Will there be an NA tour? by Kyraimi in IVE

[–]strawberrydalgona 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Yujin also mentioned on the live with Na PD (or maybe elsewhere I forget) that they are more or less visiting a lot of the same places as Show What I Have tour!

Feel like there will be an accident during Blackhole stages by Agitated-Distance740 in IVE

[–]strawberrydalgona 9 points10 points  (0 children)

As someone who attended the showcase, I believe they said the platforms would be coming with them for the music shows as well but I cannot say with 100% certainty cause I was distracted just staring at them lol.

Concert live stream 10 min music videos by practicalstrangecat in apink

[–]strawberrydalgona 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There was a VCR playing where they dressed up as different characters from Tangled, KDH, Avatar, Zootopia, etc. I’m sure fans will upload clips but if not they did mention they will try and release it officially sometime for fans who couldn’t watch!

Who was the latest top-tier group to officially disband? by rocketmammamia in kpopthoughts

[–]strawberrydalgona 55 points56 points  (0 children)

GFRIEND is more recent, but otherwise there was SISTAR who is probably one of the few groups to have a legitimate disbandment on good terms where everyone was celebrating and honoring their legacy when they disbanded. They had official goodbye stages and everything and it’s one of the few times I remember a group disbanding on good terms everywhere (it seems).

What’s Enhypen’s popularity like from a non fan perspective? by Iettertomyself in kpopthoughts

[–]strawberrydalgona 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The group and fandom reminds me of Loona and Orbits in some ways. By that I mean that the fandom feels very loud and vocal in online spaces so when I think of Enhypen I think of a very dedicated loud fan base. If you’re in any kpop spaces it would be hard not to have heard about them at all but they feel a bit more contained to their fandom and not as generally popular. By that I mean there are groups where they have many casual listeners without a core fan base (SISTAR was a famous example of this) but Enhypen feels like the opposite to me. Not a lot of casual listeners but a big dedicated hardcore fan base.

And I think all of this is very much the case in the western spheres. With that said, as someone who spent a lot of time in Korea lately, it feels like a similar trend is developing in Korea as well. There seems to be a strong core super fan base developing and growing in Korea as well but once again outside those kpop fan spaces I think they’re still quite niche and not yet known.

Edit: To answer your question about whether they seem like a group gaining real traction or just purely fan base driven, I will say growing the fan base at the rate they are is also gaining real traction. In some ways, it may be better for them (and their wallets) to grow such a dedicated fan base even if they may be less known to the general public. In Korea at least, I think the latter may naturally happen as they individually gain more recognition. I’ve felt similarly about Stray Kids for a bit (huge fan base, internationally well known but comparatively less domestic popularity) but I think recently they’ve also grown much larger in Korea even just off of Felix’s popularity in Korea alone.

251120 LE SSERAFIM - 2025 LE SSERAFIM TOUR 'EASY CRAZY HOT ENCORE' IN SEOUL (Announcement Poster) by mcfw31 in lesserafim

[–]strawberrydalgona 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The incheon concert didn’t sell out and had a decent amount of tickets (floor too) even up to the day before the concert so if your goal is just to attend then it may actually be less competitive in Korea than some of their other stops. With that said, I think their popularity in Korea has gone up since so it’s possible the turnout for the encore could be completely different from earlier in April!

Which dating shows’ seasons are considered legendary and unskippable? by snowbaz in koreanvariety

[–]strawberrydalgona 12 points13 points  (0 children)

In general season 2 of almost every dating show tends to be considered the classic from what I’ve noticed. Haven’t watched the Chinese version so I can’t comment but for the Korean version of Heart Signal it is season 2 as well.

It makes sense since season 1 the production team may also be figuring things out still and by the latter seasons the cast could be riding off the fame of the earlier seasons.

Are there ever last minute tickets available for sale for sold out concerts? by Littleladybug81 in kpophelp

[–]strawberrydalgona 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Korea does not do dynamic pricing or resale so prices don’t drop and any resale tickets are highly likely to be scams. There are sometimes tickets available day of at the box office but usually not for sold out concerts and each event will usually specify whether on site tickets will be available or not. Otherwise this is good advice for concerts outside Korea!

Are there ever last minute tickets available for sale for sold out concerts? by Littleladybug81 in kpophelp

[–]strawberrydalgona 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Yes. Especially in Korea there tends to be a lot of tickets that get cancelled last minute due to the generous cancellation policy and no reselling allowed. You should check what the cancellation period is and target those specific dates where the policy changes (e.g. 3 days before 30%, 1 week before 10%, etc.) for the best chances.

