#k-pop fandom criticism

[bookshop]

I got to talk to Anne Helen Peterson about found families in fanfiction!

Aja: What really jumped out at me about your post was the idea that we graduate into independence in adulthood that really often means isolation, because I think that’s probably true for a lot of fans who turn to these fandoms for simulacra of healthy interconnected friendship networks. We all know what the dream of that kind of community is supposed to look like. Yet it’s so hard to achieve that when, like, here in New York you can barely get three friends to settle on a time for grabbing coffee together, much less coordinate ways to more fully intermingle in each other’s lives. Logistically, too, as you point out, we’re spread apart and communes are hard to build. 

These fandoms, however, are often built around characters who by necessity have already been thrust into a networked collective. For example, Stargate: Atlantis is infamous in fandom for being a pretty mediocre TV show that spawned a hugely influential and respected transformative fandom. It’s probably not a coincidence that that show isolates its entire cast by trapping them in a giant glass-domed sky city in a galaxy far away for years, forcing them to deal with every cataclysmic element imaginable, pretty much living in a permanent state of emergency. Of course the fandom was interested in the bonds of those teammates; the whole concept is like a found family petri dish. 

Similar concept: Many K-pop bands live together in dormitories for years at a time, under strict rules and contract limitations, which naturally causes them to bond over a highly specialized and isolated experience. This sounds like a nightmare, but there are also cameras frequently turned on these living arrangements and they become romanticized. I think fans see these dorm room setups as real-life versions of what a lot of us want found family to be: no parents around, just a constant party with 7 or 13 of your beautiful best friends. That’s quite a shallow fantasy, but fanworks also complicate this idea by allowing these relationships to fracture and be messy and complex while still ultimately staying forged together. 

And that is the real fantasy, isn’t it? That you can subject yourself to the mortifying ordeal of being known, not just by one soulmate but by a whole group of kindred spirits, and you’ll still get to keep them all when the damage is done.  

You can read the whole Q&A here!

[bunny-jpeg]

https://www.tumblr.com/bunnys-kisses/768349619894861824/im-holding-your-hand-when-im-saying-this-as-a?source=share

people started asking crane (Max’s friend) on stream if Lestappen (Charles and max) is real. I think he was like “I shouldn’t be furthering/entertaining this” (I forgot what he said word for word). People took it as something to be excited about, that the drivers are aware of the ships and all, but idk. I think fandoms are getting too bold for my liking. I have no problem with shipping, but this parasocial behaviour is out of hand. I saw this when 1D was still a group (with Harry x Louis shippers harassing Louis to the point where he got so upset when the ship was referenced in the popular show Euphoria), I’ve seen it with Kpop in which idols have stopped hanging out publicly because fandoms get out of hand (a girl in the group Aespa had a boyfriend earlier this year and fans got very upset because they shipped her and another member and they broke up. A few years ago, 2 members of two different kpop groups (SNSD and EXO) dated and the girl got harassed at the airport even). And now this.

Fandoms get so parasocial so quickly, it’s insane. It’s not new behaviour, but it’s strange.

exactly, this isn't new behavior. but i feel like it's become more emboldened with how much more "online" both fans and companies/groups are.

more under the cut, because this is a long one....

i also think it ties into this notion that i've been seeing online about how fans have this feeling to be "right" both with rpf and fiction as well. that their theories, opinions and whatever else is "correct". i've seen this with like pieces of media like steven universe and even star wars. like fandom isn't fun anymore, it has become this weird one up over each other. i honestly don't know when this changed, my guess is around the pandemic when it seemed like people were more logged into the internet. but, i could be wildly off with that. (if you have an idea, i'd love to know). it just feels stupid in so many ways how fandoms are structured. even if you're not the "best" artist or writer, people can't have FUN in fandom - of course that doesn't mean it has to be absolved criticism. you can have fun and still call out hate within spaces. the issue with formula one (along with k-pop like you mentioned, anon), is that these aren't characters. this isn't arguing in the tags over is finnpoe or reylo is more valid or legitimate within the narrative. these are REAL people, with REAL friends, families and partners.

it's this weird push to have someone's theory - and while i have a soft spot for lestappen, it is at the end of the day nothing more than fan theory - be confirmed. also personally, if hattie (oscar's sister) or crane (max's friend) "outed" them, i would be horribly fucking offended on oscar/max's behalf. to have someone you TRUST just out you like that. it's sick. maybe it's because i worked in queer spaces from high school all the way through uni, and the number one rule no matter WHAT, is you never out someone. even if the question is harmless and the person asking has no ill intention. you never out another person, because it's not YOUR coming out. so the fact that fans are near begging these people to OUT their loved ones, is not only a level of delusion that i can't ever comprehend. but, also it could honestly, ruin that interpersonal relationship.

so like even if a driver is queer, whoever it may be. could be a driver from the 90s, could be a driver today, it could be a driver in five years, i don't want someone else in their life outing them. because that's THEIR story. and fans need to realize that. bothering crane or hattie or alexandra (i've seen that too) - isn't helping anyone and it makes you look unhinged and weirdly alienates not only the driver but their loved ones. YES, they knew it exists, it is EVERYWHERE. but shoving it in their faces doesn't help. and you're never going to get the confirmation because there is a high chance that their not even queer to begin with. and if they are, NOT OUR CONCERN

i don't have a problem writing or consuming rpf, it is not a crime nor do i think it should be stopped. like HAVE FUN. but you have to realize that it's not like debating star wars or marvel or whatever other piece of fictional media. formula one is REAL, they are not actors. they are athletes, and unless you want all rpf to be shut down some how. i suggest the likes of some of ya'll need to understand that there are different boundaries. and respect them.

i know they're all millionaires, but they still breathe and bleed as a friend of mine once said. it's fun to put them in little scenarios in fanworks, but just keep it out of their direct attention. there are unspoken boundaries, that some of ya'll need have said to you apparently.

asking oscar issac if he THINKS that finnpoe is real is VERY different than asking someone's sister if she thinks her REAL LIFE BROTHER is fucking his REAL LIFE TEAMMATE. - people's relationships have turned to ash over insistent rpf in their faces all the time.

my advice at the end of the day is: have fun, don't write or draw it because you want confirmation that it's a real relationship. write or draw it because you're having fun. fandom is about making friends and shipping in whatever context is about finding a slice of community on the vast internet, not cracking the code of if it is a real relationship. - bunny.

[fasolabean]

I think people who are mad at him for mentioning twitter just dont get the vitriol that that site has for him. Warning for fatphobia, abelism and d*ath threats.

Im not talking here about the specific fandom. Kä fandom is small and pretty self contained and I'd say people complaining and criticizing stuff rarely ever go over the line. Usually cause well, that's his fans, they want him to be the best, they want him to improve. I'm talking about, well, people from the wider circle. Because I've seen hate tweets about him before I even got to listen to his music for the first time. I've said in a previous post that every time there's valid criticism or reporting to be done on him, theres like 50-100 hateful messages without any basis attatched. But like. He doesn't even have to do anything. It's like every two weeks I see a person call him ugly, talentless, going at his weight, his face, his voice, his outfits. I keep blocking the accounts, but new ones keep popping up. I've seen him being called "a beached whale", last year when his tooth got chopped off I've seen a post saying that it makes him look like a n*zi. I've seen people disrespecting Finland and Finnish as a whole and attaching his esc23 performance as if to make it a point. One time I've seen someone make a point of "hey maybe don't be too rude about his body itself, he almost died", the response was something along the lines "well he should've".

"Im glad loreen won" is a statement said every time he does something stupid, but it can also be attached to like. Him doing something suggestive on stage (and then cue tens of comments about how gross he is) or like, even just loudly laughing in an interview😭 And when he does do something stupid, there's nothing constructive said either. Back in may people were saying how they wished him to k/ll himself, and when you made a post with the keyword "käärijä" you would get responses of pictures of graves, saying either that it should be him or his fans. Like I need you to understand how fucking terrible that website is. This is not a "he can't take any criticism ever" issue when any valid criticism gets overshadowed by d/ath threats. Like it's hard to look at any vaguely negative message when on top of that you see pictures of tombstones that are edited to say your name.

No, Jere isn't perfect. No, Käärijä isn't perfect. Yes, I wish he did better, I wish he took constructive criticism. But like this is what you see when you search his name on there. I don't think he deserves that for the amount of shit he's actually done.

[waitmyturtles]

Have you read any of the Thai academic papers regarding MAME's work? sometimes I feel like fandom at large has a very strong western bias towards her that borders on xenophobia in review of anything attached to her unless it's more low stakes gmmtv style stuff like wedding plan was which suits western sensibilities more.

