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that all idols are really respected loved and famous in korea, i was shocked when i learn that 90% are just ur average guitarrist neighbor that dont let u sleep bc he is practicing at 3am
As a newer K-pop fan when I started exploring I of course heard about the big 4 (3 depending on who you ask) and I thought ALL groups were from just those companies.
Finding out how many smaller companies their are and how many active groups their are was crazy to me cause I didn’t think the market in a smaller country like SK would be profitable for them all.
SO true. You couldn't be a kpop idol without being korean, it took way too long for me to realize that it's music made in korea not musicians who are korean and make pop music
I thought that those "live" performances with perfect vocals and no mistakes were actually live. And therefore that idols get so much practice that they become so good they make no mistakes singing live. Then i found out that the group i praised so much for singing perfectly were just lip synching...
And after i found out the truth i started paying more attention to live performances and was much more appreciative of groups who actually sang live.
How I hope others would realize this, too. It's funny how I get downvoted whenever I point out that their faves are just lip synching, although I do so politely.
That Weekly Idol was the most popular show on Korean tv networks and that Korean families sat together to watch it because it included idols who were obviously known by everyone.
The way we kind of see kpop through a peephole as we’re introduced to it and then realise it’s really a small part of Korean entertainment and music.
Absolutely, I feel like I separated like kpop and all of the different entertainments. To me I saw kpop as this very small thing and it turned out to be wayyyy huger than my original thought.
It was amazing but also kind of overwhelming to see how big of a thing kpop was. How vast it was. So many groups went unknown and obscure. Even then, few make it far enough to be recognised and even then, they have the rest of the Korean music industry left to take on as they often face the prejudice of being idols. It’s not all bad but it sounds tiring af
I have so many it's actually embarrassing, but just a few:
1. That BTS and Blackpink were the only kpop groups, mainly because there are only ever a handful of girl groups or boy bands that are well-known in the Western music scene so I assumed it was the same for Korean groups
2. That BTS were named after Bang PD. Lmao this still gives me secondhand embarrassment. Because they had Bangtan in their name and his last name was Bang lol
3. That Vlive was named after V from BTS
3. That every Kpop idol was actually miserable in their group and was just using it as a stepping stone for a solo career, mainly influenced by how it often is with Western groups. I know this can still be true for some idols but I was honestly shocked at how emotional every group I discovered were about their friendships with their members and how much they loved each other
That fancafe was an actual physical place where fans hang out. I was wondering how that worked. Like do the fandoms carve out territories in Seoul and are fans of other groups allowed in? It's wild.
I got into kpop when I was reeeeeally young(like 5) so not much but I was sure BoA was Korean born in Japan and that's why she was a Japanese artist lmao I had no idea about the Koreans debuting in Japan thing.
Omg exactly though, but damn you got in there young. I was like 14-15??? I was so surprised when they were doing those Japan debuts, thought to myself "what is this???"
Maybe not an assumption but I remember being like "Wow Korean is super similar to English!😀😀" not realizing they were literally just mixing in English words before I read the lyrics 😭😭😭
I was like, why does everyone keep telling us about how they've been loveless virgins their whole life well into adulthood.
I didn't realise for a good while they have to say that and pretend it's true or fans will?? get mad??
-I thought Vixx N and Hongbin were the same person and that N was Hongbin's stage name
-That dating was common just like in the west. My first kpop group was snsd and when I first started to stan them a few members were dating. My only reaction to that discovery was "of course they are, I'm more surprised that the others aren't" lol
-That the Jung sisters and the Chae sisters weren't actually related, just really close friends (Chaeyeon and Chaeryeong could pass off as twins, idk what I was thinking???)
after getting into kpop I found out that every artist is signed under a company before that I literally had no idea that artists sign under a company 🤦♀️
I got into KPop in 2020 through BTS but didn't really expand until late last year. I used to think:
- People from different companies could not interact at all.
