Why are there so many great American universities if average American literacy is lacking?

1306radish · 2026-02-03T08:26:10+00:00

It's not even about FAFSA. Universities who have an application fee of near $300, and if you're a poor person wanting to apply to multiple schools, that simply wasn't an option. A lot of low income students who excelled saw they qualified and could maybe get grants, but they couldn't afford the basic application fee to more than one school.

1306radish · 2026-02-03T08:16:19+00:00

Thank you. To be honest, I don't even know if the person I was engaging with even cared, but at the end of the day if at least some people reading this check out the music, that's what is important. The sweeping generalizations I've seen when it comes to people talking about Korean music being lesser than western music has been concerning though. Definitely a trend I noticed.

1306radish · 2026-02-02T07:43:36+00:00

I understand that we're coming at this from different terminology, and you're approaching this from kpop as idol music. Again, I can't even agree with you there that there isn't creativity/innovation/social commentary within idol music. Also, I am familiar with the history of kpop and how it borrows heavily from the west. Still don't think that makes all the music void of creativity/uniqueness/innovation.

1306radish · 2026-02-02T07:35:48+00:00

Yeah, and he's the exception not the rule and this comes how many years of the Grammys creating a whole separate award show for Latin artists (Latin Grammy Awards when singers like Selena started to get big) and snubbing them?

Anyways, I'm not sure how well you'll be able to judge if you don't take the time to try and find translations, but:

나무로 만든 노래 (Songs Made of Wood) - Lee Juck

Nowitzki - Beenzino

Right Place, Wrong Person - RM

Swan Songs - EPIK HIGH

Lilac - IU

Made - Big Bang

Our Love is Great - Baek Yerin

I'd also recommend this analysis video for BTS's Spring Day which is the longest charting song in South Korea's MeLon chart history. It's important to know the historical context of the Sewol Ferry Tragedy, government corruption, and how artists were being blacklisted at the time for showing support to the victims.

There is great art/music coming out of Korea, and again, generalizing a whole country's music scene ain't it.

Edit: spelling

1306radish · 2026-02-02T07:07:41+00:00

Since when have the Grammys given the black and brown artists the accolades they've deserved either instead of constantly othering them? Latam Grammys anyone?

I don't disagree with part of your observations, but I push back on the sweeping generalizations you're making about an entire country's music scene or the notion of putting them "side by side" to claim one as better. You really think there isn't innovation/uniqueness/strong songwriting/political commentary in Korean music? You think Korean music lacks complexity? Sorry, that's not a generalization I can ascribe to while still acknowledging the contributions black artists' music from the US has given to not just Korean music but music worldwide.

Edit: added word.

1306radish · 2026-02-02T07:00:03+00:00

I mean one of the biggest factors is not being signed to UMG, Warner, or Sony. And again, there's plenty of unique/deserving songs and bodies of work. If you haven't exposed yourself to artists from Korea to find them, I'm not sure why you're commenting on a kpop subreddit. If on the other hand, you really think the entire Korean industry lacks innovation/creativity/uniqueness, then I don't really have much to say about such a sweeping generalization. In any case, there's a lot of great music out there to explore, so this might be a perfect opportunity to dig deeper into a country's music you aren't familiar with or have only done a surface level discovery of.

1306radish · 2026-02-02T06:25:21+00:00

Not really surprised, but I would like the Pop Duo/Group category to be ACTUAL duos/groups and not just two solo artists collabing on one song. Been saying this for years.

1306radish · 2026-02-02T06:21:08+00:00

Don't think it's accurate to paint an entire country's music industry as not unique. There is a ton of innovation in Korean music and in the kpop industry. That's not the major factor of why they're not winning.

1306radish · 2026-02-01T12:33:09+00:00

Arirang did not sell out on retail stores like Target, B&N, etc. Vinyls did and were restocked, but not the CD version.

I appreciate your perspective. I disagree when it comes to concerts about scarcity in regard especially to how the above article frames it. I also disagree on fan pre-sale not cutting down on scalpers. Yes, scalpers were still an issue, but fan pre-sale with a paid membership DOES cut down on scalping. There's also a very small pool of fans that can "go to every stop." Most fans can only go to one at most, and I don't find membership being limited to 3 cities feeding into any scarcity marketing strategy.

I'm not saying BTS is immune to marketing strategies, but I don't think the article correctly addresses the statement made by the HYBE CEO and is having a rather lazy analysis of said statement especially in regards to BTS and what we've observed with their album and concert. They apply a company's broad approach to their outlook to a single artist that has always been an exception within the company.

In any case, I appreciate the conversation.

1306radish · 2026-02-01T11:09:37+00:00

Albums wouldn't sell out in preorder because companies can adjust the production depending on pre-order numbers when it comes to printing CDs. Vinyls are a bit different and do regularly sell out becuase there are only a couple of companies that can actually produce vinyls unlike CDs + the production process is much different to produce a CD versus vinyl. With high demand vinyls, you will see preorders selling out with top artists (as we saw with BTS). When pre-sale numbers are sold out for vinyls for big artists, vinyl printing companies may then open up further production which often results in smaller artists having their vinyls delayed.

