#since kpop really dramatically changed its physical look in 2015. but that was right smack in the middle of 'third gen'

[sanstropfremir]

Where do you usually draw the line between the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gens of kpop? If I had to pick years I’d say 2nd gen ends with groups that debut in 2013 (so EXO, BTS are 3rd gen) and 3rd gen ends in 2017 (all the 2018 groups are 4th gen). But then I also think the years that they peaked/style of music distinguishes them. Like EXID debuted before AOA but I consider AOA 2nd gen and EXID 3rd gen (both because EXID were popular in later years but also cause AOA’s music is like iconic 2nd gen style). Same with Nu’est-like they debut in 2012 but they were essentially a nugu group until 2017 with P101 so I consider them 3rd gen (but also they’re earlier stuff is aggressively 2nd gen like Sleep Talking my beloved though they’re current stuff is still very trendy so idk). Another wonky group would be The Boyz-they debuted in 2017 but everyone considers them 4th gen cause they didn’t get popular until RTK

oh good question!! i thought about this in the shower and my first instinct is that i do agree with you and i tend to draw the line between second and third gen at 2013, so i do consider most groups that debuted in 2012 like vixx, nu'est, and btob to be second gen, vs exo and bts are clearly third. to me it comes down to what sound the groups are more aligned with, if that makes sense. the defining sound of third gen is very hiphop based so a lot of groups that i think of as third gen staples (mx, got7, bts) all have that bend, and even though vixx and btob were active that whole time, their overall sound has nothing in common with that. also groups that debuted in 2012 are about to celebrate their ten year anniversary this year and i don't think we should gatekeep second gen status from them, a decade is a long time.

as for between third and fourth......it's a lot more nebulous because the speed of the industry's growth and change really amped up and it's harder to tell if there's even a division in sound at all. i do also usually draw the line at 2017 as the transitional year though, because i think 2018 is when we can actively see the difference in how groups are performing. also tbz debuted in like, december of 2017, so honestly we might as well consider that 2018 they probably had very little time to do promo right away because of year end shows and the holidays. other groups that debuted in 2017, by comparison, are a.c.e, onf, wanna one, weki meki, kard, dreamcatcher, and golden child (and also triple h), which i would be hesitant to call fourth gen because they have a performance style that's much closer what third gen groups do than fourth gen ones. also like, it feels weird to call a.c.e fourth gen because they've got two 93 line members. the two that you could maybe call wonky would be onf and golden child, since they also didn't pick up until rtk, but onf does not have the same performance feel as ateez or skz, and golden child does these crazy insane cinematic mvs a la second gen. BUT there's also some outliers squarely in fourth gen; if you had told me that oneus debuted in 2016 or 2017 i would totally believe you, and same with cix. it's so much more nebulous because there's so many more things happening. but i think what it comes down to for me in terms of drawing the line, is: where is the biggest shift in the industry? between second and third it was sound, and between third and fourth it was performance style.