Hi, Non! This is interesting framing you've put forth here. I want to note that I'm close with some folks, particularly @bengiyo and @lurkingshan, whose critical tastes I trust, and I can assure myself that they would not call Wedding Plan low stakes. During my Old GMMTV Challenge project, I promised myself that I would not watch another MAME show after Love By Chance and TharnType, and I've taken Ben's and Shan's urging to chuck that aside to add Wedding Plan to my OGMMTVC syllabus, which I'll get to after my summer travels. Let me take a second to sort this all out in a more sensible and chronological answer to touch upon what I know about MAME now that I'm much more read into Thai BLs and the history of the genre.

Regarding academia and MAME, I have not read Thai source material on her start and her legacy in Thai Y novel writing and Thai BL/Series Y television productions. What I am in the midst of reading at the moment is Dr. Thomas Baudinette's Boys Love Media in Thailand (Baudinette hailing from Australia), and he does get in depth with MAME's beginnings, which for me was the first primary source material that I have encountered about her background. To summarize quickly, MAME (along with individuals like INDRYTIMES/Kwang Latika, who wrote the original novel for Love Sick, and others) was part of the first crop of young middle-to-upper-class female college students who became enamored with Japanese BL/yaoi manga, as well as (in many cases) K-pop idols, and began writing fan fiction about and/or in the styles of these interests, which led to the development of the unique Thai Y novel genre.

It does seem to me, at least on Tumblr, that a good chunk of Western fandom here has written off MAME. I'm Asian-American, and I come to my hesitation about MAME from a particularly Asian perspective, so I really can't speak for the non-Asian fans about what they're rejecting. Let me at least explain what I'm rejecting, and how I've engaged in dialogue about it with critical friends here.

LBC did not have as much of what I will attempt to describe as I saw in TharnType, something that I might now call collectivist homophobia or collectivist bias. But LBC had a smattering of it, something that I smelled early on in that series. In both series, MAME seemed to approach her characters, to me, with a distanced hand of judgement that, to me, recalled the kinds of biases that my Asian parents tried to implant in me in my childhood, that I rejected throughout my young years. Queer material is so very often not good to its queer characters, and it seemed to me through LBC and TT that MAME intended to gild that lily to channel a populist homophobia that she seemed to know would resonate with a broader fanbase -- which it did, in part, because TharnType in particular was the first Thai BL with heat in every episode.

(Two things to note about my review of TharnType that I penned last year. First item to note is that Boys Love Media in Thailand had not been published yet, and I had not read primary source material about MAME. I was enraged at the time about fan theories that MAME had been a victim of sexual assault, and had therefore written her queer characters with the biased vitriol that I perceived coming from her because of that theorized past. I still think these theories are equivocating and problematic. Second item is that I heavily recommend reading the reblogs of my TT review, tags and posts and all, to see literally the spectrum of commentary of the MAME fandom/anti-fandom across Tumblr. Writing that post and reading those reblogs was a hell of a great experience.)

Just to summarize this, then -- I choose to not engage with MAME because I see under- and overhanded bias in the work that I've watched, with my Asian eyes; and I just might assume that many Westerners see the same thing. But I don't really know, because I haven't talked to that many Western fans about the depth of this.

So what does this mean for this moment in time? I understand MAME's Love Sea is airing, which I'm not watching, and I missed the boat on Love In the Air -- so I think I'm missing some critical and/or catty chatter about those two shows from the fandom because I don't have context.

But I do know there are folks out there that either write MAME off wholly, likely for similar reasons that I've listed above, and/or hate-watch her shows and post about it. To each their own.

I would not have considered Wedding Plan if Ben and Shan weren't screaming about it. I'm happy to have fewer shows on my plate, I got no time. However.

Nothing in this world exists in a static vacuum. If MAME is experimenting with tone, approach, style, and even taste regarding her shows, then more power to her. @bengiyo's post linked above about Wedding Plan is important for me to see, because I see that he's noting that parts of the fandom may have actually demonstrated real homophobic dialogue about MAME's fictional characters, which, to me, I'm like, what? Really? You got time for that? But also:

If MAME, back in 2019 with TharnType, picked up that her Thai and global fanbases were more inclined to check in with collectivist homophobia, as I'm calling it.... and now, in 2023-2024, has noted that her fanbases might be far more inclined to support real queer equality and overtones in shows, and is including those themes in her work -- can we not welcome that change in? That's why I'll give Wedding Plan a shot.

Let's be sassy and ironic for a second. Could she be making this change for da money and the fame? Sure. But -- capitalism unfortunately rules this world. Car commercials in the States have interracial queer couples parenting children nowadays. If equality talks to money, then content makers will take note. I think I'd be a hypocrite to say that MAME shouldn't make her dollar, all while she's experimenting with more equitable stances.

Last note. There's been quite the dialogue simmering these past few weeks about GMMTV's We Are, and whether or not GMMTV is stepping away from a past where many (not all, but many) of its shows explored queerness in depth. He's Coming To Me, Bad Buddy, Dark Blue Kiss (yes... the first three shows I listed were Aof Noppharnach shows, fuck), Theory of Love, 3 Will Be Free. The major GMMTV BL/GL shows that have aired recently that have made huge waves on social media -- Only Friends, 23.5, Last Twilight, and now My Love Mix-Up -- were/are helmed by branded (capitalism, hello!) pairs, and three out of four of them were flops, with MLMU already treading that territory in EPISODE TWO, for heaven's sake. (Y'all, read the reblogs on this post. Wow.) I finished a rewatch of The Eclipse weeks ago, and I'm dragging my feet on my review, because of what I think that show represents for what branded pairs end up doing to otherwise original content.

I want to posit a theory, that I'll work more on when my OGMMTVC is over, that we have living, real-time proof that the branded pair system is failing good content -- because these shows have to produce engagement snippets of these pairs, instead of more broadly penetrating artistic content. GMMTV's one-off shows with non-branded pairs, like Be My Favorite and Wandee Goodday, are FAR MORE INTERESTING content-wise, varied and inquisitive in their artistic takes on queerness. Even Cherry Magic, featuring the long-awaited return of TayNew, felt fresh, because we literally hadn't seen TayNew in FIVE YEARS. Tay actually KISSED ANOTHER DUDE, shocker!, in 3 Will Be Free. I want to go back to those days, where the pairs could act well outside of their range and their business partners, instead of being limited to the same tone and style that their pairings and their fandoms demand.

I say ALL OF THIS, because isn't it interesting that GMMTV seems to be reverting on a scale of inquisitiveness about queerness -- and MAME seems to be going in the opposite direction?

I would not have expected it. But I have found, lately, some of GMMTV's "takes" on "queerness," as in Only Friends, to be outright offensive. This corporation has become far more gunshy to let their branded pairs just be fictionally gay. If MAME wants to take on a healthier stance of equity, and to play around with more realistic depictions of what it means to be queer in Thailand, then go for it, girl. I will admittedly be watching Wedding Plan with my Asian side-eye and my smell tests for bias, but I look forward to being proven wrong about my suspicions. I want to be a responsible fan here, open to MAME's changes.

This ended up being a lot, but thank you for provoking these thoughts, Non.

[djarinsyndulla]

The Star Wars fandom has never gone this hard or been this invested in any Asian or Black character, ESPECIALLY a Black woman. The Star Wars fandom has never been going this hard for an interracial relationship involving no white people. So for me yeah, it is pretty telling that now is the time some people are deciding to declare everyone lacks media literacy because allegedly we can't tell or admit a man is a bad person because people are sooo blindsided by his looks.

It's the same exact way people adore Anakin/Vader, Maul, Kylo, Revan, Shin, etc. But now that a South East Asian man is playing the Sith y'all suddenly have to "suffer" seeing him a lot and people enjoying his character? When I called out the person who made the og post, they said "I didn't mention Qimir and wasn't only talking about him" like k bro....I know you think everyone but yourself is an idiot or something but just know I'm not and that I know there's no coincidence you literally TAGGED that post as "the acolyte". The claim it was only tagged as "The Acolyte" because it's the "most recent example" is total BS. You purposefully tagged The Acolyte, Acolyte Spoilers, Qimir, Osha Aniseya, ALL OF IT because you weren't talking about the fandom with ships and dark side characters as a whole, you were specifically talking about The Acolyte, Qimir and Osha.

