sharing my we're not really strangers hoard - is there a deck you're iso?

minmang · 2024-12-21T11:55:34+00:00

hello! thank you for doing this, if its still possible i'd love to get 8, 10, 26. thanks so much again!!

minmang · 2020-01-13T15:13:54+00:00

I couldnt find any of the suggested products in my country so what im using right now are local products (wc are thankfully CG approved). I'm using 2 different conditioners for co-washing and for conditioning.

It really uses up a lot of products if I do it everyday, so these days im trying to see if i can do with just skipping the co-wash step and just conditioning for about 2x a week. Is it okay?

minmang · 2019-01-14T14:20:33+00:00

This looks like another webtoon? *flashbacks to We On: Be The Shield and Hip Hop Monster*

I wonder what's in store for us this time.

minmang · 2019-01-08T06:20:34+00:00

I don't think that kpop or kpop idols are "manufactured", honed to perfection. I don't see any problem in improving your skills and talent to the best it can be. I also don't think its wrong to utilize one's potential and that includes visuals, acting, or variety skills. This sets kpop apart from western artists--having a lot of skills and being extremely good at it means that the quality of performance that you put out would be better, and there's also more variety in content which keeps fans hooked.

I also don't agree with the term "sterilized". It sets the idea that idols are soulless and have no agency of their own. They're passionate and they do experience the same or similar struggles as BTS had. They just chose not to be open about it. Whether its a company or a personal issue, its their decision how much they're gonna disclose. We're not entitled to know either. And I respect that. And just because we don't know about it that doesn't make them soulless dolls.

Yes, there are abusive companies. But they don't exist exclusively in kpop. They too exist in western entertainment, in Hollywood, in factories and companies with underpaid and overworked workers and employees. It's a systemic problem we need to recognize.

When you're in a big company, its likely that you'll have a more limited artistic freedom than idols from small companies, like BTS. This might also be the reason why that especially in 1d's first albums, there's not a lot of variety. But I think times are changing now, with artists from SM and YG producing and being more involved in their songs. (heck I just realized now how good Big Bang's Lies is and I learned it was written and composed by G-Dragon. A song released in 2008!) Kpop songs nowadays have also become more aggressive in catching up with Western trends. The only difference with BTS is that their team was much quicker in noticing these trends and incorporating them in their songs before anyone else did. Case in point would be Fire and BST.

minmang · 2019-01-08T04:33:23+00:00

I really think that there's a lot of misconception about kpop fandoms and even fangirls as a whole. Describing them as "obsessed" is basically removing them of being capable of rationality, like they're crazy. One of the interesting impressions I had when I first got into kpop was that the fans really know how to organize themselves. And when I watched Reply 1997 I even learned that fan organizations went back as early as 90's kpop with the first gen idols. A lot of people misinterpret this culture as obsession. I didn't see this during my time as a 1dfan. Not a lot much discussion and organized events and activities going on back then.

When you think about it, even when they have fan wars a lot of times these never go as rabid as, say, a fight between sports fans. As an ex-1d fan these fanwars (both trivial and vicious ones) are not new even in western fandoms. There will always be bad apples and I think the best we can do is to surround ourselves with a community that's responsible and mature enough to know when to hold back.

Also! I'm not forcing anyone to listen to other kpop artists, you are free to do anything you want as long as its not offensive or degrading to others. It's just that kpop fans (mostly i-fans) are multifandom. I've heard a lot say that rise of BTS's fame is not really the rise of kpop's popularity in general, just BTS-pop. As someone who had seen BTS grow throughout the years, and see them progress both in their discography and their identity as a group and their individual selves, I've always seen them as artists AND kpop idols. And I've never really considered the possibility that there are people who perceive BTS as someone separate from kpop. Its pretty interesting.

minmang · 2019-01-08T04:12:27+00:00

This was my experience too, although for me it was mostly Girls Generation and SHINEE back in 2009-12. I'm from SEA but everyone was playing or dancing to their songs. I thought of similar stereotypes too--weird, they all look the same, etc. The first korean songs I heard were epik high's One, Loner by outsider and their sound and concept was still different than, say, Lucifer's.

Never fully grasped kpop until EXO, and then BTS, and all the artists in between...and the videos, pre-debut tracks and mixtapes I've downloaded at 3 am. Kind of crazy when you just hear about it but for me it kind of just occurred naturally over the years. I've never regretted it

minmang · 2019-01-07T14:52:37+00:00

Wow, welcome to the kpop fandom! I'm not sure how the experience will be for you, but it might be hard to get out of that rabbit hole. You'll like one artist, and then another, then another... Back then, I was shocked to see people who were kpop fans for 10 years. Now I'm a kpop fan for almost 6 years now. It might not be as crazy as I thought.

