How Kpop Changed My Life – Part TWO: Fan Wars

This is Where Kpop Gets STUPID

I really hate this subject. I really hate the people that promote it. This is kind of when I hate Kpop in general. Something SO beautiful that should unite everyone gets turned into this mess. And, maybe it’s because I’m older, but I don’t see the point of it. I just don’t.

What makes it SO stupid is the fact that these “idols” get along with each other and have no beef. HOWEVER, the fans have beef and will hold a grudge. Granted, the demographic for a lot of the 2nd and 3rd generation of Kpop are younger. They’re always talking about going to school and the like so I’m assuming most of them are teenagers and this is their life.

Shoot, when I was a teenager, people tried to fight over Backstreet Boys and N’Sync. I mean, I liked both. I had more Backstreet Boys music but I could belt out some N’Sync songs. It was NEVER that serious, for real. It was music after all.

Courtesy: Entertainment Weekly

So when I see the arguments and the like about some musicians or groups, I literally shake my head. However, I decided to talk to some ARMY (BTS fans) about their beef with EXO-Ls (EXO fans) on Twitter. Maybe I need to give you the rundown of the groups, I guess.

Some Popular Groups and the Names of Their Fans

• BlackPink – Blinks
• EXO – EXO-Ls or Eries
• BTS – ARMY
• SHINee – Shawol
• SuperM – Spermies
• NCT – NCTzens
• GOT7 – iGOT7
• SuperJunior – ELF (Everlasting Friends)
• Big Bang – VIP
• Girls’ Generation – SONE
• Red Velvet – Reveluv
• Twice – Once
• Stray Kids – Stay

Source: 20 K-pop fandom names and their meanings | SBS PopAsia

Light Sticks

And Then the Fight Started

Okay, so I had to sit here and get a history lesson as to why EXO-Ls and ARMY didn’t get along. It all started in 2015 maybe? Basically, ARMY say that EXO-Ls went on a crusade to say that BTS plagiarized stuff and that they didn’t deserve any of the attention they were getting when they started getting more in 2018 or something.

If you KNOW anything about BTS, they came a LONG way. And, when I say a LONG way, I mean they were going to break up because they just weren’t succeeding and were getting overlooked a lot. Somehow, it is said that EXO-Ls were the cause of their mental breakdown and that they almost broke the group up.

BTS gets my respect for a TON of reasons but the MAIN one is because they didn’t give up. They were suffering from depression, Jimin was dealing with an eating disorder (some idiots tried to go online and make HORRIBLE comments about that to the point that their company had to step in What Happened to Jimin From BTS? His Management Company Is Going After His Trolls (distractify.com)), and their music changed because of it. Their music grew and resonated even more with teenagers. That’s how it got to the U.S. on such a large scale. They talked about topics that many Kpop groups DON’T talk about. Being sad is okay. Being depressed is OKAY. Helping one another through that pain is needed. Their struggle produced empowering songs for our youth. That’s one thing I cannot even begin to thank them for.

In Asian society, that’s not something they usually talk about. There are a lot of suicides in Asian communities because their children are pushed to be the best and get good grades. It takes a toll on younger people. It takes a toll on adults too but their music really resonated with teenagers and I appreciate that. My best friend’s daughter is an ARMY and sometimes she needs to listen to them to get through some of the horrible things that have gone on in the past few years.

Wanna know something flippin HEE LARRY US? EXO and BTS are friends. They get along. They have no beef with one another. They’re GOOD. There are videos of them hanging out having a ball. But these little kids (they have to be teenagers because I don’t know of adults that are like this) told ME today ON Twitter (I need to stay off Twitter. I had to literally mute the conversation) that now that BTS is popular, EXO-Ls wanna be friends. Oh, and they blamed ALL EXO-Ls for it. First of all, um…. I became a fan of Kpop 3 or 4 years ago, I wasn’t on Twitter, and I surely don’t have the time to battle over some dang on musicians that don’t pay my rent.

Because these people are children, they don’t understand and likely won’t. I told them “In 10 years, you’re going to look back on this conversation and wonder why you even wasted your time.”

Many mature fandoms respect one another. But then you have those that are a bit delusional IN ALL FANDOMS. They make comments like “________ is the BIGGEST idol of all time!” And I’m sittin here like “What are you doing?”

The members of these groups put everything on the line from a VERY young age to be kpop stars. With that said, they all need to be respected. Some were as young as 16 doing this while they were supposed to be in school. Yes, this is their life and THEY get paid for it but what’s so hard about loving music, supporting them as artists, not comparing them, and just being an all around good person.

As an EXO-L am I supposed to walk around fighting everyone that isn’t in my “club”? That’s what I get for playing with these kids.