And yeah, it definitely does feel racially coded. Everyone knows this show, the creator and the actors have been enduring a MASSIVE racist, misogynist, and homophobic hate campaign against this show for literally over a year before it even aired, and you have people making posts about how UNBEARABLE it is that they're going to have to see the fandom be obsessed with a sith played by a handsome Filipino and be excited over Oshamir, an interracial ship involving no white people but a Black woman and an Asian man, as if Star Wars fans have a good track record of treating characters of color well. It IS adding to the overall negativity of the show and convincing others not to watch it for your petty little reasons when this is without a doubt the best show Star Wars has released yet on Dinsey+ and by far the most diverse. Have any criticisms you want about The Acolyte, it's totally fair, but this "criticism" I'm referring to was just an attack on people enjoying the show, claiming stupid shit like a "lack of media literacy" over something everyone already knows like the fact Qimir isn't a good guy. Here's something that might shock y'all: we know, AND WE DON'T CARE.

Anyway I hope Oshamir, Qimir, and Osha continue to pop up on these peoples timelines and continue to make things unbearable for them. Because if enemies to lovers is all good when it involves someone like Shin and Sabine, but not when it involves Qimir and Osha, then you're a hypocrite and not to be dramatic your life deserves to be unbearable if that's really what does it.

[fandomtrumpshate]

Listed fandom fun

A bit of random data before we jump into the rankings for listed fandoms …

Since the numbers post yesterday we've had signups for nearly 60 new auctions, bringing the current total to 779. That beats the number of signups for 2016/7, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, and puts us withing spitting distance of our record last year of 819. Can we do it? Will we do it? Signal boost FTH posts and encourage others to participate. More money raised for good causes, more fanworks in the world — it's a win/win!

We posted yesterday about the state of our unlisted write-in fandoms (we've had nine new ones since then!). Time to check in with the rankings for the listed fandoms.

At the top of the pack we have:

87 K-Pop * 66 Good Omens 50 Sherlock Holmes * 44 Harry Potter * 37 Marvel * 32 DC * 31 Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed 27 Red, White, & Royal Blue 25 Star Wars * 23 Scum Villain's Self-Saving System

Our first tie is for 11th place -

22 Avatar The Last Airbender 22 Teen Wolf

And after that, nearly every other place is a tie. And which ones are ties for which places can be shifted slightly with just one signup. Or completely upended with two. Where will your fandom land?

Remember that if your fandom isn't here (or in the rest of the list below the cut), you can write it in. Signups are OPEN through Monday!

19 Supernatural 18 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lone Star 18 Locked Tomb Trilogy 18 Stranger Things 17 All for the Game 16 Our Flag Means Death 16 Tolkien * 16 The Witcher 15 Boku no Hiro Akademia (My Hero Academia) 15 Original Work 15 Percy Jackson and the Olympians 14 Baldur's Gate 3 14 Hockey RPF 12 The Old Guard 12 Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Official's Blessing) 11 The Magnus Archives 11 Star Trek * 10 Check Please! 10 Dungeons & Dragons 10 Haikyuu!!! 10 Hazbin Hotel 10 Jujutsu Kaisen 9 A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon 9 One PIece 8 Doctor Who * 8 Hades (video game) 8 Heartstopper 8 James Bond 8 Kingsman 8 Merlin 8 Naruto 8 Suits 7 Dragon Age * 7 Justified 7 Raven Cycle 7 Rusty Quill Gaming Podcast 7 The Sandman 7 Shadowhunters 7 SK8 the Infinity 6 Captive Prince 6 Critical Role 6 Final Fantasy * 6 Fullmetal Alchemist 6 Hannibal 6 Kinnporsche 6 The Maze Runner 6 Queen's Thief 6 Stargate 6 Steven Universe 6 Top Gun Movies 6 Yuri!!! On Ice 5 Alex Rider 5 Grishaverse 5 Interview With The Vampire 5 Malevolent (Podcast) 5 The Murderbot Diaries 5 Nirvana in Fire 5 The Owl House 5 RWBY 4 Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (The Husky & His White Cat Shizun) 4 Genshin Impact 4 Les Misérables 4 The Magicians 4 Pokemon 4 Witch Hat Atelier 3 Arcane 3 Disney's Descendants 3 Elder Scrolls 3 Hetalia 3 Hunger Games 3 Legend of Zelda 3 Spy x Family 3 Tian Ya Ke / Word of Honor 3 Trigun 3 Welcome to Night Vale 3 Wheel of Time 3 Young Royals 2 Benoit Blanc Mysteries (Knives Out, Glass Onion) 2 Disco Elysium 2 Encanto 2 Gundam Wing 2 The Last of Us 2 Leverage 2 Miraculous Ladybug 2 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 2 Mysterious Lotus Casebook 2 Schitt's Creek 2 Super Mario Bros. 1 Assassin's Creed 1 Attack on Titan 1 Diamond no Ace 1 Fire Emblem Three Houses 1 Homestuck 1 Stellar Firma 1 Wednesday / The Addams Family

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for making a typo?

💬🍃

(to help find later)

This has been really frustrating me, but I don't know if my emotions are clouding my judgement and if I really was the one in the wrong. For context everyone mentioned is an adult.

The other day I (19) was talking with a friend in server about a character from a book series we both really enjoy. Two other people who never read the book were popping into the convo occasionally so me and my friend were trying to explain some context. One of those two people are who the situation revolves around, let's call them Leaf (20), fake name.

I have ADHD and I tend to get really excited when ranting abt my hyperfix, I tend to have a lot to say and a need to get it out as fast as possible, so I tend to make a LOT of typos. I make a lot of typos even when texting normally, it's a very well known fact about me. Because I make so many I don't tend to correct or change them in normal casual conversation because it's simply too much work and takes up too much time when people understand what I'm trying to say anyways.

When trying to explain a character's backstory I accidentally misspelled like and used a k instead of an l, since the letters are very close together on my keyboard. I had NO idea that it was an actual word at all, let alone that it was a slur. There was no malicious intention behind it at all. Leaf let me know that it was a slur, and I immediately apologized and explained I didn't know and I tend to make a lot of typos. Leaf was weirdly condescending about it though, we are NOT very close but they passive aggressively called me their "beloved darling" and to "use my eyes ❤️". They responded to my message with the apology in it by saying "well now you know" basically, and I thought that was it. The conversation moved on.

We sent a lot of messages in between that and when Leaf brought it up again. The original message was typo was completely buried. Admittedly I did not edit the original message right away to correct it, since I don't edit messages on discord often and I was distracted so it slipped my mind. But I did go back immediately when Leaf brought it up again. They said that they felt that being excited about a book isn't an excuse to say a slur and they shouldn't feel scared to speak up about it. We were all very confused by this, because we thought it was resolved and my friend even thought that they had said something wrong this time. I apologized AGAIN and had to do so profusely, with Lead responding to my messages with "ok" multiple times. They finally said that its okay now bc before I hadn't apologized or changed anything. Which is VERY CONFUSING TO ME because I DID APOLOGIZE, AND THEY RESPONDED TO THE MESSAGE WHERE I DID.

I will also admit that I did not like Leaf prior to this incident. They have a tendency to get condescending and harp on others for accidents or mistakes, but when they perceive the slightest bit of criticism they have a break down, regardless of if the actual message meant to be negative. They also do not communicate clearly and it's usually a guessing game in regard to what they're actually trying to say or what the problem is. I know they have some other mental health issues so even though I disliked them I never let it show in my behavior. I tried my hardest to be as polite and kind as possible, because I didn't want Leaf to feel unwelcome in the server. Sometimes people don't vibe and that's alright, their needs just clashed with my own (I have a need to over explain and completely understand a situation, so Leaf being vague and passive aggressive is especially frustrating for me) and I didn't want to isolate them from their friends just because I didn't vibe.

Additionally, in a previous conversation where I was talking about a fandom appropriating my culture and why that made it hard for me to enjoy the source material, Leaf said some questionable things. They were also a fan of what I was talking about, and they didn't seem to understand what I was talking about or why it was upsetting for me. This obliviousness made me extra baffled when it came to the typo incident.

I guess I've just been frustrated at the immaturity of how the situation was handled. I make such an effort to be polite and mature when it comes to them, and some of my other friends have said I've been much more patient with Leaf than they would have been, but maybe my judgment is clouded and I should have done something different. The server that we're in is very small (~20 ppl but usually only 5 or so are regularly active) and I don't want to stir up any kind of drama or trouble when I can just handle my own emotions personally. However what happened baffled me so much I feel like I need an outside opinion.

