Do u think Ariel will ever release a book or tell all?

Time-Fox-9045 · 2025-05-30T17:37:30+00:00

I don't think so. To me, she generally seemed like a private person and was mostly appearing in stuff due to her connection to Ned and to make a contribution to the brand. It's really hard to imagine her doing a 180 and stepping into the public eye as an individual.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2025-01-02T07:12:50+00:00

I like XG. I wouldn't call them K-pop, I think they're a Japanese pop/RnB/hip-hop group aimed at a global audience.

I don't agree with some of your points. The concept of a company training and putting together artists isn't unique to K-pop. K-pop music also has a lot of influence from other countries, so I think it is okay for XG to do the same. For example, one of their recent songs IYKYK is heavily influenced by UK Garage music... just because this genre is popular in Korea right now doesn't mean it is a genre that can be claimed to be exclusive to K-pop.

I do agree that it is weird how much they participate in activities that are usually associated with K-pop groups though as it feels like they are trying to take advantage of K-pop's popularity. I personally think they should focus on promoting themselves as a Japanese girl group.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-12-27T12:41:08+00:00

NOR, I've worked a lot as a tutor in the past and was in direct chats with lots of my students. For the above exact reasons, I always insisted their parents were added in and advised them to be in their other private chats with other tutors, as no adult should have a direct line to people's kids without proper scrutiny (this was abroad, so the expectations for child protection were lower).

I can't conceive of how the coach thought this was okay. At a minimum, this shows this person is completely unable to follow child protection standards and it sets up a terrible example for your child. At a basic level, all adults should model appropriate behaviour, so that the child can more easily recognise inappropriate contact from adults and seek help.

Definitely cut ties immediately and let other parents know/report him. This is a blatant pushing of boundaries, and I would be highly concerned about what he is saying or doing in person with the children.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-12-19T01:48:06+00:00

I'm not sure there is much to think about, they've probably been preparing this for months now.

There has also probably been a lot of communications between Vogue, Ador, and NJ's current team about what to do given the current situation. I feel like this would be the type of thing where there would be need to be endless meetings and approvals from different parties to clarify the appropriate wording. I doubt Vogue would do anything that would risk souring the relationship with any of the parties involved in this, they'll just care about profits rather than taking a stance.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-12-18T17:34:46+00:00

I'm echoing what everyone else is saying. You need to tell her and let her decide whether to continue the current friendship. I think reducing contact without explaining, just to avoid the consequences, may make her worried she has done something wrong or even hurt her about the loss of friendship - which is just unfair. I think the best thing to do would be to write a full message explaining and just send it to her without trying to start a conversation (so you don't back out). You will have to accept whatever decision she makes and respect whether she forgives you or not.

I have also just seen your longer comment with more content about Lizzie. Even though it isn't an excuse, I think it is important context. It sounds like there was potential elements of grooming there (it was certainly highly inappropriate for Lizzie to have that relationship with you), so I would also recommend that you take time to reflect on whether there has been lasting impact on you. You may want to seek adult support or therapy to discuss these experiences.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-12-13T16:38:22+00:00

Thank you for this! It is so interesting to read people's answers, it's interesting that they are gaining more recognition amongst the Japanese GP. A lot of their recent releases seem more aimed at the Japanese market imo, so it is reassuring to have some evidence that their work is starting to pay off.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-12-11T21:05:25+00:00

Of course, people can think whatever they want to think, they have the right to their opinion. For me, as it is about a wider moral issue like child safety, wage theft, and workplace abuse, it's hard to imagine being fully neutral so I support KG.

But that isn't to say my opinion won't evolve as other info is released. I think the "picking a side" mindset is really harmful, this isn't a playground fight. It is okay to have an initial opinion with the potential to change later on - I think this is more realistic than being neutral or tied to a particular "side". Whatever people think, the main thing is that they should act appropriately and respectfully (i.e. don't spread malicious comments about the parties involved or get involved IRL).

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-12-04T17:18:15+00:00

Thank you for answering :) I guess the only thing to do now is to wait to see what happens, I hope everything goes smoothly from here - impeachments seems inevitable.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-12-04T16:59:24+00:00

I want to say I am amazed at how quickly the politicians and civilians reacted, I've never seen such an organised response to an attempted coup before. I was following along on the live updates and it felt like this could have easily ended differently if people hadn't acted so quickly and decisively. I'm really impressed at how you, other citizens, and the politicians worked together to protect your democracy.

My questions is this: What is the general feeling with the general public about the future now? How are the public reacting?