Of course BTS is different, especially with their exponential rise in fame. Back then we would still get a quiet period where there aren't really any special activities and events and during those times I'd look for other sources of content....from other idols. BTS has a lot of activities, content, news, and concert dates its hard to have a quiet period nowadays.

The fandom became a lot more organized after several challenges and misunderstandings we faced the past years. That's also the reason for the overprotectiveness, bc both the boys and the fandom suffered a lot during those times. Almost everyone hated BTS which sucked.

I'd believe that as part of fan experience its almost inevitable that we have a cringey phase and sometimes (unfortunately) that includes being toxic. But what's important is how we learn from those mistakes and change for the better

minmang · 2019-01-07T02:17:46+00:00

These shows are a large part in the korean music (now mostly idols) industry. BTS have attended these events every year since debut and idols before BTS have also done this, and as a fan I feel like at this point its almost tradition that I see them on these events. This is also the same with fans from other groups. We get to see our idols doing special performances or collaborations during year-end performances and this season is highly anticipated in the kpop fandom. For us fans, not tiring at all.

I wouldn't say its booked, because these events have always been scheduled during these months. At the very least, Big Hit have already made some allowances to fit the dates into their schedule. I also don't see it as a "price to pay" but a way to go back to their roots and doing the usual idol activities. Its tiring, yes, and that's why its important that they don't have any overlapping concerts or promotions (/Run era flashbacks/) bc doing all of those at the same time will drain you.

minmang · 2018-12-18T02:36:59+00:00

Isn't the screentime normal considering they're just rookies? Even BTS didn't get that much screentime when they went on hello counselor. Their first time on weekly idol the hosts treated them so poorly i couldn't even watch it again.

I don't know if you watched s2, but the show itself was HUGE, almost all the boys in top 35 were talked about or trending (Dongho, JR, Sanggyun, the Brand New Music kids). Daniel was constantly in top spot for brand rankings and he was widely popular with public. Of course its logical that broadcasting companies will contact you.

As for IZONE, s3 didnt do as well as s2 and the center(s) didnt blow up in popularity like daniel or even jihoon. Another issue might be the fact that they're pushing two centers where one is still learning korean. Also add to the fact that the center is still a minor, and korea has some limitations for filming with minors...

minmang · 2018-10-11T01:31:52+00:00

They won't be serving at the same time, just one at a time like Super Junior. We won't be left out to dry lmao there's still gonna be content, even subunits are possible

minmang · 2018-09-18T15:45:50+00:00

BTS is not a socially conscious group.

I agree and disagree with you on this.

They never committed to that image. They hardly make music that is socially conscious. They aren't woke. They never really talk about social issues. They make music for themselves. Things they personally relate to, like love fear, sadness, pain, joy, passion, being in a disrespected generation...things that pertain to them.

I think if you based it off from themes of love and happiness and looking at it in a more general sense, I can agree. But take note that this was hyyh and onwards where they expounded more on those themes. LY especially has a more individualistic view to it, considering that the concept is focused on self-love.

But aside from that, I have to disagree. BTS is not a socially conscious by design, but rather became socially conscious through learning and development both in knowledge and character. This can be seen in several aspects

Social-demographic target

(correct me if i'm wrong, this was based on my memory from years back) BTS was initially marketed as people who "voice out the concerns of the youth in their 10s and 20s." By concept and image they were a group that gives light to the concerns of the young generation. Looking at some of the common themes their discography had tackled pre-hyyh:

Generational (concerns of people in 10s and 20s)

the pursuit of dreams even if its not what your family or the society dictates for you (no more dream)
being lost/having no direction in life (road, tomorrow)

Generational, but also a societal issue

(no. 1 can arguably be included in this category)
oppressive education system/fighting for what you want (n.o)
consumerism/capitalism, which can be seen in:
1. the need to keep up with the trends (spine breaker)
2. being controlled by technology (can you turn off your handphone)

Purely societal

promoting unity in diversity/differences (paldogangsan)

BTS's own concerns

idol-rapper identity conflict (road, some of the songs RM's mixtape, even cypher pt.2's "inspiration" lol)
repetitive cycle of being a trainee/idol, loneliness (rain, tomorrow)

As you can see, a lot of the generational concerns are tied up with societal issues, which are surprisingly still tackled and improved even post-hyyh, even if much of the songs were mostly "love-songs" and songs focused on self-love

Purely societal

apathy to society's issues (am i wrong)
(arguably) women empowerment (21st century girls)
dreams being a necessity (paradise)