[heartofbusan]

"This story reveals a new playbook for waging a far-reaching and largely undetectable smear campaign in the digital age." Megan Twohey, NYT investagative reporting.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/21/business/media/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-it-ends-with-us.html?unlocked_article_code=1.jE4.sYdZ.Ah3sVs-lnJ9z&smid=url-share

Being uninterested in current US celebrity gossip means that this story kind of whizzed past me this summer. I didn't sit up to take notice. Neither of these people is Jimin, so I tuned it out. Yesterday's court filing, however, finally caught my attention. That's revealed is fascinating if not outrightly horrifying.

The media has fully invested in our attention. It's become their biggest commodity and tool. Propaganda at its finest. We've seen cases like this before where two parties start up a smear campaign to tarnish someone's good reputation to sway public opinion. Oftentimes, these cases are a battle between a man and a woman. Think of Brad Pitt vs. Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard or, more recently, Trumpelstiltskin vs. Ms. Harris. Can we even go as far as to include MHJ and Hybe/Bang in this category? Or, the people vs. anyone they want to tarnish?

Public opinion is such a fickle thing. It's entirely malleable in the hands of the 'right' people. Anyone willing and unscrupulous enough to go the extra mile.

Park Jimin was just as recently as last week been the target of online hate campaigns. Helloo Min Yoongi? Kim Namjoon?!?! Basically, every Tannie has been wrung through the wringer like this to serve a voracious narrative. In their case, it was other fandoms fanning the flames of hate for the media to serve, but it's all meant to destroy a person's reputation.

I bring this article up because it's a good reminder of how much influence PR firms have when they want to change a narrative in order to suit their highest bidder. It makes me wonder how much of the bad press we hear (chatter online) is fully fabricated, maybe partly based on the public's incentive to dislike a certain person, and how important it is to read between the lines. To stay critical in your online interactions and in your dissemina of reports. Keep thinking for yourself. Your opinion can't become cement, in either direction.

Isn't it funny how PR playbooks have been exposed this year? Remember MHJ and her text exchanges about how best to go on the attack? Her confidence when talking to her co-conspirator as opposed to her demeanor during her presser? We are the ones being catered to! Our dumb minds are unwilling or unable to parse through to the truth. It's not surprising seeing as it's often very hard to figure out who's lying about whom.

I know some people love certainty, look at the nonsense questions most jikook bloggers get asked about, but it's better to stay flexible in how secure you feel about anything so as not to be surprised or dissapointed in the long run. Trust your gut when it comes to forming an opinion on someone or something and ask yourself, 'Why?' Why am I being asked to hate or voice my dislike on a celebrity whom I know nothing about? Why am I being driven towards a conclusion that serves but ONE narrative?

Come on, people, this happens to 'us' in this K-pop/ARMY fandom community as well..if not worse.

[th3pwettiesgf]

List of news channels and their emails:

1. TVN widzowie@tvn.pl and kontakt24@tvn.pl (newsroom contact).

2. Polsat News www.polsatnews.pl/kontakt/ allows you to write a message redakcja@polsatnews.pl (email)

3. TVP INFO redakcja@tvp.info

4. Radio Zet radiozet@radiozet.pl

5. RMF FM redakcja@rmf.fm

Subject: Request for Media Coverage on Cyberbullying Incident in the K-Pop Industry

Dear [News Channel Name],

I am writing to request your support in covering a critical issue currently unfolding in the K-pop industry that highlights the growing problem of cyberbullying and its severe impact on artists. Recently, Seunghan, a member of the popular K-pop group RIIZE, was forced to leave his group after facing intense harassment from anti-fans.

Seunghan had initially been placed on a 10-month hiatus following the leak of his private photos, just two months after his debut. When SM Entertainment, his management company, announced his return on October 11, 2024, anti-fans responded with online death threats and even sent funeral wreaths to the company headquarters, demanding his removal. Instead of defending their artist and protecting his privacy, SM Entertainment succumbed to the pressure, leading to Seunghan’s departure from the group.

This decision raises serious concerns about the company's professionalism as it encourages cyberbullying and toxic fan behavior without any consequences. In response, Seunghan’s fans launched a petition on Change.org calling for his reinstatement, which gained 63,705 signatures in just 8 hours. Fans from other fandoms have also expressed their solidarity on social media in hopes that no artist will have to face such mistreatment from both anti-fans and their management in the future.

We kindly request your support in broadcasting this important issue on your news channel to raise awareness and help combat the growing culture of online harassment and bullying. By highlighting this situation, we hope to contribute to a larger conversation about the responsibilities of entertainment companies in protecting their artists.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We believe your platform can play a significant role in addressing this critical issue, and we would be grateful for your support in raising awareness.

[seeyal8r]

L8rboy (often stylized as L8RBOY!) made their debut on March 21st, 2017 under Hidden Entertainment with members Hana, Heather, Poupette, Mae, and Lo. Their debut single, See ya!, didn't receive the warm welcome they had hoped for. The debut was met with a wave of criticism from netizens for various reasons, including the fact that one of the members, Hana, was the daughter of the company's CEO. Hana was also criticized for her perceived lack of professionalism and inadequate preparation, particularly her subpar rap skills. Additionally, the group faced backlash because their leader, Mae, was not of Asian descent.

Although the girls started the promotion of their single with high spirits, their enthusiasm waned over time, leading to the cancellation of some of their final scheduled interviews. After several months of absence from social media, the group came back with their first mini-album, SHOUT OUT, featuring the single ICY. The same day of its release, #TheyKeepTalkinIKeepWalkin became trending topic on Twitter. This particular line resonated with the girls and fans alike, as it directly addressed the unjust hate the group had received during their debut. The hashtag quickly gained traction, symbolizing the group's resilience and determination to succeed despite the criticism they had faced.

With the initial controversy having died down, SHOUT OUT was warmly received by the few fans they had garnered during their debut as well as attracted new ones, allowing them to stabling a modest but dedicated mostly local fanbase.

After two years and three comebacks, L8RBOY silently disbanded following the release of their mini album STRAWBERRIES & CREAM, with CAKE being the last title track released under Hidden Entertainment. The disbandment was never officially announced, but it became evident as the members remained inactive for nearly a year. This period of silence ended with the announcement that INFERNO MUSIK had acquired L8RBOY's contract.

INFERNO MUSIK rebranded the group, shifting their image from a cute concept to a more mature, girl crush aesthetic. The lineup also saw changes, with members Lo and Hana staying behind at Hidden Entertainment and being replaced by two trainees from INFERNO: Achara and Silv, the latter of whom gained fame from her participation in the survival show The Bird Box, hosted by INFERNO.

L8RBOY re-debuted on 2020 with the mini album Killing Your Darlings, and its title track LOVES!CK GIRLS broke into the music charts, marking a turning point for the group. For the first time, L8RBOY was experiencing the success they had longed for, and their future seemed brighter than ever. Over the next two years, they solidified their place in the industry, enjoying a level of popularity they had previously only dreamed of.

However, in 2023, they came back with their first full album with only four members. Mae was noticeably absent from the promotions, and no official explanation was provided. Mae has not promoted with the group since then, leaving fans uncertain about her future with L8RBOY.

Despite a rocky start in the industry, L8RBOY has emerged as one of the most iconic and influential girl groups of their generation. Their journey from a troubled debut to chart-topping success is a testament to their resilience and talent, securing their place in the records of K-pop history.

THE BASICS

COMPANY: former Hidden Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

OFFICIAL COLOR: strawberry red

FANDOM: lovebirds

GREETING: you should’ve seen it coming! Hello, we’re L8RBOY!

PAST MEMBERS: Hana & Lo

ACTIVE MEMBERS: Heather, Achara, Poupette & Silv

INACTIVE MEMBERS: Mae

GET TO KNOW THE MEMBERS! ★

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ BORN TO BE A BRODWAY STAR, FORCED TO BE MISTREATED IN THE KPOP INDUSTRY ﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Heather

BIRTH NAME: Heather Lee

KOREAN NAME: Lee Hayun

BIRTHDAY: September 5th, 2000

BIRTHPLACE: Chicago, USA

HOMETOWN: Chicago, Illinois

ETHNICITY: Dutch-Korean

NATIONALITY: American

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol

COMPANY: former Hidden Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: L8RBOY!

POSITION: lead vocalist, lead dancer, face of the group, maknae

YEARS ACTIVE: 2017-2019, 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 4 years

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Jeon Somi

VOICECLAIM: DeVita & Eva Noblezada

THE BACKSTORY

Heather Lee was born in Chicago to a loving family as their only child. Her parents had struggled for years with infertility, finally giving up hope of ever having a child. Then, by a stroke of luck, her mother became pregnant with Heather, and they felt it was nothing short of a miracle. From that moment, Heather became the light of their lives, and they devoted themselves to providing her with the best life they could.

