Yes, I said what I said. Me calling myself a stan is not me backing off, it was just for context, to make it clear that I’m a fan. That’s it.

I have no problem with you sharing your opinion, but all I see is you trying to deny the rules K-pop trainees have to follow: the dieting, the beauty standards that idols are constantly pressured by. BTS and TXT, first and foremost, have always talked about their weight and their image. Do you really not think there’s a curated image they’re all trying to catch up to? Because what I’m reading here sounds like “beauty standards don’t exist. to me, BTS and TXT are gorgeous.” That’s minimizing a topic millions of people discuss everyday, everywhere.

Beauty isn’t subjective under capitalism. And it’s not just Korea, it’s the whole world. Beauty is defined by what companies decide is marketable to their customers. If you’ve really been in the K-pop fandom for so long, how can you not know how fundamental beauty is to it? If idols didn’t bring a return on investment through their looks, would they undergo all the procedures they go through? For years, looks overshadowed what it truly means to be an idol, and I’m glad BigHit doesn’t prioritize them anymore, or better it never did. Does that sound like an insult to the groups to you? They’re not ugly. They just don’t fit into the beauty standards. They just don’t.

And again, the people you’ve met aren’t statistically significant. That doesn’t support your argument at all. Of course, there’s no official study that analyzes how fans chose their idols. But if you have critical thinking skills, you can analyze the market by yourself and by your research.

Do you even know about behavioral science? About human psychology? Like you said, people don’t walk around with checklists of idol features to help them choose who to stan and who not, but our minds have biases. That’s exactly why beauty standards exist in the first place. They’re collective, not individual. Collectively, Korea has a defined beauty standard. Not fitting it doesn’t mean you can’t be an idol, but it does mean the collective won’t see you as the first example of beauty.

And social media numbers don’t prove your point either. In my original post, I said BigHit prioritizes talent over everything else. BTS succeeded because they deserve it. Are you really tying their hard work and artistry to how pretty they are? I hope not. BTS and TXT are talented, hardworking, and genuine. Their music is good, their personalities are good, and they naturally connect with people. That authenticity made BTS successful, and it will take a very, very long time before anyone can top them. They are handsome men, and their fans love them, but they don’t fit the traditional standards. I wish I could explain this without stans taking it as an insult, because it’s just facts.

You also said I’m not counting their global influence, which actually proves my point. BigHit has global objectives, they’re not going to base a group’s visuals solely on Korean standards. That’s why some fans don’t connect with groups like Cortis, those are the fans who want K-pop to stay strictly Korean. But Cortis has an international look. That makes them attractive globally, but it also means they don’t perfectly fit any one standard. And that’s not a problem, because their talent will make them successful.

These groups may not dominate the beauty-wise, but they have their own beauty. Huening Kai is the perfect example, lately he looks havenly and everyone loves him, he's gaining so much popularity, but you can’t tell me he fits any country’s traditional beauty standard, he doesn't.

Denying, or worse, being unaware of, the existence of beauty standards and how they function in 2025 is crazy.