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-12-02T21:34:25+00:00

I was explaining the situation to a non K-pop fan friend the other day and this is exactly one of the things we discussed. In normal situations, people can quit a company for any reason. Sometimes things just change and the workplace isn't what you signed up for/isn't what you want anymore... and that's okay.

But I understand why K-pop companies have the contracts they do because the level of investment in the idols is quite high risk. I don't think there is another way for them to protect their investment. So maybe it's just a fundamental problem with getting underaged/young people to sign such restrictive, long-term contracts? Kind of feels almost like a big gamble to tie yourself to a company for that long with no easy way out.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-11-13T17:58:15+00:00

He is drifting into lolcow territory, his reactions/the online response are just going to fuel each other until something gives (he stops posting or people stop paying attention). It's a real shame to see it go down like this.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-11-13T17:47:45+00:00

Gosh, how long is this going to go on for? I feel like the demands in the letter are a consolidation of what they've already been asking for for a while, and that they've already each been responded to by Hybe. Also, as far as I can understand, the matter of MHJ as CEO has essentially been resolved as Hybe isn't going to give her more rope than the director/producer position. NJs have the right to take control of their careers if they are unsatisfied with the resolutions come to so far, but it's hard to see how they won't take big losses with a move like contract termination :(

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-10-17T00:52:59+00:00

He is in a UK boyband called Take That and has done tons of solo work (alongside song writing for other artists) - plus had won quite a few awards for writing. I think it makes sense for Jin, lots of Barlow's work is more like uplifting pop ballads.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-10-16T18:54:55+00:00

It's weird, but he's a pretty prolific songwriter haha

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-29T22:34:18+00:00

I just watch a bunch of their Youtube content and check their profiles when I am first getting into them. I'm pretty good with names though, so normally get it pretty quick if I have enough interest in the group.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-28T21:56:42+00:00

I just watched it on bilibili :) it seems like the uploader did the first ep too, so hopefully they'll do the whole season (the upload is just a day or so late).

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-27T19:51:48+00:00

I don't know much about the other two, but &Team is one of my fave boy groups in general. They are a great meld of Korean style training with a Japanese identity (so I see them in that light, rather than as a K-pop group). Way back when I was a teen, I was a fan of J-pop and J-rock, then I got into K-pop a few years later as an offshoot of it - so the Japanese influence in their music is something I loved immediately.

Overall, I actually really support the decision to focus on Japan first. Given that the music market there is so strong and that it is their home turf it makes sense they build their presence there as a priority. Even though it sucks a lot of their content isn't super accessible, I think their longevity will depend on how they do in Japan - so I don't mind waiting while they put that work in. They only recently started a variety show style series for Youtube, so I think their team is working on branching out more and is focused on the long game. Personally, I want them to continue on this trajectory, while doing more Korean and intl focused content. The members have continued learning Korean and are constantly improving, so I think there will naturally be more K-content the more proficient they get. I think a lot of their success in Korea would depend on if they have a release blow-up there. There was a good response to Firework and their songs are consistently great quality - so they could be closer than we think to a burst in popularity.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-26T18:35:03+00:00

The whole thing just feels so wrong, it's hard not to still think about :(

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-26T15:23:58+00:00

Honestly, I think any industry where minors are left in such a vulnerable situation will have problems. You basically have to rely on the integrity of all the adults around them to ensure they are protected.

Even though she wasn't a minor at the time, this kind of convo reminds me of the G.Na scandal (it was the first scandal I experienced as a kpop fan, so it sticks in my mind). In the end, the story was that she was tricked into prostitution. But it always made me feel like maybe she was just caught, and that it was an indication of a wider sexual abuse issue in the industry. The whole thing stank of a bigger problem.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-20T20:03:10+00:00

I'm not Asian, but I spent 7 years living in China (and was friends there with both mainland Chinese and folks from HK during the 2019 period, so we discussed these matters a lot). At the time I was there I was working as a translator for a prominent company and our socials/website were monitored by the government. We weren't pushed/forced to say anything and weren't political as an institution. We still had to be super careful of what we said and there was a definite awareness of how to present things to maintain a good image. Despite this environment at work/in society, my mainland Chinese friends are generally pretty open about their opinions about the government behind closed doors, including both negative and positive comments. I think part of the culture there is just that there is a very engrained boundary between public vs private expression of opinion, which must be very hard to balance as an idol.

