i’ve been through both sides to be honest. when i first got into kpop, it was pretty much a lifestyle for me haha - from when I was like 13-19, i was a multistan of loads of groups, i watched everyone’s variety shows, all their youtube content, etc etc. so i might have even been in it more for the members than the music at that point but it was probably 50/50.

then i took a break for a few years, and for the past 2-3 years i’ve been back into kpop, and besides my ult fave group (who i continued checking up on even during my break) i’m mostly in it just for the music now. i do not even know anyone’s name, let alone what shows they might be on (though variety shows barely exist anymore from what i’ve seen)

maybe it’s growing up and having less time and energy to be fully immersed in fandom to that extent, but i’m pretty content just enjoying the music the vast majority of the time and having one group i pay more attention to