (info via KPOP Junkee)

In other news NuNew & Nat (Thai BL Cutie Pie) do a fun acoustic cover of Blackpink’s Lovesick Girls, which I find rather amusing for some reason. 

Other BL + Kpop crossover stuff from me: 

BLs as K-pop groups

K-pop Allegiance chart 

Match a Kpop song to that BL! 

GOT7 Jay B singing wet track 

10 Korean Male Beauty Ideals 

Top 10 Kpop Idol BL Fantasy Cast List

My Favorite BL OTSs

Okay so “sing your feelings” is one of my least favorite tropes but still I often get asked about my favorite OSTs (original sound tracks), if I gravitate to anything it’ll just be one OTS (theme song) here are some of mine in no particular order:

Dark Blue Kiss - I genuinely love the weird drama-llama intro music, but yeah, no singing 

Color Rush by Ryu Su Jeong and Finding You Kwon Soon Il- I like both theme songs enough to have actually purchased them 

Wish You’s Wish For You by Kang In Soo & Lee Sang (IMFACT)

I'll Be There by Johnny (To My Star) 

Light On Me’s Spark by A.C.E. 

Ocean Likes Me by Holland (for the BL of the same name)

My Oxygen sung by Nut (though I got tired of it fast) 

I Still by Leo (VIXX) for Happy Ending Romance (Leo’s voice is just...) 

Sunshower by Ayumu Imazu (for Eternal Yesterday) was my favorite of 2022, it’s still lives on my playlist in regular rotation, the BL on the other hand... 

Rainbow - the refrain, not the main theme song, for Love Tractor 

I’m probably missing a few, but I’ll add to this so long a Tumblr lets me. 

(source)

13 K-pop Idols Who Admitted They Are Part of the LGBT Community 

Last updated Mid 2023. Not sure how much longer Tumblr will let me update this one, also it’s kinda turning into a Kpop right of passage. So I’ve officlally stopped tracking. 

[imfact--daily-blog]

{171114} 탷) 예끼! 잡았다 요놈ㅋㅋ

»TRANS« "Tae) Hey! I gotcha you little rascal kk"

[nf-allstars]

— [ KANG SUNG ]

— [ BASICS ] —

STAGE NAME :: Sung

BIRTH NAME :: Kang Sung

BIRTHDAY :: November 24th, 1997

ZODIAC :: Sagittarius

BIRTHPLACE :: Daejeon, South Korea

NATIONALITY :: Korean

HEIGHT :: 179 cm || 5′11"

SEXUALITY :: Pansexual

FACECLAIM :: Juep IMFACT

RELATIONSHIP STATUS :: Single/Debating

——————————

— [ CAREER ] —

GROUP :: MERCIV

LABEL :: Night Flight Entertainment

PROFESSION :: Idol - Model -

POSITION :: Lead Rapper, Sub Vocal, Aegyo

——————————

— [ PERSONALITY ] —

POSITIVE TRAITS :: Excitable, Musical, Determined, Sociable

NEGATIVE TRAITS :: Squeamish, Finicky, Competitive, Sensitive

——————————

— [ FAMILY ] —

Mother :: Kang Yop Min

Father :: Kang An

Sister :: Kang Wi So

——————————

— [ TRIVIA ] —

In the current dorms, Sung shares a room with Kita, due to Kita wanting them to bunk together.

Sung gets sick often which renders him more of an indoor person then outdoor but he tries his best to be out and about when need be.

He loves going out to jog around the dorms or just about anywhere.

In school he had high marks in history classes and even wanted to pursue a career as a history teacher. All because he loved studying the history of things.

Sung often breaks equipment on accident when he gets too excited.

His favorite food is anything that involves being spicy.

His favorite color is red.

Is often called the maknae/childish of the group despite his tough demeanor, due to how excited and sensitive he can be.

Sung released his beats under the #SungBeatz under Soundcloud. Popular sound, What’s Life is the most played that it instantly got him listed for a company.

He has often been called to model for things thanks to his serious demeanor and good looks.

Often pouts when he wants something, thinking, or is getting picked on.

Sung will literally do whatever Kita says simp

Has a family cat named Ha-eun its a Himalayan breed

[kpoptimeout]

K-Pop Debuts and Comebacks for the 4th Week of May 2022 (May 23-29 2022)

May 23

GOT7 - NANANA

The boys of GOT7 return as a group, following their departure from JYP and solo activities, in this bright and trendy song.

May 24

LIGHTSUM - ALIVE

CUBE's maknae girl group is back in this upbeat dancepop song.

KANG DANIEL - Upside Down

South Korea's IT boy is back in this vibey track.

May 25

BVNDIT - VENOM

Underrated girl group BVNDIT shows their fierce energy again in this comeback!

GIRIBOY - Issu du Feu

Popular Korean rapper GIRIBOY is back with this experimental piece.

NINE9 - Don't hate my love

Korean rock band Dear Cloud's vocalist NINE9 drops this emotion-filled ballad.

May 26

No releases.

May 27

SEVENTEEN - HOT

Popular boy group SEVENTEEN returns in this powerful and dominating performance.

May 28

HELLO GLOOM - YOUNG BOY

IMFACT's maknae Ungjae is soloist HELLO GLOOM in this dance-pop song.

KOYO - PARTY

Underrated soloist KOYO is back in this fun and exciting party anthem.

Son Chamchi - I

Jellyfish Entertainment soloist Son Chamchi returns in this soothing alt-RnB piece.

May 29

No releases.

What is your favourite release of this week?

[heliarae]

28.05.1998 - 28.05.2020 Happy birthday to Imfact’s sweet multi-talented maknae, Na Ungjae. Your infectious smile enriches the lives of Imfact and IFs, we’re so lucky to have you, our sweet gemini boy. Always keep smiling, and always keep working hard to bring your charisma to IFs and non-IFs alike! Thank you for another amazing year; we can't wait to see what new things you'll have for us this coming year!💜 No one is beneath & no one is above anyone.

[yeocult]

A, I, M for the ask game! (I didn't mean to spell aim, but, hey! Why not haha)

A: Something really attractive that your bias does?

the way hongjoong dresses, like his overall fashion style and individuality? his stage expression...my god don’t even get me started on that like it’s so intriguing!! yeosang’s whole existence is attractive as well as his sense of humour heh :”)

I: The most interesting voice or style in K-pop?

female - minyoung (brave girls), sumin (sonamoo), dami (dreamcatcher), hyolyn,  male - zelo (b.a.p), june (ikon, hongjoong (hehe), jeup (imfact), rockhyun (100%)

god i spend so long on this question T-T there’s just so many voices out there and i think they’re all unique jkdjdjkdjk

M: Your favorite Maknae?

jongho and yibo!!

send me a number

[the-lunatic-rabbit]

Happy birthday to Imfact's beloved maknae, Na Ungjae! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

I hope you'll always be healthy & smile brightly like this ✨ ✨ ✨ You gave me one of the best days of my life and if I could, I'd live it again and again 😭