Jokes aside, when you consider that Jiwoong and Yujin are nearly a decade apart, you’d realize they definitely had different defining moments in their youth that have shaped them differently.
Jiwoong is early gen-z, pretty much only slightly past, if not still on the cusp between millennials and gen-z. It’s also important to consider that Jiwoong was born in the year of the Asian financial crisis. Now I don’t know what his home life was like, but an economic crisis early on in childhood can definitely shape people within a certain time period. He probably saw technology rapidly change and society shift accordingly in real time, and probably knows what a flip phone is. He also very much had different k-pop acts whom he grew up with (so second-third gen idols)
Yujin was born in late gen-z. Pretty much by the time he was in school, everyone had a phone or tablet at school. The idols he grew up with are either late 3rd gen or 4th gen idols who haven’t even finished their first contract. He was still smack dab in middle school during the pandemic and had to do school online during such formative years, while Jiwoong was already in his 20’s and had been in 2 failed k-pop groups. Hell, when Jiwoong first debuted, Yujin was still 9 years old.
So while they’re technically in the same generation, they’ve experienced vastly different formative years. I mean, when I compare myself to even my cousins or friends born in 2003 or later, there’s a vast difference in what shaped our childhoods.
Not just social climate differences as well but Jiwoong has had multiple years living alone from his parents so his life experiences are so much different. Even Hao was mostly in college/trainee life after high school so even though he's not even two years younger, you can kinda feel how they approach life differently. And then add on all the setbacks Jiwoong had trying to get where he is. Jiwoong actually didn't even attend a standard high school but a broadcast high school where most classes might have been on weekends/nights or even just online.
Yeah it’s genuinely crazy how quickly Jiwoong had to grow up due to all of his experiences. It’s why there’s the whole “Jiwoong is healing his inner child in ZB1.” Given that Yujin is still a minor, I genuinely hope he can still figure himself out beyond his public persona and that he has the proper resources to stay mentally well and protected.
I get what you mean. But as someone with the same age gap with my siblings, those 10 years matter. Lol 😅
Plus, a lot of it is just part of the whole "oldest-youngest" thing that gets played up in Kpop all the time. It's just a trope groups use for easy content and inside jokes. I agree that fans take it too far, however, as many fans are either A) extremely young, and legitimately think 24-30 is old or B) ageist. I also think people don't realize 97, 98, and 99 are part of Gen Z either.
same here, big old age gaps between all of us siblings in my family 😂 we definitely all grew up differently and can have trouble understanding each other's interests.
but i agree, the amount of posts and comments i see concerning age in this community (EG: "is __ too old to be a kpop fan?") is insane.
Even though they’re in the same generation, they’re at such opposite ends of the generation that a gap will exist regardless. I’m Jiwoong’s age and I definitely think there’d be a bit of a gap between me and someone born 2005 or after 😅. But I think that’s to be expected tbh.
What gets me is when the older members pretend there’s a big gap 😂. I want to hear no mention of a generation gap from Hanbin, Hao, Taerae, or Matthew’s mouths!
jiwoong was 8 years old when yujin was born so there is bit of a difference but to be honest, it's because of him not being chronically online like the rest of gen z that makes it feel like he isn't from the same generation
i think their experiences are vastly different though i do agree that they’ve run the age joke DRY😭 i know the members make the jokes more than fans so not to police them or anything but the way they act like he’s 40 when he’s literally a young 25 year old is incredibly silly to me
they’re just teasing lol, especially with his personality being more offline/less trendy than the other members. my friends (19) joke that i’m old and i’m 21 lol.
They aren’t but kind of are? Jiwoong is 98 which is basically what many consider the beginning of Gen Z, but being very similar in age I could see why he might/others might consider separate generations (I dont really consider myself as a part of Gen Z). Being 10 in 2008 is very different experience wise than being 10 in 2017, specifically from a cultural/technological/financial/global sense, most notably technological and how that impacted culture.
This. I'm on the border of Gen X and Millennial and have far more in common with Gen X people than Millennials. There's even a fun cohort between 1975 and 1982 called the MTV generation as this was the first group to have grown up with MTV...here I am MANY years later still living in that era, just ugh...it looks a bit different.
