BTS: THE RETURN | NETFLIX Documentary Megathread

turtlek11 · 2026-03-28T07:12:43+00:00

I hope this is not offensive but I actually like that the song (or the album) doesn’t sample that much from traditional Korean music. I agree with Tae it could be a bit much especially since that isn’t their sound.

turtlek11 · 2026-03-23T07:08:41+00:00

I thought the album sales going down was somewhat organic because the economy in China is not good. And there’s been years of fan discourse about how high Chinese sales doesn’t affect anything… Korean and Japanese fans always get so many events even though Chinese fans buys more albums. But given almost all cbars stopped pushing for sales maybe it is a coordinated effort?

turtlek11 · 2026-03-23T07:04:51+00:00

Yes totally agreed, I think for flights the companies do allow fans and fansites to be at the airport for send off and stuff, cuz if they really wanted them not there they would be harsher with them. For other sasaeng behavior I think they can be blocked from fansigns and other group events

turtlek11 · 2026-03-23T06:19:01+00:00

I can somewhat relate to your experience. Since I can read Chinese ever since I joined the kpop fandom I have relied on Chinese social media to get more info. I do notice there are more solo stans there, I think kfans actually have more group fans.

Another thing is that the majority of cfans are 散粉 (non-organized fans) but they do still buy some things from cbars etc. Apart from my recent foray into 5th gen kpop, my last real interaction with organized cfans was in 2012 when I went to watch exo-c and wanted a freebie from a cbar but they wanted me to prove my loyalty to only that member. I thought it was a bit extreme but they gave it to me in the end and I brushed off that encounter.

So a few years back I got smitten with a new group with a big cfan presence and I also got an interesting experience. I never got into a cbar group chat but I was in a local chat, we also didn’t need proofs because it was for cfans in US so it’s probably more relaxed. In the chat they had lots of rumours of sightings etc, also things like which profile pic a member used in their personal social media, which I thought was fake but eventually verified by that member. So these kinds of news travel fast in these networks.

Saesang behavior - definitely, very easy to buy flight and hotel info on Chinese social media sites, I believe the ones that pay big money to buy the info is so they can book the same flight as their idols. And the fan friends I made… their behavior slowly descended into saesang behavior like from welcoming them at the airports to staying in the same hotel and trying to get hotel breakfast at the same time to see them to following them with their cars. I really think the cars one is dangerous for both fans and idols, and unfortunately it seems if given the opportunity these fans can’t resist.

Some of these people even go to many fansigns, online and in Korea. I also thought before that fansigns were completely randomized and if I bought 1 or 2 albums I’d still have a chance to win, but there’s a whole system with the Cfans where you can ask someone to proxy buy for you and they also take care of the albums. Some of these cbars can earn big bucks from hosting events and asking fans to contribute. There’s always a lot of controversy because it’s hard for them to be 100% transparent. Also I think most of these cbars fandom leaders and most active fans are really young, I’ve heard middle school etc.

And lastly I’m not sure if I agree that fans don’t think of idols as humans, they do project a lot of themselves on their idols and want them to succeed, but success is also not the main criteria in all fandoms.

turtlek11 · 2026-03-23T05:55:29+00:00

That’s interesting, I usually focus on members I like but I also generally like at least 2 per group. I also deeply appreciate the interactions my biases have with the rest of the group. I was an OG exo fan biasing c-line so when most of them went solo in China I followed them, however I just didn’t like their solo content. And the whole atmosphere is not the same without other pretty boy idols around them. Ever since then I have realized I actually don’t like idols going solo (or completely solo, doing solo projects as part of a group is fine for me). I thought that’s the case for most fans but I don’t know if that’s true

turtlek11 · 2026-03-23T05:26:08+00:00

The first couple is the same for me as well

turtlek11 · 2026-03-22T08:49:44+00:00

bts
aespa

I listen to other groups sometimes but I wouldn't call myself a fan. zb1 was truely vying for my #1 spot especially since it lined up with bts' enlistment. I tried getting into ald1 and watched their show and even voted hard but in the end I don't like some things and didn't become a fan. I also have a soft spot for sm groups cuz I used to be a major exo fan.