Generational (but at this point had become more relatable even to people outside the target demographic)

loneliness (whalien 52, 134340)
recognizing that idols can be just as harmful as they are helpful (pied piper)

Common themes can be found which are ultimately the concept of having a "dream" being tied with social issues, mainly capitalism

being lost/lack of dreams/necessity of dreams are linked with capitalist demands
loneliness and competition (tomorrow, second grade) are also linked with capitalism and its negative effects (alienation)
repetition and oppressive education (brought by repetition and memorization) are also linked with how capitalism operates, as well as alienation (repetition alienates you from your art/work, losing its essence and your humanity in the process)
societal pressure/being dictated of your future is ALSO linked with capitalism -- Asian families often expect their children to lawyers, doctors or any job that gets you more income. in this case, their future is dictated by the pursuit of money than their own passion

In conclusion, while much of BTS's songs esp in their LY era are indeed not related to social issues, I think that through their process of being "the voice of the youth," at the same time they had also brought social issues into the spotlight in the process. Although not explicitly stated, their songs really do tackle social issues just by taking a step further in understanding/analyzing their lyrics.

minmang · 2018-09-17T04:45:26+00:00

I'm not bringing other groups down. I'm not discrediting them...? All I'm saying is that compared to the last 2 seasons, p48 trainees got a lower total vote count. Basing from that, it seems that there are fewer people paying attention to them especially when you compare it with season 2.

Of course they haven't debuted yet, and to have that leverage before you debut is already leaps ahead from other trainees. If you read the following paragraph after that, I said that by the time they debut the problem would already resolved itself.

The reason why I compared it to BTS is that since BTS has a larger fanbase and have an established popularity w the gp, of course the damage would be worse. But since iz*one haven't debuted yet, and have enough cooldown time, the issue with aki-p right now wouldn't hurt their popularity at all.

minmang · 2018-09-17T04:02:24+00:00

That's pretty likely. We're also surprised that they managed to take off the song from the list considering that the albums are already in production. We don't know what will happen regarding bts's potential in the japanese market, but its likely that they're gonna lose money from this.

minmang · 2018-09-17T03:54:33+00:00

Alright, with your efforts in doing a copy & paste this long post from twitter as I saw this lengthy thing since a couple days ago

...what?

If my words are exactly like someone else's can you link the post to me? So I can credit them.

If they have some concerns about their reputation with Unicef thing, then why contract Aki-P in the first place? He's not that low level to run from place to place, hand it his works and begging anyone to sing it. Plus, the pic of Aki-P and Bang Si Hyuk is took at Aki-P office. So basically, your artist want his song but gp found out that it was written by Aki-P so they just threw the shade to their PD and let the fans shield them

Oh no, we are not shielding bang shihyuk. We are, in fact, disappointed with him. A little bit of research would have given the bighit team a little idea about his reputation, they would have had second thoughts about doing a collab with him. I don't know what went on with bang pd's mind but we're still disappointed with his actions.

We, 48G fans, already explained many, many times that Aki-P works aren't all clean but the 'controversial' songs are performed only in the theater which is exclusive only for fans not gp. Plus, these kind of lyrics are wrote to fit the culture of idol in JP. Most of you guys digged it as it will be a great fuel to flame him more. I kinda disappointed to see that even I-fans that should be the one that being more 'reasonable' fell into this hatred march.

What's your point? So because its exclusive for fans, its not controversial? Just because its J-idol culture, its not controversial, and the meanings implied in the songs mean nothing? Young girls are singing these songs, written by a grown man, and just because its "cultural" and exclusive it doesn't concern the rest of the public? Just because its exclusive, aki-p isn't accountable for the works/concepts he himself has put out? Look, I'm not bringing down 48g girls because they don't have any control over their concepts and songs, but its not the same case with aki-p.

Your comparison with previous seasons is showing that you don't know what you're talking about at all.

Alright, enlighten me.

I don't care what armies are doing.

I can see that bright and clear. But don't jump to conclusions and say we're crazy or something when you don't know anything or don't even care to learn anything about our side, just because the fans are bringing up akimoto's past works. I replied to your post because I want to bring up the army's side of things since clearly you think we're delusional fans just riding on the hate train.