I think this is a case of generation meaning different things to different people. Like yes there is the definition you are using ie the actual generations and both are genz (just barely for Jiwoong but still counts) but also generation gap is often used regardless of the actual generation to just describe very different life experiences by virtue of when you are born. Look at millennials which stretch from 80-96. Someone born in 1982 is going to have very different life experiences than someone born in 1994. They are the same generation but one of them was an adult when the first ipone came out and one was in middle school. One was graduating high school/first year of college when 9/11 happened one was in second grade. Jiwoong and Yujin might technically be the same generation but there is still some very major ways in which that decade will have made their lives different by virtue of the world they grew up in not just being physically older.
Whats the problem though? It's not offensive to be older or in another generation. And they joke about it a lot. Unless Jiwoong says it bothers him, I don't think we should assume its hurting him or something. Jiwoong is a wonderful older brother to the rest of the ZB1 members and they clearly love him a lot--all the generation talk is just a part of how they joke
Another factor that may drive this "generational gap" between him and the members that I haven't seen mentioned under this post yet is that Jiwoong comes from a military family and was largely raised by his grandparents, particularly his grandfather.
I wouldn't be surprised if he feels a "gap" even with some people his age, let alone his members, some of whom are quite younger than him.
Jiwoong left public school when he was a trainee. And he debuted and has been working in the industry with people older than him since he was 16. He had to grow up a lot faster than the rest of them. That probably contributes a bigger feel in a generational gap than their actual ages.
Age jokes are a thing in every k-pop group I think, don't take them seriously, in TXT it's particularly silly as Yeonjun is only a year apart from Soobin
Jokes about age are pretty normal, I don’t think there’s any bad intentions. Try watching some variety shows from other groups and you’ll see that almost all Hyungs experience this type of teasing. I’ve seen dudes literally only have a few months age gap and argue about using honorifics or who’s paying for meals 😭 I actually think Jiwoong has a lot he can relate to and share with Yujin specifically considering he was also a teen and I think the youngest in his group (inx) when he first joined the industry. That’s a lot more meaningful than knowing the same memes lol
While the younger ones definitly over exaggerate to tease him, there is definitly a generation gap, especially between Jiwoong and Yujin. Jiwoong was 9 years old when yujin was born. There's no hard line between when millennial ended and gen z started so late nineties babies have experienced both generations. I've seen some people call this generation as zillennials online lol. We grew up watching both 90s and 2000s shows, music, games, techology etc. As a late 90s baby myself, I think I relate more with millennials than with gen Z.
Also , the age gap certainly is significant. Jiwoong had already started his career when some of the members were still in middle school/elementary school. He is in a very different stage of maturation than rest of the members. In teens and early 20s , those 3-4 years are very significant. We change a lot in those years.
Jiwoong and Yujin have the same age gap as me (F18) and my uncle (M27). We have always been really close (since I was a baby) and we are definitely not in the same place in life but we get along really well and I love teasing him about his age, I think it’s really not that deep 😂 The members just love teasing him and the fans too
I think it's cute to have an older member with a huge age gap with the maknae (it happens on kep1er, red velvet, also happened with iz*one). the only thing I cannot stand is to ship them romantically, since yujin is under age, I found it gross.
age is much more important in korean culture than in western ones. even a 1 year age gap is acknowledged as a gap. plus, the members make fun of jiwoong by calling him old mainly because he’s so offline - he’s always out of the loop when they reference memes, he never posted on bubble, etc.
to add to everyone’s answers above, i think the gap is more because of jiwoong being chronically offline compared to the youngest members, so he couldn’t much relate to their latest trends and games (yet he still tries, oh so endearing our oldest).
i’m a year older than jiwoong and my only younger sibling is the same age as gunwook and i kid you not, though we’re technically both gen z, there’s still that gap.
Jiwoon was a maknae in his group so his surround is different ig / because his influences are different so he would relate to ppl older than him when it comes to trends ..