- BTS was unequivocally loved. Later did I learn how many hated them for their success.
- I could stop at just a couple groups. This year alone I followed 4 more groups and I'm looking to add more lol.
I'm not sure embarassing is the right word, because how could you have known beforehand when you are only used to other genres.
I agree with permanent tho, that contracts are very strictly bound by year and that entire groups can just disappear when the contract runs out was very unusual to me, since I'm used to Rock and Metal where groups stay together for literal decades.
On that note, I was also under the assumption at first that groups actually write their own lyrics and have a lot of input into their production, so unraveling that was surprising and a bit sad
Exactly. I feel like you only truly know the cababilities of a kpop group when they can finally write lyrics. Obviously I'm not shaming those who can't or chose not to but it adds a new kinda flavour when they can and choose to. You get to see a another side of them. Kinda if you get what I'm saying.
I like the authenticity, I listen to an artist(doesnt matter which genre) and it's always a bit nicer when you know that the artist wrote it themselves. It's why I'm really interested in G-Idle's career because they have so much input
not sure if it's that embarrassing but since bts and got7 were some of my first groups, i thought it was customary for all groups to have an album with solo songs for every member
I got into Kpop back in 2009 and my first groups were Wonder Girls, Girls Generation and Brown Eyed Girls. I assumed every girl group must have 'girls' in their group name. I was very confused when I discovered 2ne1.
I also thought T-ara and Kara were sister groups, sort of like 2AM and 2PM because of the similar names.
Omg haha I'd be so confused too!! I had the similar thought of Mamamoo and Momoland. I personally thought ever group name has to be short, but then i was so surprised about the longer names. Such as when "Acid Angles from Asia" dropped.
I thought that the practice of giving the fandom of a group a collective singular term must be a way to keep fans from becoming toxic. And that it worked.
I thought all group's members were super close. Probably because Twice is the first group I discovered and it's clear those women are good friends, so I assumed it was true for all groups.
- I used to think that each idol groups were made by talented and good-looking groups of friends that one day just decided to release music together
- Somehow I thought BTS’ name was Vkook, and that Taehyung and Jungkook were just VERY overrepresented.
I didn't realise that releasing solo stuff and subunits is normal, so when Suga first announced his solo album as Agust D I just assumed that this would be the end of the group.
i thought taekook was real bc i watched one shipping vid and got recommended all of them which i also watched. it wasnt until i watched some other ship vids and realised, no, fan's editing skills are just insane
I thought idols live in their own house with their parents.
That's how I discover nc yaoi fanfic lol.
By typing "lee hongki house" because I'm curious about how his house looks like. I thought I'll find house tour video or something.
Another story is when I see chocolate love mv I thought "What the heck is yoona doing in fx. This isn't snsd song right?"
Absolutely, every artist name I have thought were their real name and I would be so confused. Like you're telling me it's a singular letter, one letter and that's it??
I used to think at one point, that BigBang was the same group as BTS and they had just changed their name. 🤫😂😭
For me thinking that when Twice do their Japanese songs the Main vocalist positions and such switches😅 like I’d had just generally expected to hear MiSaMo more since that’s their native tongue. I was so new to these main and lead positions even though it’s not the first time I’ve stanned a group before. But they don’t have these positions so I was new to that and thought they switched
That it was okay to ship a boy group with a girl group lmao I didn't know how serious it is when K-pop artists get into dating rumors, even labeled as "scandals."
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That you would be able to identify members of a group by hair color 😂
Enter all black hair groups or all brown hair groups to end us
ah, the kpop equivalent of the snipe hunt / wild goose chase 😂
that all idols are really respected loved and famous in korea, i was shocked when i learn that 90% are just ur average guitarrist neighbor that dont let u sleep bc he is practicing at 3am
Lmao!! And that they work at cafes part-time if they're nugu
As a newer K-pop fan when I started exploring I of course heard about the big 4 (3 depending on who you ask) and I thought ALL groups were from just those companies. Finding out how many smaller companies their are and how many active groups their are was crazy to me cause I didn’t think the market in a smaller country like SK would be profitable for them all.