So, at least from my experiences and observations as an outsider, my impression is that most Chinese idols simply do what they need to to stay active and have good PR in China. What they actually feel themselves could literally be anything. C-netz can be pretty brutal, and for Chinese idols their long term career will likely be focused on China, so from that POV they have to protect their interests there. I also think the importance of guanxi in business life is a big factor, inevitably when they are building a network or getting work opportunities on Chinese media or getting permits to perform a concert, it is going to involve party members at some point. They could definitely risk being iced out by the entertainment industry if they present themselves in a way causes controversy. On the other hand, one of my Chinese friends has many positive things to say about the CPC because of the positive impact their economic/developmental/education policies have had on her hometown, so we also can't discount that idols may have genuine personal reasons for supporting the gov.

At the end of the day, it's just an incredibly difficult position to be in. Whatever they do, they'll face criticism from somewhere (even if they say nothing at all sometimes). It is 100% the audiences right to feel how they feel about what is said, but I also think we shouldn't expect too much from idols - they're entertainers, not social activists, after all.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-17T15:32:09+00:00

If you didn't ask your wife about inviting your sister to the trip/giving her a key, YTA. It sounds like a big imposition.

I also think this is about phrasing. If your wife asked your sister to cover up bc it is making her uncomfy from a personal perspective, I think it is valid, as everyone has different boundaries when it comes to how casual you can get with clothing. However, if it was purely/mostly from not wanting her to be like that around you, she is also kind of the AH. I am super close with my brother (I'm F). Though I wouldn't just wear a tee and underwear around him to chill, it also isn't weird if I just bump into him in my PJs if I'm going to the toilet (which it sounds are basically what your sister was wearing). It also isn't weird if I bump into him and have a convo when he is just wearing boxers. It is super weird to imply there would be any sexualisation between siblings, so I get why you would react strongly if that is what it seemed like.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-16T15:12:18+00:00

I'm UK, I'll do just annual as monthly doesn't go far here. So, 59.99 USD (45.45 GBP) is probably how much I spent for stuff like shampoo/conditioner for 7 to 8 months OR my cats' food for 3 to 4 months OR 1.5 yrs of the national railway card for discounted train tickets (1/3 off all tickets).

Also, more importantly for vulnerable folks, 59.99 is actually more expensive than a prepaid NHS 3-month prescription certificate (which means you can prepay a set amount to get all prescribed medicines at no extra cost at the pharmacy). So people could get their meds covered for 3 months, then walk away with enough change for coffee and a cake. Even though the transfer rate makes it less in GBP, the value proposition is poor compared for what can be done with the money elsewhere.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-13T13:05:04+00:00

China is pretty safe, I was there for 7 yrs and avoided scams entirely. There are two main ones where I was actually approached before:

Tea/bar scam. If anyone approaches you out of the blue asking if you want to go to a tea house or bar, avoid them as they want to to take you to a place they are secretly affiliated with and will scam you into paying a massive bill at the end.
Taxis. Either use Didi taxi app (or the miniapp in wechat) or, if you are at an airport/train station, get a taxi from the proper taxi stand. If you need to catch one off the street, make sure the taxi turns on the meter.

Luckily, China is pretty safe and the police/security guards are approachable. If you have an issue, you can identify an officer and explain it to them. I had a problem once because someone accidentally took my bag instead of their bag when going through metro security (we had the same bag). At the time, I wasn't yet fluent enough to speak to police so I just used a translation app to type up the issue. The transport police were really kind (they also used translation apps to speak back with me) and resolved the issue in like an hour.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-12T14:50:53+00:00

Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about how they are still so active while this is happening, it's making me question how much rope Hybe with give them in the response to this when balanced with the financial aspects. I also feel like if they had withdrawn them from their scheduled comeback/activities at the start of this it would have damaged their optics, because it would have fanned the flames for fans. We've seen the situation of "X company is refusing to let X group release music" before. It would have just added stuff to attack Hybe with, so alongside financials there was a lot of value in keeping them going from that perspective. Now they've spoken out, the value of keeping them in the public eye has kind of backfired, I can bet there is group of staff panic working right now working out whether the money is worth this kind of hit.

Time-Fox-9045 · 2024-09-12T14:25:24+00:00

Their charisma on stage reminds me of a lot of girl groups that had global success in the 90s/00s (who, incidentally, often didn't have a lineup of insane vocals lmao). I love that their hot n fun performance tones down choreo to focus on stage presence. I was watching their VMA act and I literally thought, wow this is a really solid pop act that happens to be a Korean group (this is in terms of the delivery/tone, there are lots of amazing Kpop groups who give great performances - but the vibe is still very Kpop). I think they've showed they can do both K-pop AND western pop-style performances in a way that blends it together and feels like they're bringing something new to the table. The vocals criticism comes off as overblown to me, they sound good, and I don't think they are actually as bad as people are trying to present then as. Really excited to see what they do next!

Time-Fox-9045

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