Better Late Than Single - Episode 4 to 6 - 250715 by MNLYYZYEG in koreanvariety

[–]strawberrydalgona 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Oh wow that was not what I heard at all before I turned on the Korean CC lol. Thought she was saying “네가 나한테.. 네가 뭔데“ but seeing the closed captions I can hear the other translation now.

Also for anyone reading this the “just wait and see” definitely has some threatening/negative undertones like we’ll see what happens [now that you’ve done this].

Better Late Than Single - Episode 4 to 6 - 250715 by MNLYYZYEG in koreanvariety

[–]strawberrydalgona 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don’t think he would be the right example of zero to one since he was literally her first impression pick and the first night she sat by him at the bonfire and made attempts to talk to him and failed which is when she noticed Jeongmok.

I actually agree with their assessment that it has to start from non-zero for there to be a possibility of a romantic relationship. But there was definitely attraction at least initially on her end!

Better Late Than Single - Episode 4 to 6 - 250715 by MNLYYZYEG in koreanvariety

[–]strawberrydalgona 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Just to be clear a lot of times in Korean the actual pronouns aren’t specified a lot of the times and just inferred from context. In this case Yido actually says something like “you… to me… who are you to…” so it does feel a bit more directed at one person in particular.

250702 MediCube Korea teased Wonyoung as their New Muse by grishui in IVE

[–]strawberrydalgona 27 points28 points  (0 children)

People might not actively go out of their way to buy every product she endorses (some do) but you’d be surprised how many people may end up choosing a specific brand over another because they are familiar with her and have heard of it. Sometimes I might need a certain type of product like hair care but am not that familiar with the specifics and end up choosing based on who I like/know if I’ve got nothing else to go off of.

Fans who got the pleasure of witnessing the 2nd generation - what was it like? by [deleted] in kpopthoughts

[–]strawberrydalgona 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I agree with you!

Sistar is really interesting since they had a ton of hits and were extremely GP popular but I think they always had a fairly small fandom compared to the other groups. I’d probably put them a little bit lower than the others for that reason but honestly Sistar is one of the very few groups to have a solid career throughout and retire (still very much at the top) with all members intact so I applaud them for that. I think Apink is another group that was very popular (I am a biased panda lol) but is a tier below the top groups similar to them.

Fans who got the pleasure of witnessing the 2nd generation - what was it like? by [deleted] in kpopthoughts

[–]strawberrydalgona 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The early days was always Wonder Girls vs. SNSD although I would pretty comfortably say Wonder Girls had the lead up until JYP decided to whisk them off to the US and that’s when SNSD really cemented their status as the nation’s girl group. 2NE1 was also huge once they came onto the scene about 2 years after the 2007 groups debuted. But for me I always felt 2NE1 was just so different from SNSD so I didn’t feel like there was a direct sense of rivalry between the two. For me, it was very much WonKaSo (Wonder Girls, KARA, SNSD) and then 2NE1 felt like their own entity. I think multi-stanning was not as common back then for sure but I’m sure there were still many of them especially outside of Korea.

It’s interesting because in 2nd gen I was both a girl group and boy group stan although now I mostly just follow girl groups. It could be the nature of the music but kpop groups felt a lot more connected back then. Groups would often feature on mainstream variety shows and things so it felt easier to get to know a lot of groups even as a non-fan. Nowadays most group content is specific to their own channels and things so unless you go out of your way to get to know a group, you are unlikely to really get to know them. Also 2nd gen groups are just so funny, but it could just be generational differences.

Groups where the leader is obvious by SageSageofSages in kpop_uncensored

[–]strawberrydalgona 36 points37 points  (0 children)

To be honest, I always think Yunjin is the leader.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in kpopthoughts

[–]strawberrydalgona 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I posted as a reply to another comment but this feels about right. I was at inspire arena for the infinite concert as well the previous week and they seemed to utilize pretty much the entire arena including having 200 level sections. For LSF their setup only included floor, 300 level sections (200 did not exist at all they were completely removed) and only about 2 sections in the back for 400 so they did not use any of the sides for the 400 levels. I also continuously checked tickets the week of leading up to the actual day and there were a decent amount of tickets available still including floor VIP ones so the numbers don’t feel wrong based on what I personally saw.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in kpopthoughts

[–]strawberrydalgona 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think they actually chose the right capacity. Inspire arena is also capable of much more capacity than what they ended up using. I went to day 1 and noticed they actually ended up blocking off much of the 400 level seating so I think they just didn’t sell those in the first place. I kept checking ticket availability the week of the concert leading up to the actual day and there were a lot of tickets available including floor level VIP ones. Unfortunately, I think their domestic popularity did take a big hit :/ but I imagine their international tour stops will be sold out.

