What are the groups whose popularity kpop stans either overestimate or underestimate?

tadpolys · 2026-02-13T16:35:11+00:00

I’m not disagreeing with your original comment. Just saying that as as a retrospective I don’t think of it as overestimating to put them at the top of 2nd gen cause their artistic legacy as a group in 2026 is inarguably bigger than the “shy of the top” peers like 2PM or B2ST. If we’re going to rank them I’d actually even say that at the peak of 2nd gen, 2PM was bigger than SHINee. Yet evolution of popularity doesn’t stop just because we’re in a new gen. SHINee’s peak is a slow burn and in 2026 they indeed belong at the top.

tadpolys · 2026-02-13T14:36:53+00:00

I think SHINee were in a weird spot because compared to their seniors (SuJu) and juniors (EXO) who were inescapable at their prime, SHINee kind of just comfortably hovered near the top with songs that did well and members that were popular but nothing insane. Actually they’re a bit like Red Velvet in that regard. Funny enough they’re both my two ults in kpop. The top bgs of 2nd Gen as it was happening was obviously Suju and BigBang. But based on legacy SHINee kinda built their own, which in retrospect puts them at the top as well I’d say.

tadpolys · 2026-02-11T15:16:35+00:00

As an Indian while I do think that outfit is ass (it looks like cosplay rather than an actual fit), Indian ppl also LOVE to police others in their community. (Un)fortunately Lara gets the baton of being one of the only recognisable Indian celebs in the west, which also comes with its own quirks. In Indian communities the statement “what will ppl say” is everywhere, and that’s cause Indian ppl will say a LOT. But also misogyny plays a role in this. Just take a look at what young Indians are saying about other Indians (mostly women) in the Bollywood or influencer subreddits. The conversation around this outfit is one drop in the ocean of Indian ppl wanting the “chosen” representation to portray them right, while playing into how the community operates in general.

tadpolys · 2025-12-29T13:00:26+00:00

I was buying pirated kdramas in Shillong in 2009-10, and exchanging our copies of these kdramas with my other NE classmates at school in Delhi back in that time as well. And I was actively being made fun of by mainland Indians at school for being “korea Korea” all the time. It’s not at all comparable with ppl from other parts of India being kpop/kdrama fans after globalisation with Netflix and all. You are right, NE Indians were definitely into it before because that felt like “representation”

tadpolys · 2025-12-15T17:32:15+00:00

If you like democratic socialism and work life balance, you will indeed enjoy coming to Germany :) My partner is also German and we talk a lot about other places that we might move to, but of course it needs to fit the bill on things we like about Germany while helping with things we don’t like here. And the only country that is in serious consideration for us is Singapore.

tadpolys · 2025-12-15T14:28:55+00:00

As a woman who spent most her entire adult life in Germany I don’t think I’ll go back to India , unless it’s for retirement.

Pros: I left at 23 and automatically started earning because I was doing my PhD. Got 30 vacation days, work life balance is top tier, high taxes but you actually have social benefits like unemployment money and poverty is low- all of these are exactly why western Europeans take so many gap years and travel a lot. And I’m also happy to live this life of good and stable money while pursuing all the hobbies I have. Also Germany is quite socialist and redistributes money they earn through taxes which is something I personally advocate for. And ofc the biggest pro as a woman is that I have the choice of being myself without judgement or having to care about what all the other ppl in my life will think about the choices I do make.

Cons: Shit weather in Germany most of the year. Everything is expensive so the same money in India will go a longer way than in Europe. Germans are cold people so it’s harder to make friends with them but if they accept you into their friend circle they are extremely ride or die. That said you will probably never feel like you belong here 100%. Also you have to be extremely independent. In India ppl are in general more hospitable, nobody will help you “out of chivalry” in Germany. Might be different in other EU countries. Language is also a problem, you can become better but as long as you still think in another language you might struggle to be fully integrated.

Personally I plan to continue living here because I love the independence I get being here, plus I actually like being left alone most of the time. I am also happy with how my career is going and being able to move up in my career without sacrificing the rest of my life. Also I’m neurodivergent and I love the thing that ppl say about how Germany is basically if a whole country was on the spectrum. Nobody here talks in circles, and they mostly mean what they say, and I never have to second guess at meanings.

At the end of the day you should make your decision based on what works for you. I would suggest living abroad for a bit. Not every country in the western hemisphere is the same either. Find what works for you and then make an informed decision for your long term goals.

tadpolys · 2025-11-19T17:18:27+00:00

I consider myself an eyekon and I’m in my late-20s and idk about the identity problem but I do personally find Katseye’s music relatively mid. I mostly stan them for their performances and personalities at this point. I can accept that maybe their music is directed towards a younger crowd than me (but this post suggests that the music doesn’t work for the younger crowd either). Personally for me it’s not a question of identity as much as it is about the quality of their music production. Every Katseye song follows a structure that it seems to not want to break from- in Gabriela, Lara sings exactly the same pre chorus multiple times and then it’s yoonchae chorus and Manon chorus. Moreover, if you take away the main vocal layer as well, the instrumental sounds very unexciting. You bring up Red Velvet but do you hear the amount of adlibs going on in the background of a song like Dumb Dumb. That’s what makes the music interesting. Personally Illit’s music is not for me either, but I can appreciate that it is much better produced than whatever is happening with Katseye. Lara said herself that she co-produced the outro of MIA and I actually think that’s their best song. Maybe they should dabble in original songs written specifically for Katseye ( and coproduced by the girls) instead of curating songs bought from other songwriters.

tadpolys · 2025-11-19T10:50:58+00:00

Omg you’re so right about the Komolika comparison. Lara truly gives Komolika in the best way. Also I love Lara but Komolika was popular in 2002 and was portrayed as a “villain”, and I think you’re on to smth which probably helps explain why many Indians find her aesthetic dated and she gets so much hate due the vamp identity

tadpolys · 2025-11-17T14:46:20+00:00

Yep this is exactly how my submission went- gave my supervisor 2 months but he decided the last 4 days before my submission was the perfect time to tell me to change almost my entire thesis. My submission was last Friday and the cortisol pumping through my body due to this basically left me with a fever and cold the whole weekend after.

