#what my credentials? i been in it since 2011 and im a passionate nitpicker and self proclaimed rabbit holer

[gudakdalee]

not everyone old is 2nd gen

just for the kpop girlies that see anyone OLDER THAN 25 and immediately categorize them as 2nd gen. STAWP PLS. know ur culture.

Just bc they've got 5 years under their belt does NOT mean they're 2nd gen. CMON PPL.

There's actually periods of CULTURAL SHIFTS (characterized by music show formats/structures, changing markers of 'success', structures of songs, pop culture at the time, technology development aka SNS, styling/HMU, methods of promo (aka variety shows) and debut year vs heyday years) that designate the DIFFERENT ERAS.

(another indicator is military enlistment timing, but that's wacky now given the variety of age debuting now)

GEN BREAKDOWN BELOW:

2nd gen: 2005-2009

Significant moments: this essentially encapsulates what that era was like (the end-of-year award show collabs to end ALL EOY award shows collabs; you wont ever see such glorious unhinged shit like this again lmaooo)

GROUPS representative: SuJu, SHINee, 2PM/2AM, B2ST, 4Minute, KARA, T-ara, SNSD, Brown Eyed Girls, Big Bang, 2NE1 , MBLAQ, Wonder Girls, Secret

EXAMPLE: Debut yr VS Heyday yrs: TVXQ debuted in 2003, but I wrote 2005 bc with the combination of other groups in 05-06 is when the golden era really started to establish itself in popularity domestically and internationally.

How do they promote? Shows like Star King, Strong Heart, Star Golden Bell, Happy Together (in the sauna), Family Outing, Dream Team (and Xmen if we're going back 1st-2nd gen mix). TV Variety shows are the bread! and! butter! of whether your group will make or break it in the industry. You gotta get on these shows, you gotta be funny and witty, you gotta make an impression to get your name out there! There's several idols who've talked about nervously needing to do well in their debut on xmen or star king, and feeling like they had to impress Kang Hodong (etc). That's bc there was barely any other way to promote. Idols of this time are known as all-around entertainer (manneung entertainer), bc they had to do it all, e.g. leeteuk, eunhyuk, wooyoung, sunny, sooyoung, yuri, jo kwon, daesung

2.5 gen: 2010-2012

Truly like middle children, 2.5 gen groups debuted/worked in that amorphous time where times were in transition. They're like millennials, old enough to know cassette tapes, but young enough to know the first smartphone.

GROUPS representative: SISTAR, INFINITE, BTOB, APINK, EXID, VIXX, BAP, miss A, B1A4, Teen Top

REMEMBER WHEN: there was a huge online fanwar, INTENSE competition btwn EXO and BAP for the Rookie of the Year award from MAMA, fans were absolutely. incensed! Voting day and night, creating voting strategies, accusing the others of rigging/cheating, and when the time came....... Busker Busker won. LOL. International fans were dumbfounded, me included HAHAH. But we didn't know that busker busker was/is a HIT in SK.

How do they promote? 2.5 groups start not appearing on Strong Heart/Star King/Star Golden Bell as much; that's how I differentiate from 2nd and 2.5 gen (and it's WHY there is a 2.5 gen) bc you don't see 2.5 groups on those older shows that were dominated by 2nd gen groups. Like, Kang Hodong wouldve loved btob on star king, and they were on, but star king was over the hill at that point. The shift in these variety shows as promo starts here.

3rd gen: 2012-2017

Significant moments: korean news channels characterized the leaders in this era as "EBS", an acronym (it's an educational TV news channel's name) to summarize EXO, BTS, Seventeen (that's why I put exo here not in 2.5)

GROUPS representative: EBS (above), Twice, Oh My Girl, Mamamoo, Red Velvet, BlackPink

SNS: technology CHANGED RAPIDLY! We got Vlives, we got expansion of ways for idols to connect and directly speak to fans

HEYDAY: these are the groups enjoying their HEYDAY now! As in, they've got the experience, the money, the established fandom, and the respect-on-their-name (cough seniority cough)

How do they promote? We start seeing something call VLive, where fans can watch their own idol on their phone via a livestream, leaning into the individual parasocial connection. There's less Strong Heart and Star King, and more emphasis on the creation AND expansion of groups' OWN variety content. Instead of relying on variety shows (aka TV), they now can use youtube and create their own variety shows. Also, SNS starts!

4th gen: 2018-2024, WE ARE HERE CURRENTLY-

Significant markers: SNS era: the ACCESS is wild, online fan meetings, 1:1 fan calls (!?!?!!)

GROUPS representative: NCT, Stray Kidz, ATEEZ, GIDLE, IVE, Le Serafim, NewJeans (honestly I'd almost put them in 5th gen given how young theyve started, how far they could still go)

EXAMPLE: nct debuted 2017 but didnt really hit their public stride until a few years later, so they're currently in their heyday now in this gen era. and young as hell SHEESH.

How do they promote? Idols are allowed to/get to create their OWN social media accts now! SNS is heavily factored in when considering promotion and business strategy. Individual and group content now is a MUST: youtube, tiktok, insta, weibo, douyin, all the apps. Promotions emphasize internet methods rather than tv variety shows, so unless they have a variety-trained/-passionate member, it's much rarer to see kpop groups guest on a show. VLive unfortunately dies and we see the rise of Weverse, and BTS/kpop global recognition, and along with them: the marvelization of kpop (cough hybe-zation cough)

5th gen: 2024(?)-? BUT RAPIDLY MOVING HERE?

depending on how culture shifts and how technology develops, we could be going into a new era soon (now??), though as I've emphasized, it's more than just time and debut year, generations are marked by cultural shifts (whether it's environmental, music genre sound, or fandom practice).

GROUPS representative: TWS, Baby Monster, (idk anymore they're too young for me) I believe ppl look to/label NewJeans as the forerunner for the future (they were even on TIME mag)

How do they promote? Unfort, the trend of kpop idols being trained to be influencers rather than entertainers is real heavy right now, and might get more emphasized. Again this is a product of the changing times: as mentioned in the 3rd gen point about variety shows not being their main avenue of promos- idols now just aren't trained as much on variety skills bc they can get their popularity/recognition in other ways. Like you'll still see IVE on Knowing Bros, bc variety shows are still critical to the general korean populace's recognition meter, but they aren't there for the variety factor. Whereas older gen idols had to be variety-trained (that's why so many of them also work as show MC's now bc they have the skillset) bc variety shows were the main way to get their names out there and make sure their group doesn't fail. Nowadays, it's possible to focus promo online and not have the group fail, but it wasn't back then.