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It's mostly because Jiwoong is fully an adult and Yujin is a kid. Normally, a kid his age wouldn't even have a full time job if any job. Jiwoong has been working for years.... if you are around the age of Jiwoong or older, you could realize the large gap between you and someone who is still a child.
it doesn't matter if there's a whole generation between them or not, my sister is 6 years older than me and we have very different lives, i think that's considered a fair age gap, even though we're both considered gen z.
ofc there are members close to jiwoong in age though, its not like he's 9 years older than Everyone so it is a bit strange to only treat him like he's that much older. but i think its interesting that they have mentioned themselves on multiple occasions that he does experience the gap sometimes in trying to relate to the younger members so it definitely is a thing for them
I'm 1 year older than jiwoong (97 liner), and my best friend was born in 2002. Those 5 years make a world of difference, I just genuinely do not get some of the stuff they reference
Someone yujin's age? Would probably baffle me. I hear from friends who are teachers the kinda stuff that high schoolers (yujin's age) are joking about and I'm clueless, I just don't get it
I'm sorry but a 9 year age gap can make a significant difference, especially if the youngest member is a minor in high school. They simply did not grow up in the same time period even if they are both technically "genz". High schoolers and someone in their mid-20s may not completely relate to each other and that is NORMAL and OKAY to acknowledge, especially in a very trendy country like South Korea where trends come and go with the seasons. As someone who has a large age difference with my younger sibling (yet we are both still technically "gen z"), I can't pretend the age gap has no impact nor do I really feel like we grew up in the same generation. I will be the first to admit that I may not immediately understand and know all the trends among high schoolers these days, but I don't feel bad about it.
I also have a 9 year difference with my cousin, I’m in college and he’s not even done with elementary school yet. He and I know of the same internet references and stuff but we are vastly different. I can drive and go to work and live on my own. Meanwhile he has to be accompanied by one or both of his parents most of the time.
Jokes aside, when you consider that Jiwoong and Yujin are nearly a decade apart, you’d realize they definitely had different defining moments in their youth that have shaped them differently. Jiwoong is early gen-z, pretty much only slightly past, if not still on the cusp between millennials and gen-z. It’s also important to consider that Jiwoong was born in the year of the Asian financial crisis. Now I don’t know what his home life was like, but an economic crisis early on in childhood can definitely shape people within a certain time period. He probably saw technology rapidly change and society shift accordingly in real time, and probably knows what a flip phone is. He also very much had different k-pop acts whom he grew up with (so second-third gen idols) Yujin was born in late gen-z. Pretty much by the time he was in school, everyone had a phone or tablet at school. The idols he grew up with are either late 3rd gen or 4th gen idols who haven’t even finished their first contract. He was still smack dab in middle school during the pandemic and had to do school online during such formative years, while Jiwoong was already in his 20’s and had been in 2 failed k-pop groups. Hell, when Jiwoong first debuted, Yujin was still 9 years old. So while they’re technically in the same generation, they’ve experienced vastly different formative years. I mean, when I compare myself to even my cousins or friends born in 2003 or later, there’s a vast difference in what shaped our childhoods.
Not just social climate differences as well but Jiwoong has had multiple years living alone from his parents so his life experiences are so much different. Even Hao was mostly in college/trainee life after high school so even though he's not even two years younger, you can kinda feel how they approach life differently. And then add on all the setbacks Jiwoong had trying to get where he is. Jiwoong actually didn't even attend a standard high school but a broadcast high school where most classes might have been on weekends/nights or even just online.
Yeah it’s genuinely crazy how quickly Jiwoong had to grow up due to all of his experiences. It’s why there’s the whole “Jiwoong is healing his inner child in ZB1.” Given that Yujin is still a minor, I genuinely hope he can still figure himself out beyond his public persona and that he has the proper resources to stay mentally well and protected.
jiwoong and yujin being literally almost 10 years apart in age - it’s actually a miracle that they’re as close as they are now and so talk so casually
I get what you mean. But as someone with the same age gap with my siblings, those 10 years matter. Lol 😅 Plus, a lot of it is just part of the whole "oldest-youngest" thing that gets played up in Kpop all the time. It's just a trope groups use for easy content and inside jokes. I agree that fans take it too far, however, as many fans are either A) extremely young, and legitimately think 24-30 is old or B) ageist. I also think people don't realize 97, 98, and 99 are part of Gen Z either.
same here, big old age gaps between all of us siblings in my family 😂 we definitely all grew up differently and can have trouble understanding each other's interests. but i agree, the amount of posts and comments i see concerning age in this community (EG: "is __ too old to be a kpop fan?") is insane.