From an early age, Heather showed a keen interest in theater, especially musicals. She eagerly joined every theater group that got on her way, taking on roles such as Karen Smith in Mean Girls and Fiona in Shrek. During her teenage years, she tirelessly auditioned for various Broadway musicals, yet each time, she faced rejection. Despite her mounting desperation and growing sense of defeat, she never gave up on her dream.

The one day a member of Hidden Entertainment’s staff saw her perform as Cinderella in her high school’s production of Into the Woods. Impressed by her talent, he offered her a trainee position at the company. Heather seized the opportunity without hesitation, believing that if Broadway wasn’t her destiny, perhaps the K-pop industry was where she truly belonged.

After a relatively short training period, Heather debuted as the lead vocalist of L8RBOY. Her genuine personality and astonishing vocals quickly made her the second most popular member of the group. Following the silent disbandment of L8RBOY and the subsequent acquisition of the group’s contract by INFERNO MUSIK, Heather was the first to sign on among the three members who survived the lineup changes.

In the group's re-debut under INFERNO, Heather kept her position and saw her career flourish. She eventually became the face of L8RBOY. Her solo success also led to her debut as a solo artist and landed her a summer contract to play Eurydice in the Broadway musical Hadestown.

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ THE SWEETEST GIRL IN TOWN! SHE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG IN HER WHOLE LIFE﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Achara

BIRTH NAME: Achara ‘Tara’ Rhitthirong

BIRTHDAY: October 21st, 1998

BIRTHPLACE: Ayutthaya, Thailand

HOMETOWN: Bangkok, Thailand

ETHNICITY: Thai

NATIONALITY: Thai

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol, coreographer

COMPANY: former YG Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: Blackpink L8RBOY!

POSITION: main dancer, main rapper, center

YEARS ACTIVE: 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 6 years (3 years at YG, 3 at INFERNO)

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Nicha Yontararak ‘Minnie’

VOICECLAIM: LE

THE BACKSTORY

Achara ‘Tara’ Rhitthirong was born in Ayutthaya, where she spent her early years. As the youngest of six children, she didn’t receive much attention from her parents during her childhood. Initially puzzled by their lack of time for her, young Tara eventually came to terms with being invisible, even finding a certain comfort in it. Her siblings didn’t receive much attention either, so Tara found solace in her own pursuits. She spent the time that most kids would spend with their families in dance classes, a passion she discovered after attending one of her older sister’s ballet recitals.

Although she danced purely for enjoyment without any professional aspirations, her instructors saw her potential and encouraged her to compete at a national level. She performed exceptionally well, securing several national titles. It was at one of these competitions that she caught the eye of YG Entertainment, who offered her a trainee position and a fully covered move to South Korea. One benefit of having inattentive parents is that they don’t seem to mind you moving alone to a completely different country at the age of 13.

Tara trained at YG for three years and was even considered for debut in BLACKPINK. However, she was ultimately replaced in the lineup by Lisa. Disheartened but determined, Tara stayed with YG for a few more months before her contract was acquired by INFERNO MUSIK.

After an additional three years of rigorous training, she debuted as Achara in L8RBOY. She quickly earned a reputation as one of the best dancers in the industry, praised for her professionalism and passion. Tara is also well known for her easygoing, bubbly personality.

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ SHE WORKED HER ASS OFF TO BE HERE. WAS IT WORTH IT? ﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Mae

BIRTH NAME: Daisy-Mae Pérez

BIRTHDAY: June 11th, 2000

BIRTHPLACE: New Jersey, New York, USA

HOMETOWN: New Jersey, New York, USA

ETHNICITY: Hispanic

NATIONALITY: American

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol

COMPANY: former Hiddent Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: L8RBOY!

POSITION: lead rapper, lead dancer, vocalist

YEARS ACTIVE: 2017-2019, 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 5 years

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Bebe Wood

VOICECLAIM: Jennie Kim

THE BACKSTORY

Daisy-Mae Pérez was born into a modest family in New Jersey. From a young age, she showed a profound interest in the performing arts. She spent her days dancing around the house, singing in the church choir, or rehearsing for her school plays. Her parents, despite their limited financial resources, were captivated by their daughter’s passion and talent. They did everything they could to support her dream, even postponing their divorce to ensure their limited funds went toward Daisy-Mae rather than legal fees.

They enrolled Daisy-Mae in dance classes, the most they could afford. It was there that she was introduced to K-pop by a friend. From that moment, debuting in the Korean industry became her ultimate goal, and she dedicated herself entirely to achieving it. She spent every moment outside of school practicing and honing her skills.

A few years later, Daisy-Mae passed the international auditions for Hidden Entertainment. After an emotional farewell with her parents, she boarded a plane to Seoul and began her training. Her hardworking and determined nature quickly set her apart, making her the top trainee of her cohort and earning her a debut spot with L8RBOY.

Being chosen as the group’s leader was the culmination of all her efforts, and for some time, Daisy-Mae was incredibly happy. She felt fulfilled and extremely fortunate for the opportunities life had given her. However, things took a turn for the worse when INFERNO acquired L8RBOY's contract. Despite surviving the lineup changes, Daisy-Mae lost her position as leader. She was heartbroken and couldn’t understand the reason why, but she continued to persevere, driven by her dedication and the support of her fans.

However, something must have happened behind the scenes, as one day, Daisy-Mae was placed on an indefinite hiatus, and nothing more was heard from her.

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ EVERYONE KNOWS HER, BUT DOES EVERYONE LOVE HER? ﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Poupette

BIRTH NAME: Zhao Jiayi

FRENCH NAME: Juliette Zhao

BIRTHDAY: July 30th, 1999

BIRTHPLACE: Shenzhen, China

HOMETOWN: Marseille, France

ETHNICITY: Chinese

NATIONALITY: French

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol

COMPANY: former Hidden Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: L8RBOY!

POSITION: leader, main vocalist, visual

YEARS ACTIVE: 2017-2019, 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 5 years

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Song Yuqi

VOICECLAIM: Jung Wheein

THE BACKSTORY

Juliette Zhao, born Zhao Jiayi, was born in Shenzhen, China. However, she only spent her first year there before her family relocated to Marseille, France, due to her mother's business. Her mother, the owner of a prestigious luxury hotel chain, decided to move to Marseille to personally manage one of her hotels that was underperforming.

Juliette began singing in her school choir, where her exceptional vocal talent quickly stood out. Her teacher urged her mother to enroll her in private lessons, believing Juliette had the potential to build a career in music. Initially, her mother viewed the arts as a frivolous pursuit and not a stable career path. However, after persistent pleading from Jiayi, her mother finally agreed and payed for her lessons.

Continuing with the choir, Juliette also participated in various talent shows throughout her childhood. At the age of 12, she participated in the national contest to select France's representative for Junior Eurovision. Juliette not only won the national contest but also secured victory in the final competition. Following her victory, her mother received numerous offers from both Chinese and Korean music companies.

After considering their options, Jiayi and her mother chose to sign with Hidden Entertainment, whose CEO was an old classmate of her mother. Upon completing her training period, Jiayi debuted in L8RBOY as Poupette, taking on the role of the main vocalist. Despite the initial controversies surrounding the group's debut, Poupette was praised by netizens for her outstanding vocals and doll-like visage. She became the first member to cultivate a substantial solo fanbase.

With L8RBOY’s re-debut under INFERNO, Poupette not only retained her position as main vocalist but also took on the role of leader, a title previously held by Mae.

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ YOUR TRUSTY COMEDIC RELIEF SIDE CHARACTER, SAD ISN’T IT? ﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Silv

BIRTH NAME: Silvia Kang

KOREAN NAME: Kang Siah

BIRTHDAY: February 24th, 1998

BIRTHPLACE: Daegu, South Korea

HOMETOWN: Sevilla, Spain

ETHNICITY: Korean

NATIONALITY: Korean-Spanish

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol, songwriter

COMPANY: INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: BIRDS OF PREY L8RBOY!

POSITION: vocalist, ocassional rapper

SURVIVAL SHOWS: The Bird Box (ranked 5th)

YEARS ACTIVE: 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 6 years

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Jung Jinsol

VOICECLAIM: Na Goeun

THE BACKSTORY

Silvia Kang, born Kang Siah, came into the world on a winter's day in Seville, Spain. Despite her Korean heritage and annual family trips to Daegu, her parents' hometown, Silvia always felt more Spanish than Korean. Growing up in a city as culturally rich as Sevilla, it was hard not to be influenced by its beauty, vibrant people, and unique customs.

