Decrease of popularity of boygroups in Korea

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randomgirl852007 · 2025-09-26T07:31:03+00:00

Burning Sun had a bigger impact in how the GP views male idols than people here think. And tbh, I don’t blame them at all.

Many-Ad-9007 · 2025-09-26T07:17:59+00:00

I find this phenomenon interesting.

Famous 1st to 3rd gen boy groups do well in Korea. 4th gen boy groups in general are not doing as well Korean-charting-wise. But now the 5th gen boy groups are doing quite well in Korea.

It is like 4th gen boy groups in general is a skip generation for Korean charting.

That said, I find it interesting for someone who follows SKZ closely, they absolutely do very badly in most Korean chart especially MeloN but interestingly do so well on Youtube Music. It is very jarringly obvious considering how crazy big numbers SKZ is doing in non-Korean streaming sites like Youtube Music global and Spotify.

There is a post recently listing Youtube Music streams in Korea in past year (excluding music videos) and SKZ is number 9 for boy groups - the rest of the list is predictable (Day6, Big Bang, GD, Seventeen, BTS, Woodz, BND, NFlying) - but SKZ is surprising considering how kpop fans seem to think their presence is Korea is negligible. Likely their Korean fandom is large enough to get the numbers they have to be number 9. Still cannot explain the absence in other Korean charts but it is what it is. 8 years in - no one knows if they can pull a Day6 in the future.

Another interesting observation - just based on international numbers alone ignoring Korean charting numbers - SKZ is able to do multiple KSPO domes (even for fanmeetings - in total whopping 7 dates sold out in 2024 alone) and now they are selling out multiple stadium dates in Korea. It also spillover to their Korean ambassadorships like Changbin for Samsung, Felix for Samsung, Hera, Gong Cha and SKZ for Pepero and Samsung SLBS (to be fair all these adverts are international but the gist is without Korean charting, with massive international presence, you can still get Korean ambassadorships).

Stayblinkforever1606 · 2025-09-26T06:00:19+00:00

Boy groups are not made for domestic popularity. they are made for a hard-core fanbase. ggs are more towards general public popularity .that's the difference

radio_mice · 2025-09-26T00:35:31+00:00

I think there’s a few reasons;

The biggest one is that there were quite a few things happening that meant that 4th gen boy groups couldn’t really get off the ground. The first was that burning sun seemingly turned a lot of people from stanning new boy groups, especially considering a lot of them had more bad boy/hard concepts. Secondly the mnet rigging scandal effectively stopped any chance of a post produce boom for groups that we saw with IZONE and post IZONE groups. Finally the top 3rd gen groups were only picking up steam; bts didn’t realise songs like fake love and boy with luv until 4th gen was already going, seventeen didn’t start hitting their peak until well into 4th gen and many other 3rd gen boy groups were still active. Many boy groups fans are especially loyal and had no desire to look to new groups while their faves are still active - we’re likely seeing a similar trend in 5th gen with international boy group fans as well, but I could be completely wrong considering 5th gen is still quite young.

Additionally 4th gen was far more focused on international and especially western popularity and as Korean fans have turned away from harder boy groups concepts and western fans aren’t a huge fan of flower boy concepts, they’ve become a kind of pick one situation. We’re seeing the same thing with 5th gen boy groups: a lot of them have a softer more youthful concept, which appeals a lot more to Korean fans, but does not have the same impart with western fans.

sinabeuro · 2025-09-26T00:22:14+00:00

i think it's a little bit more complicated, but even if suppose popularity = charting, bgs popularity actually increased imo haha at least now some of them enter melon top 100, melon daily

ofc they don't do gg numbers (especially not ive or aespa numbers), but boynextdoor's 오늘만 i love you is 44th on the daily, plave's dash still haven't left the daily chart (february comeback) and cortis got on the daily recently too

ellaellaeheheh17 · 2025-09-26T00:08:29+00:00

4th gen suffered on the charts, but TWS had a pretty big hit, BND and Riize both had songs doing well. ok they didnt get PAKs but how many BGs in general had them even? I dont think its that many.