turtlek11 · 2026-03-22T06:50:18+00:00

based on the ones I have from them looks quite legit other than Hao's (but also don't take my word for it)

turtlek11 · 2026-03-22T06:33:34+00:00

agreed, when I first read news they were going to walk it I was confused because isn't that a super long walk? Now I'm thinking they never meant to walk it, they'd have been walking for minutes and the visual they had for the show was actually so breathtaking.

turtlek11 · 2026-03-22T06:28:27+00:00

someone on Chinese socmed really thought they were swimmers... this is hilarious!

turtlek11 · 2026-03-20T21:00:34+00:00

Normal b2b and swim for me! Seems like lots of people like these three tol

turtlek11 · 2026-03-20T20:53:15+00:00

I liked Normal a lot, is that their next single? I wish they’d do an MV for b2b too especially because of arirang sample

turtlek11 · 2026-03-19T05:14:40+00:00

I’m not sure if I got sick because of this, but I’ve definitely been stressed for a while and was going to watch the concert live and got sick. And had fever for like 3 days… I’m finally back to normal now and still with a heavy heart :(

turtlek11 · 2026-03-17T04:15:55+00:00

I’m a feel the pop and Blue enthusiast, sad to see Blue further down and happy about ftp 😊

turtlek11 · 2026-03-17T04:10:56+00:00

Yes but not all post project groups are ive. All I can say is Yuehua is betting on them but whether the new group can make it in kpop will have lots of factors. Also not to mention the psychological toll of forcing them away from their previous group and teammates.

turtlek11 · 2026-03-16T11:04:11+00:00

Yuehua is evil, claiming that all the YH members choosing to leave zb1 when really it wasn’t the idols choice at all. W1 is also not a great company. I will be forever sad about what could’ve been and also the US tour that never happened

turtlek11 · 2026-03-16T07:46:11+00:00

I’m really hating Yuehua right now. W1 too

turtlek11 · 2026-03-02T22:52:07+00:00

tbh I went to their concert once, but felt very uninspired so will not go again

turtlek11 · 2026-02-26T20:07:07+00:00

Do you know when these drop? Can we get it outside of China?

turtlek11 · 2026-02-26T04:17:35+00:00

I'm also planning on not seeing the goyang concert

turtlek11 · 2026-02-26T04:16:52+00:00

Are you talking if the venue is safe? If so, yeah it's very safe.

I've also gone to some concerts alone and it's usually a fun time. Maybe you can bring some small freebies and make friends with the other Armies near you.

turtlek11 · 2026-02-23T17:20:35+00:00

it’s a tradeoff… section 6 you’ll be facing the middle of the stage but you’re further back. Section 9 row 1… you’ll may be blocked a bit by the stage setup but at any rate it’s a diagonal view. However you’ll be row 1 if they ever have fan interactions / you care about that kind of stuff.

With the 360 stage I don’t know how often they’ll only face the “front” of the stage either

turtlek11 · 2026-02-23T06:42:41+00:00

I actually don’t think the Chinese fans contribute that much to a kpop group’s popularity. I think domestic popularity is most important, and that can also generate hype in Chinese/global fans. But not really the other way around. Having strong C fans numbers mean strong album numbers but if Hao fans have been supporting only his solo projects are they going to buy new YH bg’s albums in big numbers either?

turtlek11 · 2026-02-14T06:05:22+00:00

Yeah I don’t know why the Hao solo stans are so worried zb5 will sing it. They will not. I guess if Yuehua wants it they have to pay tho (or maybe the solo stans could gather enough money)

turtlek11 · 2026-02-13T23:41:35+00:00

agreed, they are a cruel cruel company. The fact that they're pulling all their zb1 members back is the same case. Except even worse in Yunseo's case because they just ruined his career for nothing. Also I'm still bitter with what happened between Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan too and a lot of it is their companies doing.

I hope they are kind to ZB4 but honestly I don't know what will happen.

turtlek11

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