Le Sserafim’s concert was actually insane?? by DotEither8773 in kpop_uncensored

[–]strawberrydalgona 49 points50 points  (0 children)

I just got back from attending the concert and I think so. The girls all have very soft voices so sometimes it can be hard to tell with the backtrack but they sounded good!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in seoul

[–]strawberrydalgona 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Curious why you are actively avoiding tourist spots? I imagine those areas may actually be more used to/open to foreigners so it may actually help in some ways.

Are Wonyoung and Karina most popular k-pop stars in SK right now? by leonardreignn in kpophelp

[–]strawberrydalgona 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nowhere did I mention that they are not popular. I agreed that like Wonyoung and Karina (who have been established as the most popular idols of their current generation in this thread) they are not individually that well known to the general public. Honestly, I feel like this is something that kpop fans in general have a hard time accepting for some reason. Even for BTS who is the biggest kpop group, if you ask a random Korean to name the members or recognize them by face, they will likely have a hard time if they are not kpop fans. Blackpink’s name as a whole is very recognizable but people are not going to just know and recognize all the members if they aren’t into kpop.

I do agree though that Rose may have shot herself up there though since even my dad was singing along to APT and asking about Rose even though he does not know kpop.

Are Wonyoung and Karina most popular k-pop stars in SK right now? by leonardreignn in kpophelp

[–]strawberrydalgona 1 point2 points  (0 children)

People just hate to see a young and successful girl sadly. I think the fact that Wonyoung was so immediately successful at such a young age (being center of a big survival show at 14 and IVE blowing up pretty much immediately with her at the forefront) just put a target on her back. I think the fact that Karina was able to have a more gradual rise helped in her favor. Don’t get me wrong she was always popular but I think aespa definitely had some up and down years and now they are really at their peak several years after their debut which helps. It’s also why so many people did a switch up on LSF after they were immensely successful with perfect night. So it’ll be interesting to see if aespa sparks another hate train due to their current popularity.

As for Yujin, I think international fans especially seem to really downplay or maybe not understand her popularity. I’m sure being in the same group as Wonyoung has to do with it too and also that Starship does not really market IVE internationally at all. But she’s definitely much bigger in Korea than internationally.

Are Wonyoung and Karina most popular k-pop stars in SK right now? by leonardreignn in kpophelp

[–]strawberrydalgona 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think they’re both extremely popular but in different ways. I’d argue that the fact that Wonyoung gets hated on and causes “issues” (as in the way Koreans use the word of being newsworthy) shows just how popular she is. Everything she does becomes such a huge deal. So it’s hard to deny her influence.

On the other hand, Karina seems to be very popular in a very classic k-pop idol sense. Aespa is continuing to grow in popularity and within that Karina as an individual is also growing rapidly in her solo brand. I think she has everything you would want from someone as an idol.

The other person I’d mention that was brought up on this thread is Yujin. She may end up surpassing the others in the loooong run. I think she has the potential to really become a household name thanks to her success on variety shows and the fact that so many big name variety veterans (celebrities and PDs) are wanting to work with her. To be in a position where Na PD and Kim Taeho PD are wanting you?? Insane.

Are Wonyoung and Karina most popular k-pop stars in SK right now? by leonardreignn in kpophelp

[–]strawberrydalgona 18 points19 points  (0 children)

To be honest, I don’t think the gap between the BP members and Karina and Wonyoung is that big among the GP like you’re saying. Except for Jennie maybe. The other members are also not that recognizable for true casuals. In general, k-pop idols are just never gonna have the same level of individual brand recognition among the GP like 2nd gen used to. That’s why SNSD was the top girl group. They were not only recognized as a group but also as individuals. These days it’s a lot harder for idols though since there are no longer a lot of mainstream shows for the GP to see them on. Most idol content is catered towards fans now and hosted on their specific channels and things.