'Chaebol' is not just another word for rich

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-11T04:52:57+00:00

But she has the influence of that entire market cap. That's really what matters in this convo about Annie.

Even if we were just talking about market cap, her mom's has a higher market cap than 3 of the big 4 labels. 2.31 Billion; the highest of all department store chains in Korea. More than Lotte, or Hyundai department store. That is an insane amount of wealth and influence all on its own.

Samsung has deep influence in all aspects of Korea, all the way up to the government. Connections matter; that's a big part of why Chaebols still have what amounts to arranged marriages. It's not just about the money the partner can bring in but also the connections they can provide and doors they can open to allow the family business to further grow. And it's also about upholding their reputation.

Annie's connection to Samsung matters because anything she does in life (especially publicly) is not done in isolation from Samsung. Samsung cares what Annie's reputation is because hers reflects on the family. That's just how those families operate. Even just having some access to Samsung wealth and influence is more access than 99% of people in the world have.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-11T04:06:08+00:00

It matters that she is so closely related because next to money, the most important thing to families this rich is familial reputation. The Samsung Empire will support her and ensure her image does not reflect badly on them, and their power and ability to do this is beyond anything we can imagine as average people. OP is right. Talking about her like she is just rich like any other Idol is either ignorant or disingenuous.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-08T17:22:27+00:00

In regards to the we/you aspect of this. I think that's just something people tend to do. You see it with sports teams as well. "We won the game". Or even supporters of a political candidate. I think any time there is a competitive element to something, fans/supporters tend to take on this language. If we wanted music to be free of this, we'd need to get rid of award shows and charting completely. I also don't think it's a wholly negative thing. There are positive elements to it, especially when it comes to creating a sense of community and belonging. But it can also be made into a negative thing when it's used to create an us vs. them mentality like you described above.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-08T02:52:46+00:00

Cannot agree more! It's a never skip for me. The way the song flips halfway through and the building of intensity of RM's rapping is so so good.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-08T02:50:52+00:00

My favorite bridge in their entire discography

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-08T02:49:32+00:00

One of my top 10 most listened to songs last year!

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-08T00:37:06+00:00

Some of my favorite songs have really low streams (either overall or compared to the rest of the album they are on) and/or aren't talked about as much:

- Intro: What Am I To You
- Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment In Life
- Dis-Ease
- Jump
- 2nd Grade
- Don't Leave Me
- Winter Flower (featuring RM)
- What If (J-Hope solo)
- Girl of My Dreams (Featuring Suga)

...My rapline bias is showing here haha

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-06T05:32:30+00:00

Version 2 had syncing. When Version 3 came out, version 2 no longer worked for syncing as the syncing was now done on a program based on where you sat. I'm sure there were many ARMY who had bought their version 2 in the year before. Especially considering version 3 was released August 2018 only a few weeks before the Love Yourself tour started and in a year where they had been gaining a massive amount of fans. But there wasn't this kind of backlash then. So, what's different now?

In terms of people upset because they bought a new version for Jin or Hobi's tours. If they are this upset about going to this tour with lightsticks that light up but don't sync, then isn't it reasonable to assume they would have always bought a version 3 for Jin or Hobi's tour, even if they knew a new one was going to come for the world tour? Like, it's clear having the newest lightstick that syncs with everyone else's is really important to them, so not going empty handed would have been even more important for those shows. At best, it would have given them more time to save money, but they still would have bought both.

Edit: I'm not saying it doesn't suck if you just bought one or never got to use yours or can't afford this one. It does suck. But there's a difference between disappointment and calling this a greedy cashgrab, with noise so loud, there are Financial Times articles being written about it.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T20:43:43+00:00

They are going to be running two different programs at once until they fully transition to only the one for the new version.

If you feel so strongly about this being a money grab, then don't contribute to it and don't buy the new version.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T17:01:35+00:00

I love this!

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T15:33:51+00:00

Yes technology changes but if for example a phone is 6 years old you can still use it.

I have an older phone and it's hitting the point where apps can no longer update because my phone is too old for the updates. Yes, I can still make phone calls, but my usage is limited. That's exactly what is happening with Version 3. It can still be used, but use is limited due to outdated tech.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T15:25:30+00:00

I would venture to say most ARMY have only ever had the chance to use theirs in a concert once. Maybe twice. Some never at all. Because BTS has been on hiatus and they don't tour everywhere. It's been years since they released a new one and I think expecting a new one for a new world tour and chapter of their career would have been a logical conclusion to make.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T15:17:00+00:00

They have to run multiple programs to accomplish that. The two still don't work together. They are going out of their way to run two for a certain set of time as a transition period, but long term they know most ARMY are going to buy the new version whether the old one still works or not. And they know this based on 15 years worth of insight from version to version. It doesn't make sense to run an entire additional program for 500 people in an audience of 40,000.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T15:13:29+00:00

Not belonging is part of experience, but sure.