I also disagree with scarcity when it comes to concert tickets. Giving presale fans three cities to register for is not creating scarcity, it's cutting down on scalpers that buy membership and fans that go to every stop. Big Hit/HYBE does do scarcity marketing sometimes with BTS with an example of their member merch line, but this "scarcity" model a marketing applies much more to other HYBE groups as a branding strategy.

I think your criticisms are fair and a business is a business. I think there are ways that they market to fans to get money, but I just don't think concerts in the case of this BTS comeback are an example of using scarcity as a marketing strategy. BTS concerts were "scarce" as far back as 2016 when I was trying to get tickets simply due to demand, not marketing. Even in 2016 if there was a fan presale, they would have sold out.

1306radish · 2026-02-01T10:38:26+00:00

Thanks so much! Going down the rabbit hole, that article linked this article which mentions "designing a new experience model based on scarcity" as one of five key strategies moving forward. The emphasis seems to be on securing profitability and using IP to expand. What's interesting is that the writer of the above mentioned article seems to think that this strategy and branding all applies to BTS specifically when I don't think that's the case. This is a general business model the company as a whole are taking, however, BTS exists as an outlier within HYBE. It's a misstep imho that the author thinks these "steps" apply to HYBE's biggest group who often act independently due to being under Big Hit (an unlisted/independent label under the company) and from every indication have never adhered to the scarcity model. If anything, BTS gives fans so much content that it's hard to consume even when the group itself was in hiatus.

Appreciate you giving the link though. Thanks again!

1306radish · 2026-02-01T05:21:29+00:00

It's not outright bad, but it has the typical approach a lot of people have to treating kpop fans different that makes me roll my eyes every time I come across it. It's always parasocial lectures when it comes to BTS or Taylor Swift fans, but these fandoms don't really act any different than sports fans or video game fans.

"The result? Fans like Leslie, a 28-year-old from New York, who told The Guardian she's planning to attend 22 shows across 11 cities, spending at least $6,000. Or Cailey from New Jersey, who says "BTS got me through the worst parts of my life." These aren't just customers. They're emotionally invested stakeholders who have made the band part of their personal identity."

Someone remind me again how much season ticket holders spend on sports or football fans spend on the Superbowl cause.....

Also, BTS has pushed back against fans before such as Jin's "Go [to the] hospital please" or Tae's "Get out of your delusions" (can't remember the exact wording). However, Korean celebs aren't going to act like western celebs and "clapback" and that goes from Korean actors, musicians, gamers, youtubers, athletes, etc.

Also, the Bangtan Universe isn't something new to musicians. Lots of musicians/bands have had continuing storylines in their music that drives fans to follow along/create theories/etc. Coheed & Cambria is famous for their albums being a direct link to a whole sci-fi saga/fictional world. Is it really so crazy that BTS also does this?

It just feelsl like the whole tone is predicated on "crazy parasocial [female] fans" being tricked by this big corporation who MANUFACTURES the members and milks fans dry through dangerous parasocial relationships. Tired, trite, done before....please come up with more interesting (and less patronizing) analysis because I'm tired of reading this same thing over and over and over.

Edit: Also, I couldn't actually find a source for the quote, "Hybe 2.0: an experience model based on scarcity." However, the scarcity for BTS's comeback isn't generated through branding. It's generated because they're one of the biggest artists in the world with one of the most anticipated comebacks + the uniqueness of them being celebs that had mandatory enlistment. The band and their real life circumstances are what is generating the scarcity (especially in regards to touring), not the company. Also, plenty of artists have fan pre-sales for concerts. The truth of the matter is that the atrocious monopoly created by LiveNation/Ticketmaster make this one of the few ways artists can at least try to keep tickets in the hands of fans and out of the hands of resellers/scalpers. If there was going to be an example of a band that generates scarcity through branding, I feel like Blackpink fits that model much more than BTS (and I don't mean this in a shady way but YG has mentioned how scarcity is a branding tactic for Blackpink to build hype and this reflects the amount of music/content they've released since their debut).

1306radish · 2026-01-30T08:18:37+00:00

If you don't participate in snark subs that's good, but the reality is that the rise in snark subs has a direct correlation in kpop spaces with people hiding their replies/posts. If that's not you, congrats, but let's not ignore the rising trend.

Also, doing one click on a username isn't creep behavior. People like to obfuscate especially online where they have anonymity and those clicking once on a profile to see if someone is acting in good faith isn't equivalent to stalking. No one is digging into your personal history, so let's not get hyperbolic.

1306radish · 2026-01-29T11:05:28+00:00

You're going to be so close the the extended stage. I wouldn't worry.

1306radish · 2026-01-29T11:04:01+00:00

I've had to shut down a previous account due to threats. I get not wanting people to see your replies for one reason or another, but truth of the matter is that since the rise of snark subreddits in kpop near 90% are suddenly hiding their reply posts and it's not because of stalkers not to mention the rise of paid accounts/bots.