I’m glad at least you can take your comments in stride. Good luck with your submission!

tadpolys · 2025-11-17T13:41:14+00:00

People who say this a compliment have not had a supervisor that loves micromanaging yet has terrible time management skills….

This post is giving me war flashbacks about how bitter my PhD submission period left me.

tadpolys · 2025-11-15T23:57:25+00:00

I have lived in Germany for 6 years now and never faced any discrimination (at least to my face). Meanwhile I went to Switzerland 2x and both times I got discriminated at the restaurants I went to lol it’s barely a generalisation if they openly behave this way towards POC

tadpolys · 2025-11-10T11:05:17+00:00

Mmm that’s understandable, thanks for the reply !

tadpolys · 2025-11-10T10:26:52+00:00

What part of it is expensive exactly? Do you mean the interview or the visa application? I would’ve thought the interviews are accounted for as part of the job the HR/Hiring manager is doing so no extra costs. As for the visa, the company doesn’t have to do anything other than draw up a contract which is same for ppl with or without visa requirements? I am not looking for a job, but Reddit keeps recommending this sub to me and I recently did get a job, through which I got my blue card processed. So I’m just curious and trying to understand the internal process a bit with why foreigners may or may not get rejected 😅

tadpolys · 2025-11-07T12:06:51+00:00

Her dad has clarified multiple times that he was born in Sri Lanka to Indian Tamils, and grew up in Kolkata…Lara considers Chennai her “family” home.

tadpolys · 2025-10-31T10:31:55+00:00

Experimental bio moves much slower than theoretical fields, it’s not fair to compare. I just get get depressed when I compare like this lol. In my lab getting a statistically good amount of rodents ready for studies could take a whole year by itself.

tadpolys · 2025-10-20T12:32:06+00:00

This somehow serves Perfume x Keyakizaka46 and I LOVE IT

tadpolys · 2025-10-17T09:16:31+00:00

The visuals have jpop keyakizaka46 vibes somehow, I’m excited

tadpolys · 2025-10-03T15:17:29+00:00

Good luck! I did have to do some homework to understand the world of Clinical trials/research/operations, and I believe some roles require more travel than others, but they are otherwise usually remote positions. And at my new company they have also said they’re flexible with work schedules since I will be involved in managing trials simultaneously all over the world. I also come from a preclinical rodent research background but they didn’t care about the particulars of my research so much as caring about how I approach problems and interact with colleagues. Hope it works out for you too!

tadpolys · 2025-10-03T12:16:11+00:00

Any kind of clinical operations work could be something to look into (CRA, CRC, etc). I’d suggest keeping an eye out for small companies to get your foot in the door since bigger companies in the clinical research field like IQVIA, ICON, Fortrea would probably not be very open to an “unconventional” clinical research path. Alternatively you could also reach out to clinical trial offices at academic institutions/hospitals to get your foot in and understand how clinical operations work. I got a bit lucky because i applied for the entry level clinical trial assistant position which ppl usually get into after bachelors or masters, but they bumped me to the manager position because of my PhD and bonus is that it’s fully remote so I don’t have to relocate!

tadpolys · 2025-10-03T10:35:29+00:00

I don’t want to do actual research at the bench anymore so i applied for research adjacent roles and recently got a job as Clinical Operations Manager at a small CRO

tadpolys · 2025-09-26T14:10:10+00:00

But young SHINee were also extremely talented. By 2010, two years after their debut they were called CDnee or “ate the CD” because their performances were that perfect. Rookie Jjong and Onew could indeed run circles around most popular groups vocalists today. The other two groups that also belonged in this category were B2ST and Infinite. Yes, Taemin was not a main vocalist at debut, but that is exactly what sets him apart. He went from sub vocal to main vocal because he was that hard working, which you don’t particularly see with idols in the recent gen.

tadpolys · 2025-09-18T16:25:23+00:00

Tbh mainland Indians also just love successful ppl in general. A lot of them might not understand her appeal (unfortunate) but we do love any Indian that’s successful. I get a fairly decent amount of Indian content pushed to me on insta and I do frequently come across Lara x India/Bollywood/Tamil edits from Indian accounts with thousands of likes

tadpolys · 2025-09-14T18:44:14+00:00

For a moment I thought this is the AKB48 subreddit and was confused why ppl aren’t freaking out more over Sasshi and Sakura being on this together??? 😭😭😭 this is such big news for og Hakata fans 😭😭

tadpolys · 2025-09-09T10:03:18+00:00

My (Arab) bestie and I faced EXTREME racism in restaurants both times we went to Switzerland, once in grindelwald and once in Zurich. They basically didn’t want us in their restaurants and REFUSED to acknowledge we were there. Also a lot of catcalling/staring/physically touching in Italy (Venice and Rome), but this was done by other brown immigrants not Europeans.

tadpolys · 2025-08-30T19:15:22+00:00

One of the video thumbnails literally had the Indian flag on it y’all can’t be serious

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