Silvia's first encounter with the world of music began when her mother enrolled her in the conservatory to learn to play Spanish guitar. Initially, she saw it as a chore that took away time from playing with her school friends. However, Silvia soon fell in love with music. She began singing at the conservatory, and although she wasn’t the most outstanding vocalist, she enjoyed it immensely. She began performing mini-concerts at home for her parents and family friends.

By the age of 12, Silvia had written five songs, which she recorded with her guitar and uploaded to YouTube. It was through these videos that she was discovered by INFERNO MUSIK, who offered her a spot on their renowned international survival show, The Bird Box. Although Silvia was initially hesitant to accept the offer, knowing little about K-pop or its industry, her mother was thrilled that such a prestigious company like INFERNO had shown interest in her daughter. She convinced Silvia to participate, promising it would be a truly unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Silvia's time on The Bird Box was nothing short of remarkable. She managed to avoid elimination in every challenge until the final, where she was ultimately cut from debuting and finished in fifth place. Despite the glamour, not everything was as fantastic as it seemed. Silvia’s mother was right in saying it would be unforgettable, as whatever happened behind the scenes has led Silvia to never speak about her participation in The Bird Box.

After the show concluded, INFERNO offered Silvia a trainee contract with the promise of debuting within a few years. Following much internal debate, she decided to accept and give the K-pop industry a second chance. INFERNO kept its promise, and Silvia debuted as Silv with L8RBOY. Silv writes most of the group’s songs. Her talent extends beyond her group, as she frequently appears in the credits for songs by other top groups in the industry.

formatting insp. by the lovely myah! @venusvity

[transformativeworksandcultures]

Fans of Color Prize Winner!

Transformative Works and Cultures is pleased to announce Osarugue Otebele as our inaugural Fans of Color Prize award winner for her article “The (anti)fan is black: Consumption, resistance, and black K-pop fan vigil labor”! Otebele’s article will be published in TWC’s upcoming special issue “Centering Blackness in Fan Studies” on December 15th. 

The Fans of Color Prize had 15 submissions, covering the breadth of TWC’s publications from 2021-2024, while providing an incredible glimpse into the impactful work happening in (and outside of) fan studies. Otebele’s submission stood out because, as one reviewer noted, it was “conceptually ambitious.” 

Otebele, a 4th year PhD candidate in the Department of Film & Media at UC Berkeley who goes by Osa among friends and colleagues, is a K-pop fan! She’s been an Epik-High fan since middle school and is also a fan of UKISS, SISTAR, EXO, BOYFRIEND, and others. As a fan, Otebele’s hope is that the K-pop industry will continue to thrive. 

We sat down with Otebele to discuss what brought her to her research, what she’s working on next, and where she sees the field heading. As a little sneak peek to the upcoming issue on “Centering Blackness in Fan Studies,” we’ve shared some of her remarks below. 

TWC: What brought you to this specific research topic? Otebele: I’ve been a K-pop fan since I was in middle school. When I was a younger fan, I wasn’t as aware of the racial tensions in fandom spaces. It wasn’t until I got to high school that I realized that my lack of involvement was also due to not knowing where to locate other Black K-pop fans. This was partly because it was also in high school when words such as “woke” or “conscious” became part of my vocabulary, so I was always looking for ways to bring attention to my Blackness and, as a  K-pop fan, it was difficult to do that. Both the industry and many non-Black fans wanted to escape from having conversations about race.  TWC: Could you briefly explain the key problem or question your article, “The (anti)fan is black: Consumption, resistance, and black K-pop fan vigil labor,” addresses?  Otebele: My article is interested in the ways Black K-pop fans engage instances of appropriation within the industry (from artists and fans), while also attempting to maintain their status as fans. Some of the key questions of my article were, “what makes an anti-fan?” and “how do Black K-pop fans employ digital media platforms to perform their fannish affect?”  TWC: Were there any unexpected challenges you encountered during your research? Otebele: I would say the biggest challenge was working against my own knowledge and love for the industry to write an article that was quite critical of it. In a way, this challenge is also what my article describes, because I’m really invested in how, for Black fans, the identities fan and anti-fan often require their simultaneous performance.  TWC: Are you planning any follow-up research or new projects based on this article?  Otebele: Yes! I’m currently working on another article focused on narrative coherence in the aesthetic performances in K-pop eras. In that paper, I examine how K-pop engenders a critical addition to the instability of cultural identity while on the other hand, it necessitates and reproduces the fungibility of Blackness, where groups can enter in and out of a performance of Blackness that best fits a particular era. My concerns are with how the narrative coherence of each era (hip-hop era, afro-beat era, Y2K, or house music era) requires a commitment to the performance demanded from these various musical genres.  TWC: Where do you see the field heading in the next few years, and how do you hope your work contributes to that?  Otebele: I think much of K-pop studies is focused on transnational fandoms and cross-cultural exchange, but we should also be having the difficult conversations about cultural extraction, about race, about gender and their relationship to fan labor. The industry is growing even more global with many K-pop idols emerging from the United States, Canada, Japan, and more. We really have to turn our attention to the kind of social ideologies that these idols are bringing from their various cultures and locations and how that changes not only the sound and look of the industry but also its fandom. 

Otebele also emphasized to us that receiving this award as a grad student really gave her work a sense of validity and importance, while also encouraging her to continue working on Black fan experience of K-pop. When asked if she had any advice for early career researchers aiming for impactful publications, Otebele shared: “Revise, revise, revise!” 

We can’t wait for you all to get to read Osa Otebele’s award-winning article, “The (anti)fan is black: Consumption, resistance, and black K-pop fan vigil labor,” which will be published in our upcoming special issue “Centering Blackness in Fan Studies” on December 15. Congratulations again, Osa, from everyone at Transformative Works and Cultures! 

[bingeulz]

❝ there’s no TRACE     is she dead, DEAD?    nothing is KNOWN    can we talk, TALK?     not ANYMORE. ❞

◜ . . . 빙글빙글 ( bingeul bingeul ) internationally known as ROUND N' ROUND, is a six-member girl group under mns entertainment. they debuted on october 31, 2019 with the mini album vol. 1: find the missing and the title-track ring x ring, taking the k-pop world by storm.

1. INFO !

korean name: 빙글빙글 (bingeul bingeul) international name: round n’ round fandom name: circle official colors: #a3003f & #33003b & #000000 debut date: october 31, 2019 debut song: ring x ring members: 6 (miyoung, chloe, eunseo, yeji, sarang, mina)

2. IMAGE !

c o n c e p t

round n’ round is known for their unique “horror witch graphic novel” concept, which is often described as a masterful mix of quirky songs and creepy storylines or vice versa. their lyrics and music videos include themes of mystery, hysteria, magic, power, sin, guilt, trauma, grief, the desire to escape from your past and the consequences that come with trying to do so.

f a m e

round n’ round follows mns’ tradition of girl groups that not only are popular with the general public but also managed to gather a huge yet fiery, loyal fanbase across the country and the globe. their fanbase around the time of their debut was around 85% female, a number that increased to an astounding 92% the following years.

p u b l i c p e r c e p t i o n

although they’re constantly being criticized and picked apart by conservative men in korea, the majority of k-pop fans adores round n’ round. loved domestically and internationally for their passion for their craft and their tight-knit bond since their pre-debut days, round n’ round has established themselves as one of the most beloved 4th gen groups. 

3. MEMBERS !

KANG MIYOUNG . . . portrayed by wjsn's yeonjung CHLOE SHIN . . . portrayed by billlie's haram KIM EUNSEO . . . portrayed by aespa's winter GO YEJI . . . portrayed by stayc's isa CHOI SARANG . . . portrayed by ichillin's joonie SHIN MINA . . . portrayed by triples' sohyun

❝ there’s no TRACE     is she dead, DEAD?    nothing is KNOWN    can we talk, TALK?     not ANYMORE. ❞

[bubbipond]

Ranting this late in the day should be a crime but I am exhausted by the people in the BL/GL community.

Have any of you seen those videos on YouTube that are like basically talking about the persons least favorite pairings? I just watched one where they said force and book look too similar to play love interest. I’m sorry but the way that is insanely racist and just not true??? Then I saw in the comment section of a different one people saying that Phuwin should stop acting in bl’s because he obviously dislikes kissing men. Then the rest of the videos are just really bullying these actors. Listen, I’m all for criticism, but these videos aren’t constructive. Normally they are just mean and vile.