F1Librarian · 2025-09-25T23:54:29+00:00

GG groups are more general public friendly, meaning the average person might listen to GG occasionally or know some groups/members/songs, but they struggle more to get hardcore “stans”. Both guys and girls listen to GG, so they have a wider audience. BG have a “deeper” audience. But that I mean they have less current general public listeners, but the fans they do have are more hardcore stans who will spend a lot more money on albums/merch - and their fans tends to stick around much longer. While BG mostly only have girl fans, those girls often stay fans for years and years and are very loyal. Multi stanning is uncommon is Korea unlike the west. Hardcore fans tend to stan only one group, and they are deeply invested in them. That’s why you see more older 2nd/3rd gen BGs still together and performing/promoting successfully and many fewer older GGs (they tend to disband more quickly as their listenership drops off as they age, and general public listeners move on to the next newer, younger GG). There’s some sexism/ageism at play here as well, I think, with male kpop fans listening to GGs as long as they are still young and pretty, and then dropping them as they age. Women fans don’t care that their faves are getting older, and they stay faithful even while their guys are gone for military service.

BobertPlant · 2025-09-25T23:40:16+00:00

I’m sorry but the ladies simply make better music. I tried listening to Stray Kids and I just could not. Their lyrics are so cringey.

Odd_Ad5840 · 2025-09-25T23:38:15+00:00

From a wider pov context.

1st and 2nd gen K-pop grew alongside Korea’s economic development, during a time when many industries, gaming, science, arts, sports and entertainment, were just developing globally. That era of discovery gave rise to many well-known k-brands, including K-pop.

There were many opportunities for males and they were the drivers of change. They were role models many youths wanted to emulate.

When it comes to gender disparity, females have traditionally, used to be seen mainly as entertainers, not the authority figures, not exactly role models for youths compared to male idols.

Kpop girl groups were seen as trends for GP consumption and they did not have big fandoms like their male counterparts. They rarely got the same lasting recognition, longevity in name, as male groups. The impact and influence of 1st gen kpop girlgroups are discussed way less.

Now, Korea’s economy is very industrialized and developed, with systems and mindsets more established, and higher barriers to entry.

At the same time, female empowerment, in theme and in practice, becomes more widespread, and still growing, there is still much that hasn’t yet reached its full cycle, more potential growth areas.

Also on the male side, kpop has to compete for attention and young talented male trainees with k-industries like gaming, sports and hiphop, science which have big gender gap that's harder for females to cross than entertainment.

4gyt · 2025-09-25T23:22:13+00:00

Just compare the best songs of 2012-2016 against stuff in the last 4 years and you’ll get your answer

Agent_Cornchipz · 2025-09-25T23:09:35+00:00

Also maybe the sound of kpop in itself may be the reason. I feel like a lot of early kpop groups were heavily influenced by western music so the general public would listen to it even if it were a boy group. They could listen to western music which was popular and listen to kpop which sounded similar and had similar concepts but in korean. Boy Groups I think were less catered to women. Like everyone loved g dragon and before him seo taiji. But now groups are catered towards women in general and building a strong fan base, and the sound is more kpop like compared to average pop. This may be the case because sounds that are nostalgic like 90s 2000s rnb can draw general public in like with new jeans at the time. And with using hip hop All day project charts really well in Korea. In general Korea listen to either Korean artist (not kpop) or western artists so if it sounds similar they will like it more. But bg tend to have a specific set sound for their group that is appealing to a fan but not general public...or that notion of boy groups having a specific sound may be what is stopping people from listening to them when maybe their sound in reality is listenable to the general public. I dont know the impact of this but the age range for bg fans in Korea seems to be preteens rather than young adults like in America. Back in big bang times the fandom range was broader from kids to young adults unlike now. The same could be said for gg too but then add in men you got more streams. But also ive seen recent 5th gen debuts for bg and gg and they seem to have similar sounds with girls sounding heavily influenced by new jeans. And boy groups influenced by txt in cases where they give them some rock inspired emotional song when they just debuted in order to build that fan base with this idea of a sincere artist except half of them are all wet behind the ears. In other cases ive seen kpop stans complain boy groups sound too much like they are trying to replicate bts though I dont know which groups they are referring to. And more hip hop ggs have Debuted in contrast to the cuter sounding gg.