Sadly, I feel that fandoms ruin the fun in kpop. They really do. If you want to watch a vid on YouTube, just stay out of the comments. The delusional comments will make your roll your eyes until they get stuck. Now, I have my favorites all day but I’m not going to talk bad about another group because my “Alpha” or gateway group is EXO-L. Guess who was over here playing Dynamite? I believe they just hit 1 Billion views on YouTube. We ALL were watching it because it was a good song. Now, I know that kpop is based on popularity and they are always asking people to vote for stuff. I stay away from that. I just let my streams and views do the talking for me. And I’m not sitting around replaying the dang on video to help it get views. I have a real job. But, man, what happened to just listening to music?

One person (had to be a kid) said that BTS “paved the way” for Kpop. Now, to me, a 41 year old woman, that’s like saying that Beyoncé paved the way for R&B. Now, we all know this isn’t true. We know it’s not true because there would be no Beyoncé without the likes of Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, etc. So we can’t make comments like that without making ourselves look dumb. And this is why people make fun of Kpop as a whole; dumb comments like that. BTS wanted to get INTO Kpop because of those that paved the way for them.

Then we have to take into consideration the fact that, in 2013, when they came out, it was harder to reach worldwide audiences. We didn’t really use YouTube, Spotify, or iTunes like that. That’s how they judge things NOW as opposed to when they debuted. Super Junior debuted in 2005 (my daughter is their age). SHINee debuted in 2008. So guess who didn’t really know anything about Kpop; most Americans. EXO and BTS debuted in 2012 and 2013 respectively. BTS’s members respect EXO, SHINee, Super Junior (most younger idols do) because they are what made them WANT to be a Kpop star. And, in Asian cultures, they respect their “hyungs”. There are SO many popular groups that haven’t crossed over to the U.S. in the manner that BTS has yet and maybe they will once the world opens up again. SuperM was on the verge of doing that when COVID hit (I went to their concert and it was EPIC!).

Quick Question: Who remembers Gangnam Style? FOUR BILLION YouTube views. My KID was singing that song. IJS…. but yeah….

There is so much proof of the love that ALL these groups have for one another. So, if you love your group, why not follow their example? I would think that this discord was coming more from U.S. fans as we are an individualistic society that is out for self BUT it’s actually coming from the collectivist societies which kind of blows my mind. Everything isn’t to be a competition. As I have said in previous blogs, “you don’t have to down others to uplift yourself”.

Look at these fools getting along while yall out here fighting about nothing.

One More Thing

When Jonghyun, a beloved member of SHINee committed suicide in 2017, EVERYONE came together. They didn’t care if they were from the same company or ANY of that. They came together because they all had/have a respect for one another. When the fandoms learn to do the same, you’ll be better for it.

Just today, I saw on Twitter that a Chilean show made fun of BTS and EVERYONE rallied around them https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bts-racist-joke-mi-barrio/. It doesn’t matter who you “Stan”, an attack on any Kpop group is an attack on all. Most of them are from South Korea and the joke was that their names were all the NORTH Korean dictator’s name. The social climate right now is trash for all people of color. In addition to this, because some “smart” person called COVID the “Chinese flu”, Asian people have been getting attacked for just being themselves in the U.S. (not sure if it’s going on anywhere else but I will research). If you’re going to be a fan of Kpop, be a fan of Kpop. All this extra is draining. That isn’t the purpose of Kpop.

Because I love me some EXO-L and were introduced TO Kpop because of them, I have the best of ALL worlds. Lookie here: With all of the vlogs, new music, new videos, variety shows, dance practice, etc, I haven’t been without great content for the three years I have been a fan of Kpop. They have ALL made my life happier. Hate doesn’t make you happy. It just doesn’t. And music is supposed to make you HAPPY.

So I’m going to enjoy my EXO, SuperM, SHINee, BTS, Super Junior, Ateez, Stray Kids, WayV, NCT (all of them), and more while yall try to figure out who is the most popular.

In the end, if these are your kids doing this dumb mess, pop em. If you’re an adult doing this dumb mess, get a job or find a hobby because this ain’t it.

Thank you for reading Part TWO of my series of a million. I will be talking about a lot more things that have to do with Kpop but this one came up today because Twitter was trippin.

I’M BACK AND I’M PISSED!!!!

As SOON as I finished this, I go on YouTube for laughs and find out that a person that makes funny vids about Kpop (NCT) has been getting STALKED and getting HATE MAIL! I suffer from depression but I’m on meds but this is a young person doing something that makes people laugh and people have the AUDACITY to tell them to commit suicide, call, and send letters of hate? What is WRONG with people? This is why folks think Kpop fans are nuts. This mess right here ain’t cute nor where it’s at. STOP!

Part 3 is here: How Kpop Changed My Life (Part 3): That Time I Saw SuperM Live