There are pairings that I don’t love so I don’t watch them. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Kinnporsche but I promise you I do not go around saying mean things about Mile or Apo. But let me address the ones that I just find extremely rude.

Number one Force and Book look nothing alike. I have never had an issue telling them apart because they have such vastly different features. I think a lot of criticism for them stems from their original series being super annoying and Books character irritating a lot of people. That wasn’t a Force and Book problem that was a writing problem. There is a long history of racism in Asian communities. Where a very popular joke is you can’t tell them apart. I’ve heard it in real life, in the K-pop scene, in anime and dramas, and now in BL, I guess. Now don’t get me wrong, there are actors who I feel would play brothers amazingly because of similarities. But Force and Book are not one of them., at least not in the case of being “almost twins” like this person was saying.

Moving onto the Phuwin comment, I think this one is so stupid because he does not have to take BL jobs. Actors stop doing these all the time. Pairings dissolve and new ones come around all the time. Also pairings dissolve and the actors stop doing BL’s as a whole. We have seen it countless times. so if he really didn’t want to have to have intimate scenes with a man, he definitely does not have to. Now let me say, I do understand the critique about the way he kisses but I don’t agree with it being just blatantly because he is kissing a guy. If you watched him in the non-BL series he has been in, where he has had a partner who is a woman, you would know that’s just how Phuwin kisses. If you were really trying to give good criticism, that has to be paired with you paying attention. If you watch how he talks and how his mouth moves, whether he’s in a show or talking in real life, his mouth movements when he kisses makes sense. Also keep in mind, and this is not a slight at him, but he has very skinny lips. So when he’s kissing Pond whose lips aren’t big, but they’re bigger than his obviously it’s not going to look like he’s doing as much. But to try and low-key say that he has some repressed homophobia because you don’t enjoy his acting is weird. Also keep in mind, and I’ve joked about this before, this pairing almost always end up playing characters where Ponds character is seemingly more into the relationship than Phuwins characters. Not that his characters don’t care, but it’s almost always pond being the character that has an egregious amount of affection for Phuwins character.

I honestly don’t normally watch videos like these, but I clicked on it just because they were discussing a lot of popular pairings. and in my head, I was just like oh you’re doing this for views. There is no way this is for any other reason when every pairing you have chosen to talk about are highly popular pairings. You mean to tell me out of all the ones do you want to talk about the ones with the biggest fan bases and I’m supposed to believe that you aren’t just trying to get views on your page?

This is coming from somebody who doesn’t even particularly love half of the pairings this person discussed. But something I have noticed is that in a fandom/world of media dealing with oppressed peoples, there is bigger critique than in its counterparts. Because not only are these shows about a group of people who have long been suppressed due to sexuality, but it’s also about a group of people who have history of racism against their cultures. It is okay for a series to not be the most expressive and beautiful and extravagant series on earth. It is okay for things to be mediocre at best. Because even the LGBTQ+ community have very very boring stories. That does not make the stories unworthy of being told. We are allowed as a community and as queer people to have media the same way as everyone else. But instead, we get these very dismissive and low-key weird and social relationships in media.

Okay thank you for coming to another TEDTalk…I hate a lot of you and a lot of you are weirdos. (:

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Y’know, Rise of Red is nothing more than a rushed cash grab in an attempt to bank off a pretty much a dead franchise. They’ve scored so poorly on rotten tomatoes with both audience and critics hating on it. 44% for the audience score and 50%. It’s way lower than the ALL three movies combined, and it’s definitely a retcon of all three movies. Plus, if I’m being honest, RoR doesn’t even feel like a descendants movie at all, it felt more like a TikTok/K-pop style movie with mediocre versions of the Disney characters. Case in point, Aladdin and Jasmine.

In addition, I’m worried because RoR has created some stans where they’re hating on the og fans and calling them nostalgia fan and such.Descendants subreddit is more cringy with RoR than fans on TikTok.

First off, don't insult tiktok/K-Pop like that: both of those have better music then whatever the fuck you call Rise of Red's music, let alone both understand fashion better then Mattel/the designers for Rise of Red. Second of all, I mean, your just saying what we all been knowing. There's no reason to keep going with Descendants after the third movie UNLESS its just to milk it for money, and trying to do a soft reboot of the prior three movies and what they established while killing off a character whose actor is sadly no longer with us, just makes it clear as day this is to keep a franchise going for money and that's it. I mean, it's been literally said Mattel helped design the characters just for DOLLS, if that isn't clear where the minds were when it came to this movie. (And fun fact: they cost the same price as a MH G3 doll over here in UK, aka £30....I'll leave it up to anyone reading to decide if they worth that much in comparison to MH G3 which manages to make itself worth that much). But also like, I mean....yeah, it doesn't feel like a Descendants movie...even the third movie, also a shit show, is more of a Descendants movie then this...this just feels like Disney WANTED to do their own take on insert-thing-but-they-in-high-school, but couldn't be bothered to risk doing its own franchise and shoved it into Descendants. And the fact that I've only seen I dunno, ONE goodish review on this movie on Youtube but it still had criticism's brought up and even a channel who liked Descendants hated it....yeah that should be saying a-lot.

But honestly....that was expected. Even before the movie came out, hating on it was considered just being too nostalgia obsessed and its for a new generation so leave it alone and such. So it's not surprising it got worser once it came out. Honestly, I'm speaking for myself, I don't care if Rise of Red fans hate me, its fine. They got enjoyment somehow out of a hour and half...meanwhile I (and my friend since we watched it together) felt like I did with Frozen 2: could have spent time watching something else. Like, enjoy Rise of Red? Fine. But don't get mad if other's didn't like it and are expressing that. The block button is right there. Curate your fandom experience.

[theidcl]

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊ STARZIE is a seven-member fictional coed group that debuted on january 7th, 2024, under stellar entertainment. the coed supergroup was formed through the idol survival show "SHOOTING STARS" which premiered in 2023. the show's purpose was to gather currently active idols and put them up against each other in order to form the ultimate coed group featuring the highest-ranked idols.

the supergroup made their debut shortly into the new year with the mini album "mission one: take off" and promoted their title track "crush", as well as other b-sides from the album. their debut was garnered as both a domestic and international success, boosting STARZIE into the super rookie category very quickly despite only just debuting.

with the group being made up of some of the most popular idols from multiple generations, the public has opened their arms to the group while also throwing harsh criticism their way. many fans are excited to see their favorite idols pursue new activities and release different music alongside other highly popular idols, but due to being a coed group, the public has expressed concern over how scandals and rumors are bound to happen.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . group name ⇁ starzie

˖ ࣪ ˚ . fandom name ⇁ starnautz

˖ ࣪ ˚ . fandom color ⇁ #1ad700 #00a0d7

˖ ࣪ ˚ . company ⇁ stellar entertainment

˖ ࣪ ˚ . debut date ⇁ january 7th, 2024

˖ ࣪ ˚ . debut album ⇁ mission one: take off

˖ ࣪ ˚ . debut song ⇁ crush

˖ ࣪ ˚ . greeting ⇁ "one of a kind! hello, we are starzie!”

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊ MEET THE STARZ!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ ELLIOT SON, professionally known as ELLIOT, was born in 1998 in baltimore, maryland, usa. elliot began his training journey at jyp entertainment, where he participated in the reality show 'stray kids', originally making the final lineup before leaving the group before debut and jyp as a whole, stating creative differences. he trained for 4 years before debuting in the boy group embers in 2019, which would disband just a year later. he would soon re-debut in pushing daises.

ELLIOT was a popular idol while on SHOOTING STARS, being a member of the totally spies group during the cover challenge, in which the team placed 2nd in the challenge. during the rewind challenge, elliot was a member of 3rd place team elec6ix. at the end of the show, elliot managed to finish the show in 5th place, making him the second announced member.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ elliot dowon son

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ february 14th, 1998

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ baltimore, maryland, usa

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ rapper, vocalist

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 5th place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 185cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean-caucasian

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ american

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ vernon chwe

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ BAE MINJU, professionally known as MINJU, was born in 1998 in liverpool, england, but she moved to london when she was three years old. every summer, she traveled to korea over the summer to spend time with her grandparents and cousins in busan. growing up, minju was always fond of music and dancing, which led to her dream of being a k-pop idol. minju applied to many agencies such as jyp and cube entertainment, but ultimately made her choice to join source music with a friend of hers in 2010. after training for five years, minju officially debuted as a member of gfriend under source music. after the disbandment of gfriend, she signed a contract with big hit music and made her solo debut on november 11th, 2021. although many had anticipated it, the whole thing became a total failure, and minju was put on hiatus.