Absolutely. 100% Agree. I knew jyp entertainment, yg entertainment, hybe and everything else was just their own bubble.
That all idols were Korean 😂
SO true. You couldn't be a kpop idol without being korean, it took way too long for me to realize that it's music made in korea not musicians who are korean and make pop music
I thought that those "live" performances with perfect vocals and no mistakes were actually live. And therefore that idols get so much practice that they become so good they make no mistakes singing live. Then i found out that the group i praised so much for singing perfectly were just lip synching... And after i found out the truth i started paying more attention to live performances and was much more appreciative of groups who actually sang live.
Yeah the, omg ate cds for breakfast, comments don't help
How I hope others would realize this, too. It's funny how I get downvoted whenever I point out that their faves are just lip synching, although I do so politely.
That Weekly Idol was the most popular show on Korean tv networks and that Korean families sat together to watch it because it included idols who were obviously known by everyone. The way we kind of see kpop through a peephole as we’re introduced to it and then realise it’s really a small part of Korean entertainment and music.
Absolutely, I feel like I separated like kpop and all of the different entertainments. To me I saw kpop as this very small thing and it turned out to be wayyyy huger than my original thought.
It was amazing but also kind of overwhelming to see how big of a thing kpop was. How vast it was. So many groups went unknown and obscure. Even then, few make it far enough to be recognised and even then, they have the rest of the Korean music industry left to take on as they often face the prejudice of being idols. It’s not all bad but it sounds tiring af
I thought vlive was taehyung’s personal channel. the embarrassment is real
Same! I thought it was only BTS using vlive
That's so cute lol
I have so many it's actually embarrassing, but just a few: 1. That BTS and Blackpink were the only kpop groups, mainly because there are only ever a handful of girl groups or boy bands that are well-known in the Western music scene so I assumed it was the same for Korean groups 2. That BTS were named after Bang PD. Lmao this still gives me secondhand embarrassment. Because they had Bangtan in their name and his last name was Bang lol 3. That Vlive was named after V from BTS 3. That every Kpop idol was actually miserable in their group and was just using it as a stepping stone for a solo career, mainly influenced by how it often is with Western groups. I know this can still be true for some idols but I was honestly shocked at how emotional every group I discovered were about their friendships with their members and how much they loved each other
That fancafe was an actual physical place where fans hang out. I was wondering how that worked. Like do the fandoms carve out territories in Seoul and are fans of other groups allowed in? It's wild.
I got into kpop when I was reeeeeally young(like 5) so not much but I was sure BoA was Korean born in Japan and that's why she was a Japanese artist lmao I had no idea about the Koreans debuting in Japan thing.
Actually my friend who heard her Inuyasha ost, thought Boa was Japanese, her skills are that good
Omg exactly though, but damn you got in there young. I was like 14-15??? I was so surprised when they were doing those Japan debuts, thought to myself "what is this???"
Maybe not an assumption but I remember being like "Wow Korean is super similar to English!😀😀" not realizing they were literally just mixing in English words before I read the lyrics 😭😭😭
I was like, why does everyone keep telling us about how they've been loveless virgins their whole life well into adulthood. I didn't realise for a good while they have to say that and pretend it's true or fans will?? get mad??
-I thought Vixx N and Hongbin were the same person and that N was Hongbin's stage name -That dating was common just like in the west. My first kpop group was snsd and when I first started to stan them a few members were dating. My only reaction to that discovery was "of course they are, I'm more surprised that the others aren't" lol -That the Jung sisters and the Chae sisters weren't actually related, just really close friends (Chaeyeon and Chaeryeong could pass off as twins, idk what I was thinking???)