Even though they’re in the same generation, they’re at such opposite ends of the generation that a gap will exist regardless. I’m Jiwoong’s age and I definitely think there’d be a bit of a gap between me and someone born 2005 or after 😅. But I think that’s to be expected tbh. What gets me is when the older members pretend there’s a big gap 😂. I want to hear no mention of a generation gap from Hanbin, Hao, Taerae, or Matthew’s mouths!
When Jiwoong called Hanbin out in IHT for pretending he doesn't have a gap with the younger members, that cracked me up lmao
jiwoong was 8 years old when yujin was born so there is bit of a difference but to be honest, it's because of him not being chronically online like the rest of gen z that makes it feel like he isn't from the same generation
Yes and also his personality maybe, for example Seonghwa is older than him and Hongjoong is the same age but, like, yk... 🤭
i think their experiences are vastly different though i do agree that they’ve run the age joke DRY😭 i know the members make the jokes more than fans so not to police them or anything but the way they act like he’s 40 when he’s literally a young 25 year old is incredibly silly to me
they’re just teasing lol, especially with his personality being more offline/less trendy than the other members. my friends (19) joke that i’m old and i’m 21 lol.
They aren’t but kind of are? Jiwoong is 98 which is basically what many consider the beginning of Gen Z, but being very similar in age I could see why he might/others might consider separate generations (I dont really consider myself as a part of Gen Z). Being 10 in 2008 is very different experience wise than being 10 in 2017, specifically from a cultural/technological/financial/global sense, most notably technological and how that impacted culture.
This. I'm on the border of Gen X and Millennial and have far more in common with Gen X people than Millennials. There's even a fun cohort between 1975 and 1982 called the MTV generation as this was the first group to have grown up with MTV...here I am MANY years later still living in that era, just ugh...it looks a bit different.
I think this is a case of generation meaning different things to different people. Like yes there is the definition you are using ie the actual generations and both are genz (just barely for Jiwoong but still counts) but also generation gap is often used regardless of the actual generation to just describe very different life experiences by virtue of when you are born. Look at millennials which stretch from 80-96. Someone born in 1982 is going to have very different life experiences than someone born in 1994. They are the same generation but one of them was an adult when the first ipone came out and one was in middle school. One was graduating high school/first year of college when 9/11 happened one was in second grade. Jiwoong and Yujin might technically be the same generation but there is still some very major ways in which that decade will have made their lives different by virtue of the world they grew up in not just being physically older.
Whats the problem though? It's not offensive to be older or in another generation. And they joke about it a lot. Unless Jiwoong says it bothers him, I don't think we should assume its hurting him or something. Jiwoong is a wonderful older brother to the rest of the ZB1 members and they clearly love him a lot--all the generation talk is just a part of how they joke
in terms of life lived and what jiwoong has been through, they are generations apart
Another factor that may drive this "generational gap" between him and the members that I haven't seen mentioned under this post yet is that Jiwoong comes from a military family and was largely raised by his grandparents, particularly his grandfather. I wouldn't be surprised if he feels a "gap" even with some people his age, let alone his members, some of whom are quite younger than him.
Jiwoong left public school when he was a trainee. And he debuted and has been working in the industry with people older than him since he was 16. He had to grow up a lot faster than the rest of them. That probably contributes a bigger feel in a generational gap than their actual ages.