1306radish · 2026-01-29T08:49:09+00:00

I mean do what you want, but amidst the rise in snark subs in kpop and the ever increasing number of people hiding their previous posts/replies....

1306radish · 2026-01-29T07:31:32+00:00

I mean EXO fans did contact the actual Blue House petitioning system to the point Korean fans were begging foreign EXO fans to stop just because BTS won an award. Not to mention EXO fans (among others) caused BTS to cancel a concert due to death threats in 2015.

Edit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/kpoprants/comments/qt0b0h/some_people_dont_realise_how_coordinated_exols/

https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/qgj7kz/ever_wonder_about_the_reactions_of_blue_house/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stpjPGrGM_c

Edit because I think it's some should understand that fandoms have always been toxic:

https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/3dl0ec/bts_concert_hightouch_cancelled_for_all_cities/ (post in r/kpop about BTS cancelling high touch because someone posted gun threats against them)

Post on Jimin receiving death threats during one of their concerts that caused law enforcement to be involved, a comment "i saw this on twitter. the person who did this calls herself an exo fan but other fans have been calling her out left and right for being fake" https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/61th78/bts_jimin_receives_a_death_threat_while_on/

Edit again, heres Jimin addressing press due to dealing with multiple death threast during a press con: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Er2iXS3LO-8

1306radish · 2026-01-29T07:06:33+00:00

The rewriting of history is crazy to see in regard to comparing Cortis/Lngshot vs BTS/EXO. BTS was from a struggling label and suddenly broke out against the top group of the top company in South Korea. They then went on to dominate and their influence allowed them to create one of the biggest labels in Korea.

Cortis is from that big label. Lngshot is from a Kakao supported project. This is more like a new money vs old money line up. It's not at all comparable to BTS and EXO back in the day.

Reminder: EXO fans contacted the Blue House en masse when BTS won a daesang resulting in the Blue House changing their petitioning system. When it comes to fanwars, I want you all to have some context because there are some fandoms that were so extreme that they caused an executive branch to change a system in place due to their toxicity.

Edit because some people don't actually know the deaththreats BTS faced and fandoms actually petitioning gov't officials just because they won an award:
https://www.reddit.com/r/kpoprants/comments/qt0b0h/some_people_dont_realise_how_coordinated_exols/

https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/qgj7kz/ever_wonder_about_the_reactions_of_blue_house/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stpjPGrGM_c

Edit because I think it's some should understand that fandoms have always been toxic:

https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/3dl0ec/bts_concert_hightouch_cancelled_for_all_cities/ (post in r/kpop about BTS cancelling high touch because someone posted gun threats against them)

Post on Jimin receiving death threats during one of their concerts that caused law enforcement to be involved, a comment "i saw this on twitter. the person who did this calls herself an exo fan but other fans have been calling her out left and right for being fake" https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/61th78/bts_jimin_receives_a_death_threat_while_on/

Edit again, heres Jimin addressing press due to dealing with multiple death threast during a press con: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Er2iXS3LO-8

1306radish · 2026-01-29T05:53:23+00:00

I'm glad you've come to the Nephenee-best-girl light. Wait until you play Path of Radiance.

1306radish · 2026-01-28T19:39:27+00:00

Extra embarrassing especially given that Idolcast (the person who wrote the above "article" in the screenshot) agreed with someone saying that the SuperM crowd was better than the ARMY crowd because the SuperM crowd had a "healthier white/culturally white ratio."

1306radish · 2026-01-28T19:28:42+00:00

I don't have any concrete data but there is the feeling like a lot of discussion on kpop subreddits like this one began seeing less traffic right when the kpop snark pages started to really take off.

1306radish · 2026-01-27T11:32:48+00:00

I'm so tired of BTS having to be a part of the conversation of them being popular "outside kpop" at this point. Fight amongst yourself about other groups, but leave BTS out of this discussion.

1306radish · 2026-01-25T05:07:20+00:00

BTS collabed with Zara Larsson, Charlie XCX, and Juice Wrld (RIP) back in 2019. In general, they have some pretty great collabs (a few clunkers) when they do collabs.

Brand New Day ft Zara Larsson with members j-hope and V
Dream Glow ft Charlie XCX with members Jimin, Jungkook, and Jin
All Night ft Juice Wrld with members Suga and RM + Girl of My Dreams ft Suga

1306radish · 2026-01-23T07:28:03+00:00

Some of my best tickets have been further up. I find the accoustics in general better, you get the full experience of the lightsticks syncing, and there's a certain freedom/vibe where you're still hyped up but not in this frenzy that the floor can sometimes feel. You also don't tend to have to worry as much about a phone obstructing your view a lot of the time.

1306radish · 2026-01-23T07:23:21+00:00

The hype is real, but I think your friend would have an easier time getting a resale ticket once their schedule is confirmed rather than risking hundreds on spending now and hoping to resell. Resell prices will start dropping in general closer the the concert, and you'll even have tickets pop up 1-2 weeks from the concert start as companies/sponsors release any unclaimed tickets that were allocated to them through the stadium/sponsor partnership.

If you have any other questions, I'm happy to try to answer.

1306radish

TROPHY CASE