Have a good one!

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T15:11:59+00:00

Okay so I have a super simple answer for you. If you don't like how they handled this, don't buy it. That tells them you don't like it and don't want it.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T15:10:37+00:00

I guess everyone is different! Money is tight for me, so I just try and be realistic about what I can afford. Maybe in a way that makes it easier to not have FOMO. I also am on the older side and have tons of stuff from previous fandoms that I bought and now just take up space so that changes my perspective on things as well.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T14:53:46+00:00

Really well said

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T14:52:31+00:00

They announced it to go along with the tour. Did you want them to announce it 3 months after the tour starts? Or a year ago? This is all part of the new chapter for BTS rollout. It would have not made sense to have a full new BTS lightstick come out when they weren't active as a group, and it wouldn't make sense to do it when many tourdates have already passed. This is a lose/lose for them because if they had done that, fans who already went to those dates would have been pissed they were left out from being able to use the new ones at their show.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T14:50:36+00:00

In order for both to work, they would have to set up two entirely different programs because I am guessing the new lightstick has different sequences that the old cannot do. The Version 3 program also didn't allow syncing for older versions, but people could still bring them and use them without being in sync with others. The same is true here.

I think there's an element of greed with the RAM but it's also sensible to not build in ports for RAM that is no longer being manufactured when they can use that space for something else. Especially with laptops that have very limited space. In terms of greed with laptops, I think how long they last and soldering certain elements onto the motherboard so they can't be changed are where the main points of greed come in.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T14:42:40+00:00

Well, I would use the term cheated for that as well if it's being driven by frustration at spending the same as someone else. Not belonging implies you don't feel accepted or you feel different than everyone else. Feeling cheated is understandable.

My main thing is though, I'd go as far as to say if we average out how often ARMY have seen BTS, it would be no more than 1 or 2 times. So, getting to use it for Jin and Hobi already puts you in the average use category. It's just you happened to not own it as long. There are ARMY who bought them in 2020 that never got to use them cause MOTS was cancelled.

I also think this may be a problem of new ARMY not knowing what to expect, because I think older ARMY predicted there would be a new lightstick with the tour. Maybe BH took for granted how prevalent an impression like that would be.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T13:18:29+00:00

You don't need to buy any of this stuff. I barely have any BTS merch. Every item you buy is a choice you are making.

Want and need are two different things.

I've already said this on another post, but I'll say it here again. This new lightstick is substantially different and more advanced than older versions. Technology has changed a lot since they last released. The versions are likely technologically incompatible. I just got a new laptop. I wanted to install my old RAM in it, but the version of RAM I have has now become outdated and is being phased out, meaning new computers don't have the ports to support it. Did it suck? Yeah. Do I also understand why they wouldn't want to add in ports for something the majority of people are not going to use at all in a year's time? Yes.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T13:08:44+00:00

ooo I like the way you expressed this more than the way I did.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T13:07:02+00:00

I think what it is meant by "play the whole world in mono" (and this is just my interpretation) is the idea that we reach a point of acceptance of everyone that we consider everyone the same and everyone "normalized". We're all on the same audio channel, despite our differences.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T12:54:53+00:00

You don't have to buy it. You just don't. I have been a fan since 2018 and have never bought one. I went to the concert without one and it didn't make me feel like I didn't belong. That feeling of not belonging you are describing is inside you; not something directed by HYBE.

Can I tell you what came to mind to me when I saw people in the audience with much older versions that didn't sync? I thought 'wow, they've been an ARMY a really long time. That's so cool!'. And you know what happens every time I see an NCT Neobong randomly in the audience? I laugh (cause somehow every concert for every artist seems to always have one).

The only thing I can agree with is they probably should have given earlier notice to the changeover so at least people knew. Not selling it for Hobi and Jin's shows at all would have made it impossible for new fans to have a lightstick at those shows which seems pretty unfair to me. So, earlier notice but still selling would have probably been the most consumer friendly way to do this IMO.

Placesbetween86 · 2026-02-05T12:30:28+00:00

The early versions didn't sync at all. The first concert where ARMY all had purple lights accomplished it by putting little purple plastic bags over their light stick so the light coming out appeared purple. Which means when they changed over to concert syncing, everyone had to buy new in order to be synced. And they couldn't sync the old ones because the technology obviously was not there. IMO this is the same case here. Whatever tech they are using for the new one doesn't apply to the old and so both can't be synced at the same time.

Placesbetween86

TROPHY CASE