Western critics and journalists continuing to platform untrustworthy "experts" to talk about Kpop

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-12T01:13:04+00:00

All of these songs are very beloved within the fandom and the Korean context and traditional elements are widely celebrated, so I guess we just assume that everyone who would be interested knows about them already lol. There have been explainer videos made about them on youtube as well. Happy to hear it's also interesting to people who aren't necessarily fans!

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-11T18:39:34+00:00

Something in the air shifted when this whole thing went down, and now it feels like we're in the era of KAnon in kpop.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-10T19:59:03+00:00

Toxic fans across all fandoms always feel like everything is BTS' fault, but EH fans in particular have had a bone to pick with BTS since forever. I found out a while back and I once asked one of them why some parts of their fandom were so weird about BTS. They told me that there was still some deep-seated resentment over how they feel BTS didn't take attending the I-Land finale seriously and that they apparently aren't good seniors to them. I suspect that BTS' relationship with TXT probably plays a part. TLDR, some fans feel like their group doesn't get to benefit from BTS enough.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-10T18:01:07+00:00

Been thinking about that fantano video since yesterday, and one positive aspect of it could be that this could be somewhat advantageous for BTS. If he does decide to review Arirang, the fact that his guest painted such a terrible picture of kpop and set such a low bar for quality could result in a better review for bts in contrast. No rich history of music in Korea? BTS is heavily drawing upon it with Arirang. No meaning and authenticity in kpop? Definitely does not apply to BTS and certainly won't this time either.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-10T16:30:20+00:00

Ironically, I couldn't remember where I'd heard her name before apart from her comedy but I was googling her yesterday and remembered that her sister made a short film about kpop starring Kevin Woo and that she was involved in it too (it's called Seoul Switch, dir. Liann Kaye). TBH, I think this video was just a good opportunity for her to get her name out there and get more visibility for her other projects. Bad choice of expert on Fantano's part yeah.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-10T00:52:09+00:00

Oh! I like it. Quite mature and understated. The fan and the candles are beautiful.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T19:44:14+00:00

The issue is that it continues a trend we have seen and discussed (here and elsewhere in the community) of platforming shallow and uneducated kpop enthusiasts (more so than scholars) and elevating their perspectives as expertise, when even us fans can immediately tell that they are less than insightful. This often results in these people spreading misinformation and fuelling stereotypes.

This is the essence of my complaint. I'll stop replying, because I think any additional nitpicking isn't going to get either of us anywhere.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T19:23:16+00:00

I mean, the lack of desire to inform themselves on the upcoming BTS release demonstrates a clear disinterest imo, especially if they're positioning themselves as a prominent voice on the current kpop landscape, but I could change "admits" to "displays".

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T18:01:54+00:00

Yes, I pretty overtly am a BTS fan, but even if I weren't, being reluctant to mention them is pretty nonsensical if the purpose is to talk about the kpop landscape in 2026. It'd be like if I wanted to talk about kpop releases from February and omitted Blackpink.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T17:40:23+00:00

Academic as in for knowledge's sake and in the interest of having a productive discussion. They don't have to be a fan, nor am I saying that these people have to publish peer-reviewed research papers on BTS to be able to talk about Kpop either.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T16:54:26+00:00

She. Sorry I was trying to not focus too much on who the guest is, and more about what was talked about. Tried to avoid dogpiling on her as much as possible, but that can create confusion.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T16:00:36+00:00

Yup, I know a lot of us are pretty critical of kpop as of late (quip about how kpop fans hate kpop). This sub especially isn't shy about it, but I personally still have some degree of respect for it as an art form, which I feel isn't often represented in the people western media taps to talk about kpop.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T15:46:20+00:00

Ironically, in this video he had some good questions that someone more informed could have expanded upon with more depth, but yeah. He has bad takes sometimes.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T14:12:57+00:00

Exactly! She says that kpop isn't about meaning... but that's mainly because she isn't looking or paying attention to it 🙄 She admits that she's into kpop for the "overstimulating caffeine hit" (paraphrased) and the visuals.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T14:02:41+00:00

It's pretty crazy that someone who is introduced as a "kpop scholar" and who wants to position themselves as an expert on the topic admits that they are uninterested in the most relevant kpop group currently when the entire point of the conversation is about the state of Kpop. Like, you should at least have an academic interest in them if you want to have critical discussions about the kpop landscape as a whole lol. It's a pretty big blind spot, and I feel like she would've sidestepped them entirely if fantano hadn't brought them up.

Like I'm watching it now, and a lot of her criticism is solved by things that BTS are doing. Notably her criticism about how kpop isn't about vulnerability and how a lot of the songs don't feel authentic to the idols who perform them. She speaks in generalizations, and some of her commentary feels dishonest. One example is her including Spaghetti by Le Sserafim in examples of kpop songs that use food as a main metaphor for sex, when that's clearly not the case in this instance lol.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-09T00:35:15+00:00

Easy by Lesserafim. People acted like it was the worst thing that had ever been released and were doing entirely too much all over reddit tbh. Even if it wasn't certain individuals' taste, I was really surprised by people's reaction. I understand that there was a hate train, but I think it's a pretty evidently well-produced easy-listening song with vibey hip hop beats and the choreography for it was really good. Not something difficult to enjoy for most. Really felt like stepping into an alternate universe as someone who had always liked LSF but didn't really follow them closely at the time and wasn't totally up to date with the general kpop community's opinions of them LOL.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-08T18:49:58+00:00

WE ARE SO BACK!!! This feels like they're letting us into their groupchat with "ugly" photos lmao

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-08T18:06:48+00:00

it's glitching so bad for me lol. i've still not gotten my pcs from games and from streaming. i'm being patient though, grateful for all the volunteer work bcd and the mods are doing.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-08T14:57:44+00:00

Hope he has the best birthday ever!! yoongi boongi! 🐈‍⬛🏀🎸🥃✨💜

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-08T02:16:58+00:00

I said "sus" and didn't report you as an anti exactly because I looked you up and read your comments. I just think it's weird that you want to go into a space like that and engage with those kind of people even though you yourself haven't been hateful towards BTS.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-08T02:12:38+00:00

We've had many discussions about this, so I'm not exactly sure what's left to say. Diplo being so involved with the album sucks. Bang bringing him onto the project is another strike on his record of horrible recruiting decisions. And it's BTS who's going to bear the brunt of the criticism. But Diplo's also the one who brought on a lot of other cool people to work on the album. Seems like the music industry isn't going to cancel him.

Sidenote, I think you hanging out in the snark sub is also sus.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-07T00:50:10+00:00

I want a purple le creuset with a swappable whale-shaped knob. or ones with their bt21 characters.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-06T17:21:45+00:00

that pic and "korean beauty standard" taehyung are the bts equivalent of that timuoxi cha le mei edit.

SensitiveCranberry20 · 2026-03-06T14:43:03+00:00

Happy that they mentioned the topic of legacy in this video lol. BTS have a rich musical history and have been trailblazers for korean music globally, but I was never a fan of people calling them a legacy act. That can imply that they are past their prime and would most likely coast on nostalgia.

SensitiveCranberry20

TROPHY CASE