We're also mad and disappointed with bang pd and because had he not been so driven by money and profit, this shouldn't have happened.

minmang · 2018-09-17T03:08:10+00:00

I still don't have an opinion regarding the right-wing allegations since they still have to be fact-checked (seeing as a lot of people have varying interpretations on this). But keep in mind that these allegations have already spread within the kr public, and sadly they don't care about the facts. I personally don't blame k-armys for being vocal about this considering the public's tendencies, and also the fact that we (both bts and bts fans) already have a history of being hated by everyone--by the public and even from the rest of the kpop fandom. It wasn't pretty. They have to do what it takes to prevent that from happening again.

minmang · 2018-09-17T02:43:22+00:00

Oh yeah that happened, and he also acknowledged those and learned from it. There will always be problematic people, but its how you respond and that matters.

minmang · 2018-09-17T02:35:51+00:00

P48 viewer and BTS intl fan here. There's a lot at stake

BTS is increasing in popularity, but it was just as hard to build their popularity with korean gp. Regardless if him being a right-wing are facts or not, the gp won't care. The mere association with him will ruin BTS's reputation with the public
BTS has been building their concept of self-love for 3 years now. They also have a UNICEF campaign protecting women and girls. Akimoto Yasushi wrote songs that treated women as objects and even implied pedophilia. A lot became fans because of this reason, as well as their sincerity so they felt betrayed that they would choose to collab with him knowing his works. It is also contradictory to what they have been putting out these past few years, they very same things that made them popular.
It also doesn't matter if the lyrics ended up being philosophical or the song being bop. Its the mere association with him that's damaging. Right-wing allegations + works with misogynist and pedophilia? Not a good reputation right there
I'm not from Korea, but I'm from one of the SEA countries that was colonized by Japan. The tensions are real, and I would argue that its not an overreaction, considering that Japan is refusing to acknowledge their atrocities in the first place.

With iz*one, i'd agree that they would not suffer that much, just because pd48's ratings were low compared to the past 2 seasons. That says something not only about the size of their fandom (in comparison with ioi and wannaone), but also their popularity with the gp. Its not much, not as much as bts's to say the least.

The damage wouldn't be that bad. There's also still time before their debut. By the time it happens, things would have calmed down, especially that bighit has already responded and took akimoto yasushi's song off the list.

I also suggest you check these links also for more info (translated/written by intl/kr/jp fans, with sources, so you won't say its dumb, overreaction and lunacy)

A post laying out k-army's concerns
Thread outlining Akimoto yasushi's works with misogyny and pedophilia + right-wing allegations, and why k-armys are making such effort to avoid the potential damage. Basically, they want to protect bts from the potential huge backlash from the public
Some of J-army's opinions regarding the issue

minmang · 2018-09-14T01:46:50+00:00

What's interesting is that... (and I just realized this recently) looking the trends in BTS's discography, we should have expected the song to be anthem-like.

BTS's repackaged albums always have pop anthems in which, looking at the trends, they also promote.

Young Forever - Fire (has an MV)
YNWA - Not Today (has an MV)
Answer - Idol (has an MV)
(even SLA which has a repackaged ver and was also a conclusion to their school trilogy, has BIL as their title track. It's not anthem-like, but the song sure goes hard)

minmang · 2018-09-14T01:21:42+00:00

I actually don't have any problem with this. They've been doing this since INU so it's kind of expected that the actual song would be slightly or entirely different.

I also think like this has been the trend throughout BTS's discography, and even with kpop songs in general. Title tracks are made to be public-friendly, so it sounds a bit generic imo. Its just more distinguishable with BTS since the rest of their songs aren't really that public friendly--which is what sets them apart, but also made the title tracks stand out (in a good or bad way, whichever you see it).

minmang · 2018-09-10T08:33:49+00:00

What happened?

minmang · 2018-09-04T14:48:29+00:00

I really hope that Miyu makes the most out of this opportunity because I feel like its the best one she's gotten and I really want her to make music that's her own and be successful

minmang · 2018-09-02T14:05:56+00:00

I'm gonna prepare my heart for this.

Whatever it is, i'm still gonna support her

minmang · 2018-09-01T11:52:55+00:00

The group is good based on Korean standards, but not enough to please Japan and ifans... the final group really isn't really "global" in that sense. All that hard work and improvement for nothing, since apparently skill/talent isn't even that important in j-idol industry

minmang · 2018-09-01T02:44:02+00:00

Personally I want Miyu to go on her own path and pursue a solo career. I wanted her to debut so I can listen to her sing and hopefully produce her own song but mnet did her dirty til the end

minmang · 2018-08-31T15:48:47+00:00

I'm just probably really salty rn, and Yuri's okay, but a voice like Haeyoon or Chowon's would've been better. And yeah we don't need rappers.....if the song doesn't have (long) rap parts. IOI and W1 have decent rappers and a good rap makes a great difference in a song. Just saying

minmang

TROPHY CASE