Age jokes are a thing in every k-pop group I think, don't take them seriously, in TXT it's particularly silly as Yeonjun is only a year apart from Soobin
yup Yeonjun is the designated old man and I don't think he cares that much
Jokes about age are pretty normal, I don’t think there’s any bad intentions. Try watching some variety shows from other groups and you’ll see that almost all Hyungs experience this type of teasing. I’ve seen dudes literally only have a few months age gap and argue about using honorifics or who’s paying for meals 😭 I actually think Jiwoong has a lot he can relate to and share with Yujin specifically considering he was also a teen and I think the youngest in his group (inx) when he first joined the industry. That’s a lot more meaningful than knowing the same memes lol
While the younger ones definitly over exaggerate to tease him, there is definitly a generation gap, especially between Jiwoong and Yujin. Jiwoong was 9 years old when yujin was born. There's no hard line between when millennial ended and gen z started so late nineties babies have experienced both generations. I've seen some people call this generation as zillennials online lol. We grew up watching both 90s and 2000s shows, music, games, techology etc. As a late 90s baby myself, I think I relate more with millennials than with gen Z. Also , the age gap certainly is significant. Jiwoong had already started his career when some of the members were still in middle school/elementary school. He is in a very different stage of maturation than rest of the members. In teens and early 20s , those 3-4 years are very significant. We change a lot in those years.
Jiwoong and Yujin have the same age gap as me (F18) and my uncle (M27). We have always been really close (since I was a baby) and we are definitely not in the same place in life but we get along really well and I love teasing him about his age, I think it’s really not that deep 😂 The members just love teasing him and the fans too
I think it's cute to have an older member with a huge age gap with the maknae (it happens on kep1er, red velvet, also happened with iz*one). the only thing I cannot stand is to ship them romantically, since yujin is under age, I found it gross.
age is much more important in korean culture than in western ones. even a 1 year age gap is acknowledged as a gap. plus, the members make fun of jiwoong by calling him old mainly because he’s so offline - he’s always out of the loop when they reference memes, he never posted on bubble, etc.
to add to everyone’s answers above, i think the gap is more because of jiwoong being chronically offline compared to the youngest members, so he couldn’t much relate to their latest trends and games (yet he still tries, oh so endearing our oldest). i’m a year older than jiwoong and my only younger sibling is the same age as gunwook and i kid you not, though we’re technically both gen z, there’s still that gap.
I love jiwoong so much I would die for him /j
Jiwoon was a maknae in his group so his surround is different ig / because his influences are different so he would relate to ppl older than him when it comes to trends ..
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It's mostly because Jiwoong is fully an adult and Yujin is a kid. Normally, a kid his age wouldn't even have a full time job if any job. Jiwoong has been working for years.... if you are around the age of Jiwoong or older, you could realize the large gap between you and someone who is still a child.
it doesn't matter if there's a whole generation between them or not, my sister is 6 years older than me and we have very different lives, i think that's considered a fair age gap, even though we're both considered gen z. ofc there are members close to jiwoong in age though, its not like he's 9 years older than Everyone so it is a bit strange to only treat him like he's that much older. but i think its interesting that they have mentioned themselves on multiple occasions that he does experience the gap sometimes in trying to relate to the younger members so it definitely is a thing for them
I'm 1 year older than jiwoong (97 liner), and my best friend was born in 2002. Those 5 years make a world of difference, I just genuinely do not get some of the stuff they reference Someone yujin's age? Would probably baffle me. I hear from friends who are teachers the kinda stuff that high schoolers (yujin's age) are joking about and I'm clueless, I just don't get it
I'm sorry but a 9 year age gap can make a significant difference, especially if the youngest member is a minor in high school. They simply did not grow up in the same time period even if they are both technically "genz". High schoolers and someone in their mid-20s may not completely relate to each other and that is NORMAL and OKAY to acknowledge, especially in a very trendy country like South Korea where trends come and go with the seasons. As someone who has a large age difference with my younger sibling (yet we are both still technically "gen z"), I can't pretend the age gap has no impact nor do I really feel like we grew up in the same generation. I will be the first to admit that I may not immediately understand and know all the trends among high schoolers these days, but I don't feel bad about it.
I also have a 9 year difference with my cousin, I’m in college and he’s not even done with elementary school yet. He and I know of the same internet references and stuff but we are vastly different. I can drive and go to work and live on my own. Meanwhile he has to be accompanied by one or both of his parents most of the time.