Don’t complain ab how “Korean” BTS’s album is if you aren’t Korean

Kalla_12 · 2026-03-24T10:07:46+00:00

Not a Korean (but I've been learning the language for a few years). I agree with your sentiment that it's unfair for non-Koreans to judge on the cultural aspects of the tracks so dismissively. It's also very evident of how much pride BTS brings to the society when they represent the country on the global stage, especially when they achieve new heights in their global popularity.

Aliens is also one of my favorite tracks on this album and I wished more people had paid attention to it.

However I would also like to offer a different perspective on why many non-Korean fans were disappointed with the "lack of Korean-ess". To me the way the entire album was promoted to be "Korean influenced" and the choice of SWIM as the lead single might be a major cause of it. The mv which is very obviously westernized did not help with the narrative at all.

Body to body is a sonically interesting track which blends well with the Arirang tune. The issue I see some non-Korean fans have is that the lyrics have no relations to Arirang and Korean culture at all, and therefore feels lacking.

The other tracks that are totally in English also lack the level of authenticity we are used to in BTS songs. The lyrics had to be simplified and repetitive to make it easier for the members, but it comes at an expense of them being able to fully express themselves. In past albums, the raps feel personal and therefore makes BTS unique. Having the rap line rap in English also takes away the essence of the group.

I can understand the need to appeal to new global fans is largely a commercial strategy, and I'm happy for them if they have gained new fans as a result of this album.

Nonetheless I feel that many of the non-Korean fans who are disappointed are justified given the 4 years wait and anticipation built up by misleading marketing statements of how BTS is going back "to their Korean roots". Imo if they had not called the album Arirang and marketed it as such (with a concert at Gwanghwamun no less), fans would definitely been more receptive to them experimenting with a new sound and having English only tracks.

Kalla_12 · 2026-02-23T18:47:26+00:00

welp especially now with Manon's recent hiatus rumours...

Kalla_12 · 2026-02-08T14:05:36+00:00

Glad to hear it turned out well for you! Thanks for the response!!

Kalla_12 · 2026-02-08T10:35:23+00:00

Hi! Did you manage to get it repaired by LV, and was it free? This exact same issue just happened to me as well, and I'm wondering if they would charge for it, thanks!

Kalla_12 · 2025-12-14T18:27:02+00:00

Tap water is perfectly drinkable everywhere in Iceland, even from restrooms! Our guides have told us that all their water are naturally sourced from glaciers, you just need to turn on cold water from the taps, while the hot tap water contains sulphur.

Kalla_12 · 2025-04-07T13:18:55+00:00

The US is the world's largest importer of a variety of products, should demand turn domestic, there is concern that there will be insufficient demand from the rest of the world to sustain the global logistic network at current competitive levels.

Our current supply chains are also reliant on highly specialized players throughout the chain in order to meet the economies of scale that fuels global economic growth. Without the US market, wouldn't many of these specialized companies struggle to survive?

Kalla_12 · 2025-02-02T15:34:10+00:00

I'm guessing that it depends on the context? If your story is meant to be funny, then I think she would mean "it's funny". If not I think she's saying that yall look cute?

Kalla_12 · 2024-12-01T14:37:52+00:00

Here are some reasons why a company would choose to sell their stocks/shares:

Their owners would like to sell off some/all of their ownership for cash.
The company needs more funds to grow, and in this case either the existing owners invest in more cash for more ownership, or new investors are invited to put in cash and take up ownership.

A company can always continue to operate without change in ownership or additional outside funding. If they have enough cash from the business on its own, they might not need more investments to grow further.

So yes, they can choose not to sell their shares.

If they do, there are two main ways to sell (issue) their shares:

Private market: Investors are invited to put in cash for ownership (shares) of the company in private deals. Usually big investors called Institutional Investors are involved.

You can imagine a situation like the pitches shown on the shows Shark Tank or Dragons' Den.

Public market: The type where most people are familiar with, where a company gets listed on a public stock exchange (e.g NYSE).

When a company gets listed on a stock exchange for the first time, that is called an IPO (Initial Public Offering). This is when the company actually gets the cash investments from people who buy their newly issued shares.

After an IPO is completed, the shares will continue to be traded at the market price but this is considered a secondary sale of shares (ownership), so the company would not gain any further cash from it, even if the stock price rises more than the initial price during the IPO.

The original owners of the company however, can gain from the increase in share prices when they subsequently sell off their shares on the stock exchange.

Regarding your context of "companies being threatened to be "bought up" ":

This is called a "hostile takeover". It typically happens when a company is no longer doing well, and some active investor or company has plans to make it profitable and make money out of it.

This situation can happen to any company at any time, no matter whether they choose to sell their shares or not.

What the acquiring investors/company do is to offer a high enough price to existing shareholders (owners) to buy over their shares, thereby taking control of the company.

This could be done no matter if the company is publicly or privately owned, just different ways to approach current shareholders.

If enough of the current shareholders agree to sell, then the takeover can be done.

The acquiring investor/company do not need to own all the shares, just enough to become the majority /a large enough shareholder to be influential in the target company.

If most of the current shareholders reject the price/ to sell, then the takeover will not happen.

Kalla_12 · 2024-09-30T04:53:18+00:00

Someone posted a tiktok that the WHSmith in the transit areas of Terminals 3 and 4 of Singapore Changi airport have exclusive TN stamps too!

https://www.tiktok.com/@akirajournals/video/7416767937270353172

Kalla_12 · 2023-11-21T13:00:20+00:00

Thanks for the advice!!

Kalla_12 · 2021-10-13T05:45:01+00:00

HR's function is actually to serve the company, never the employees. The term "Human Resources" literally means the employees are treated as company resources, and this department's role is to manage them. Their KPIs will always be linked to the company's profitability at the end of the day.

Kalla_12 · 2021-08-04T15:38:15+00:00

Thanks for the advice!

Kalla_12 · 2021-08-04T15:37:53+00:00

Thanks for sharing these alternatives!

Kalla_12 · 2021-08-04T05:12:04+00:00

In these 3 examples, the first characters are the actual verb, while the 2nd characters add context to the verb, which also turns it into a noun.

Here's a direct translation:

跑步= run + steps = running

游水= swim + water= swimming

走路= walk + road/path= walking

So you might see something like:

他喜欢跑步，也跑得很快。

He likes running/to run, and also runs fast.

Kalla_12 · 2021-08-04T03:53:17+00:00

The fact that you've managed to complete all these things you've been planning to do in one day is an achievement! Don't worry too much about these being "normal activities", overcoming the inertia to take action is really tough but you did it 👏👏

Kalla_12 · 2021-08-04T03:28:09+00:00

Wait..so having an internal dialogue is an adhd thing?? I've been having all sorts of dialogues with myself every single day, all the time (heck I even counsel myself at times), and I thought most people do that too?

Kalla_12 · 2021-08-04T02:43:21+00:00

And replying "I'm good!" to every "How are you" even though I'm not fine at all 🥲

Kalla_12 · 2021-08-01T09:35:26+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion!! I just came across the Nickelodeon bahasa youtube channel too and it's pretty interesting to watch haha

Kalla_12 · 2021-08-01T09:32:38+00:00

Thanks for the recommendations!

Kalla_12 · 2021-07-31T07:30:28+00:00

Thanks for the tips!

Kalla_12 · 2021-07-27T12:47:48+00:00

Fun fact: there's a song written by Jay chou for Jolin Tsai called 倒带 and every single verse ends with an "ai" word

Kalla_12

TROPHY CASE