MINJU held a fluctuating rank while on SHOOTING STARS, but was always dancing within and around the top seven. during the rewind challenge, minju was a member of 3rd place team elec6ix. in the cover challenge, minju was a part of wonderland, and they placed 1st overall. at the end of the show, minju managed to finish the show in 4th place, making her the third announced member.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ bae minju

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ march 14th, 1998

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ liverpool, englad

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ vocalist, rapper

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 4th place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 162.5cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ british

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ park jiwon

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ CHLOE LEE, professionally known as CHLOE, was born in 1998 in new york, united states. chloe's career began in 2016 after ranking second on the mnet surivival show 'produce 101', securing herself a spot in the temporary girl group, ioi. once ioi disbanded in 2017, chloe debuted in venus as their main vocalist and lead dancer. alongside her success in venus, chloe would also have a flourishing solo career that began in 2019 with the song "rollercoaster" and has been on the rise ever since. chloe is a renowned vocalist and lyricist in the industry, being one the most credited female songwriters in the kpop industry.

CHLOE started the SHOOTING STARS with a bang, quickly securing a spot as a leader in the first group challenge. she was able to pick her teammates during the rewind challenge and ended up picking wisely as her team, the dream, placed first overall. once again placing high enough to be chosen as a leader, during the cover challenge, chloe was in charge of the last place team the zoo. chloe was up the coveted position of first place in the finale but ultimately placed 2nd, making her the sixth announced member of the group.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ chloe lee

˖ ࣪ ˚ . korean name ⇁ lee chohee

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ june 17th, 1998

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ new york, united states

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ vocalist, dancer

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 2nd place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 152.4cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ american

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ han sohee

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ PARK MIKYUNG, professionally known as MIKA, was born in 2001 in gwangju, south korea. after being scouted at her middle school’s talent show, mika auditioned for dsp media and trained for two years before making her debut in april on august 24th, 2015 as the group’s main rapper and main dancer at the young age of 14. she promoted with the group for multiple months before she was announced to be a participant on mnet’s trainee survival show ‘produce 101′. mika made her debut in ioi after finishing the show ranked 5th, and later made her debut in the only subunit of ioi. after the group's disbandment, mika returned to april but quickly announced her departure from both the group and dsp media. signing with angelico entertainment, mika went on to have a successful acting and solo career before debuting in sugar n' spice. mika is considered one of the best producers and lyricists in the industry, going under the pseudonym m.ka.

despite being one of the most popular idols to partake in SHOOTING STARS, MIKA suffered from fluctuating rankings that made her position on debuting unknown. she started off the show strong by being a member of the winning team, the dream, during the rewind challenge. during the next challenge, the cover challenge, mika was instead part of the last place team the zoo. being the first announced member, mika finished the show in 6th place.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ park mikyung

˖ ࣪ ˚ . english name ⇁ isabella jade park

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ march 26th, 2001

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ gwangju, south korea

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ rapper, dancer, vocalist

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 6th place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 162cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ yu jimin

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ WANG LILING, professionally known as LILING, was born in 2001 in beijing, china. growing up, she appeared in numerous product commercials in china and was considered a well-known face despite the lack of attention she received from these commercials. liling debuted in august of 2019 with the girl group, hashtag, under the company melody media. when their first mini-album was released, fans suddenly began to favor liling over the other members, gaining her the title of ‘face of the group’. this meant that liling was constantly taking part in solo activities and brand deals. she is currently melody media’s sole representative, despite the rumors of favoritism.

LILING was one of the most popular idols while on SHOOTING STARS, earning her the spot of being the leader of the heart attack group during the rewind challenge, in which the team placed 4th. liling was once again selected as team leader during the cover challenge, where she was in charge of 4th place team timeless. at the end of the show, liling managed to finish the show in 3rd place, making her the fourth announced member. liling was chosen to be starzie's leader after winning multiple challenges and a voting round during their reality show "living with starzie".

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ wang liling

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ july 11th, 2001

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ beijing, china

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ leader, vocalist, dancer

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 3rd place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 160cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ chinese

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ chinese

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ ning yizhuo

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ FINN LEE, professionally known as FINN, was born in 2001 in florida, united states. beginning his career at 15, finn appeared on the angelico survival show "the new wave". finn would quickly become a fan favorite for his dedication, humor, and overall talent. he would end his run on the show, ranking 1st overall despite being one of the youngest there, securing him a spot in the revitalized group, deepdive. deepdive would make their re-debut in 2015 with seven members but would only seem to gain traction in 2020. finn is one of the most sought-after producers in the industry, with over 190 song credits to his name.

FINN started off SHOOTING STARS strong by placing fourth in the pre-voting and securing himself a team leader spot. during the rewind challenge, finn was the leader of the 3rd place team elec6ix. during the next challenge, the cover challenge, finn was a member of the wonderland team, who placed 1st. being considered the most dramatic ranking due to how many people could have taken the spot, finn finished the show ranked 7th, making him the last announced member of starzie.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ finn lee

˖ ࣪ ˚ . korean name ⇁ lee jungwoo

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ october 10th, 2001

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ florida, united states

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ rapper, vocalist

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 7th place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 183cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ american

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ park wonbin

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ OLIVER SONG, professionally known as OLIVER, was born in 2001 in massachusetts, united states. oliver made his debut as the lead guitarist of the idol band plastic flowers under superbloom media in 2018. after their second album, he was promoted to lead singer and has become the most well-known member of the group since his appearance on jtbc’s 'superband' and other variety shows. he would slowly become the most famous artist under superbloom media as well and has produced almost every piece of music released by the label since 2020. oliver made his official solo debut in march 2023 with the lead single "starting line", launching him into further fame as plastic flowers continues to top the charts with each of their releases.

being a previously well-known idol before participating in SHOOTING STARS, OLIVER managed to stay at the top the ranks throughout the show. he started off the show strong by being the leader of the mystery inc team during the rewind challenge, where they placed 2nd. placing first in voting, oliver was once again chosen as a team leader during the cover challenge; his team, wonderland, was able to place 1st. oliver was able to secure his spot as starzie's center after finishing the show ranked 1st place, making him the fifth announced member.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ oliver song

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ december 12th, 2001

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ massachusetts, united states

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ vocalist, center, maknae

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 1st place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 178cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ american

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ seok matthew

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

So, here's the thing. Back in the day, RM would get snarky when reporters asked him about recording an album in English. Did we all just forget that? There are so many examples where BTS demonstrated their determination to stay true to their artistic integrity and Korean roots. Once upon a time, that was a point of pride for Army.

And here's Jimin. Has an album that is a critical and commercial success--one that is almost entirely in Korean, created and produced in Korea by Koreans. Gets a Billboard #1 with a Korean song by a Korean artist. And now his 1 Billion Spotify streams. Not the first Korean of course, nor the first Asian, but, from what I've read, the first to achieve this milestone in his native language.

This was always the BTS dream, so why isn't Army celebrating? This isn't a solo victory, it's a BTS victory!

Jimin breaking this particular glass ceiling doesn't take anything away from the immensely talented Jungkook, the other equally gifted BTS members, or the K-Pop industry as a whole. Unless they have their knickers in a twist because it's little Mochi paving the way and showing them how it can be done.

I'm going to be charitable here and interpret this sudden campaign to get all BTS members into the Billion Club as an acknowledgement of Jimin's amazing achievement.

Also, #DiversityWins.

The fandom dynamic and landscape has gone through some really big changes. Same as the group and the members. It's just a fact, I'm not agreeing or pointing judgement at it.

Face was a milestone and an achievement, particularly as it was a fully Korean album that was released to all markets targeted by K-Pop now, not just South Korea. Indeed, it wasn't pushed for the American market as much as what came later for Jungkook, but I guess that wasn't their plan.

I also think it was a critical success particularly because it was a cohesive album with an identity. It's not about the language or having only Korean producers. It's about having a vision that makes sense and works for the artist. Jimin decided to start his solo career with a personal album which showed all these facets of himself, not just as a performer, but also as a songwriter and producer. He proved all he had to prove from the beginning.

My guess is that this second album will be a bit more traditional, as in it will show more of Jimin as an idol and it could lean more toward commercial pop. As K-Pop usually is. It's not a bad thing. I don't think he will repeat the Face formula and he will challenge himself.

I said this before when Jungkook released Golden. It's not the language or the foreign producers. The problem is when the music is completely disconnected from the artist. I always have Key or Taemin in mind because they work like that, but they have their own identity. I expect Jimin to follow a similar path and surprise us in the near future.