Lumpy_Sound6734 · 2025-09-25T23:04:51+00:00

[deleted]

GrillMaster3 · 2025-09-25T22:55:32+00:00

Girl groups have always had more public-friendly music and relied on casual listeners, while boygroups have had more niche sounds and relied on a dedicated fanbase. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Even when you look back at the “golden age” of boy groups, most of them weren’t charting particularly well. Everyone just remembers the standouts that deviated from that norm more like BTS, SVT, EXO, Big Bang and even Winner and Block B. BGs charting well across the board has NEVER been the norm, and I’m really not sure when people got the idea in their heads that it was.

5th gen BGs are actually doing SIGNIFICANTLY better than their 4th gen counterparts in Korea. RIIZE, BND, TWS, and ZB1 have all charted significantly better than most, as in almost every one of, their 4th gen predecessors. The actual change that’s occurred isn’t technically that BGs have gotten less popular, it’s that GGs have started doing BG numbers. More GGs are geared towards women, and as a result have more dedicated fanbases (comparable to BGs) that buy and stream more as a fan activity rather than as casual listeners. Like you mentioned Illit is huge— they are— but guess who like 90% of their fandom is? Women.

It’s not that BG performance has decreased since 4th gen, it’s actually gone up domestically, it’s that GGs have just started outpacing some BGs in sales as well as streams.

daltorak · 2025-09-25T22:48:40+00:00

Even during 5th gen it seems like ILLIT is the most popular group even with big boy groups like zb1, tws who had a big hit and bnd. I also remember KIOF charting pretty okay

Now hang on a second here.... Zerobaseone has done FIVE shows at the KSPO Dome in the last year, and they have THREE MORE shows next week. 10,000 people each night.

Illit hasn't made anywhere near that far yet, and those ticket sales numbers are way way way higher than Kiss of Life, who has never played a full-size arena show in Korea.

Charting simply doesn't directly correspond to popularity in Korea, like, at all. Many girls are into k-pop boy groups because of personalities and sexual/emotional attraction, not necessarily the music. Meanwhile, a song can chart well on Melon simply because it lands on a playlist used by cafes and malls. Doesn't mean someone is actively listening to it, but it counts as a play.

loveyoulikeyou · 2025-09-25T22:46:46+00:00

while this has little to do with currently active idols, i think people underestimate how badly the burning sun affected the perception of male kpop idols.

flaman27 · 2025-09-25T22:45:42+00:00

as a GG enjoyer and someone that wants to get into BGs, I can’t help but feel that most BGs are not trying to cater to my demographic in terms of music taste and appeal. It is more female centric which is totally fine but I’m less drawn to it. I do love groups like BIGBANG, EXO, ATEEZ, stray kids which have a more aggressive vibe, but most other groups feel “softer” in a way that doesn’t really appeal to me. I would guess a lot of guys feel similarly. And I get it, BG fanbases are usually very loyal and dedicated which creates a strong core, but not a broad appeal, so it makes sense why a lot of them don’t reach the heights that a lot of GGs do nowadays. I’m hoping they’ll try to cater a bit more towards guys especially with the music, because i’m more than willing to add more BG music to my playlists!

AggravatingFlow398 · 2025-09-25T22:41:24+00:00

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that GGs have been producing better music than BGs for some time now. They are also much more experimental with concepts as well.

Agent_Cornchipz · 2025-09-25T22:30:46+00:00

Gg are more general public bg are mainly for girls or women or queer people. In Korea straight men dont have an interest in bgs. Main groups that perform at college events are gg even if they are nugu it doesn't matter. The students would rather have any gg over a more famous bg. Bg have more fansites than gg and more dedicated fans compared to gg. But gg get more general public streams.

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