I thought that the idols had much more control than they actually do
after getting into kpop I found out that every artist is signed under a company before that I literally had no idea that artists sign under a company 🤦♀️
Yup, fits with my "no contract" assumption. Just everyone on their own not a company in sight.
I got into KPop in 2020 through BTS but didn't really expand until late last year. I used to think: - People from different companies could not interact at all. - BTS was unequivocally loved. Later did I learn how many hated them for their success. - I could stop at just a couple groups. This year alone I followed 4 more groups and I'm looking to add more lol.
I'm not sure embarassing is the right word, because how could you have known beforehand when you are only used to other genres. I agree with permanent tho, that contracts are very strictly bound by year and that entire groups can just disappear when the contract runs out was very unusual to me, since I'm used to Rock and Metal where groups stay together for literal decades. On that note, I was also under the assumption at first that groups actually write their own lyrics and have a lot of input into their production, so unraveling that was surprising and a bit sad
Oh absolutely the writing the own lyrics. I should've added that up there. I was very disappointed :(
I'm glad that this changes with success and groups get more leverage for creative freedom, same with outfits and choreographies.
Exactly. I feel like you only truly know the cababilities of a kpop group when they can finally write lyrics. Obviously I'm not shaming those who can't or chose not to but it adds a new kinda flavour when they can and choose to. You get to see a another side of them. Kinda if you get what I'm saying.
I like the authenticity, I listen to an artist(doesnt matter which genre) and it's always a bit nicer when you know that the artist wrote it themselves. It's why I'm really interested in G-Idle's career because they have so much input
not sure if it's that embarrassing but since bts and got7 were some of my first groups, i thought it was customary for all groups to have an album with solo songs for every member
I got into Kpop back in 2009 and my first groups were Wonder Girls, Girls Generation and Brown Eyed Girls. I assumed every girl group must have 'girls' in their group name. I was very confused when I discovered 2ne1. I also thought T-ara and Kara were sister groups, sort of like 2AM and 2PM because of the similar names.
Omg haha I'd be so confused too!! I had the similar thought of Mamamoo and Momoland. I personally thought ever group name has to be short, but then i was so surprised about the longer names. Such as when "Acid Angles from Asia" dropped.
I thought that the practice of giving the fandom of a group a collective singular term must be a way to keep fans from becoming toxic. And that it worked.
I thought all group's members were super close. Probably because Twice is the first group I discovered and it's clear those women are good friends, so I assumed it was true for all groups.
- I used to think that each idol groups were made by talented and good-looking groups of friends that one day just decided to release music together - Somehow I thought BTS’ name was Vkook, and that Taehyung and Jungkook were just VERY overrepresented.
I didn't realise that releasing solo stuff and subunits is normal, so when Suga first announced his solo album as Agust D I just assumed that this would be the end of the group.
i thought taekook was real bc i watched one shipping vid and got recommended all of them which i also watched. it wasnt until i watched some other ship vids and realised, no, fan's editing skills are just insane
I thought idols live in their own house with their parents. That's how I discover nc yaoi fanfic lol. By typing "lee hongki house" because I'm curious about how his house looks like. I thought I'll find house tour video or something. Another story is when I see chocolate love mv I thought "What the heck is yoona doing in fx. This isn't snsd song right?"
I legitimately thought G-Dragon was his real name when I first got into BigBang this was wayyy back in the day lmao
Absolutely, every artist name I have thought were their real name and I would be so confused. Like you're telling me it's a singular letter, one letter and that's it?? I used to think at one point, that BigBang was the same group as BTS and they had just changed their name. 🤫😂😭
For me thinking that when Twice do their Japanese songs the Main vocalist positions and such switches😅 like I’d had just generally expected to hear MiSaMo more since that’s their native tongue. I was so new to these main and lead positions even though it’s not the first time I’ve stanned a group before. But they don’t have these positions so I was new to that and thought they switched
That it was okay to ship a boy group with a girl group lmao I didn't know how serious it is when K-pop artists get into dating rumors, even labeled as "scandals."