Tag: K-pop culture

Pros & Cons of the Shipping Culture in K-Pop | Most popular Ships

Lifestyle

June 19, 2021
/ Leave a Comment on Pros & Cons of the Shipping Culture in K-Pop | Most popular Ships

8 min
3 years
1,443 word

Tagged BTS, K-pop, K-pop culture, K-pop world, Korean

Pros & Cons of the Shipping Culture in K-Pop | Most popular Ships

Pros & Cons of the Shipping Culture in K-Pop

AUTHOR : SREEJITA KARMAKAR

Introduction

Korean pop or (hereinafter referred to as) K-pop is becoming one of the most talked-about things in the world right now. With the scene of music constantly shifting and adapting to new listeners and music lovers, K-pop is now a passion breathed in by its fans like oxygen. As it usually happens, with the popularity of the genre and the music, the popularity of the artists creating that music gets an instant boost. The K-pop artists are not only popular for their stupendous talent in writing songs, producing their own music, singing, rapping, and dancing; they are also popular for their ships with their fellow K-pop artists in the industry.

People have a hint of what shipping two famous personalities is like. It is like you wish the two people, ‘X’ and ‘Y’, to have a relationship because you think they are compatible with each other. Fans usually ship their favourite artists from time to time as they fancy. And sometimes it is just a cute, supportive kind of admiration towards the artists in question, but sometimes things tend to get out of hand. And most of the time things get controversial.

In K-pop, the scene is quite similar. K-pop fans are die-hard lovers of their idols and many of the times they pair an idol with another idol to weave a world about their relationship. These ships are obviously aided by the idols in question, interacting with each other on stage or in award functions or reality television shows and such. Nothing about their personal preferences is known in most cases and nothing about their lives is openly shown on television. We only see the image of a person we think we know on the screen and we find them being kind to each other and think it’s an instant match – let it be romantic or just like a deep friendship. But hey, things are not like K-dramas in real life, are they?

The Most Popular Ships in K-pop

There are different types of ships in K-pop. Some ships are purely heart-warming because the artists involved are best friends and/or members of the same group. Like in the case of the members of BLACKPINK, who are shipped with each other in turns: Rosé being shipped with Lisa, or Lisa being shipped with Jisoo, and so on. Lee Know and Han of Stray Kids, also known by their ship name “Minsung” is the most popular ship in the group. Kai of EXO is shipped with Jennie of BLACKPINK a lot because of their history of having dated each other back in early 2019 and they haven’t gotten back together since they broke up. But their fans and shippers still adore their previous chemistry. Of course, V and Jimin of BTS are shipped for their unbreakable bond of true friendship. They even sing the song “Friends” together as a duo, which further proves the point. The BTS members are often shipped with each other for their brotherly bond. And BTS members V and Jungkook are often individually shipped with Lisa of BLACKPINK, which are two other famous ships of K-pop. Jungkook is also shipped with IU (K-pop soloist) because Jungkook once mentioned her as his ideal type.

These were some of the most popular ships in K-pop. There are way too many other ships in K-pop and some of those ships sail and some sink – pun intended. But the ones that get toxic are the real threats.

Pros & Cons of the Shipping Culture in K-pop

There are no such pros of the shipping culture in K-pop. But some fans are artistically inclined and hence they create lifelike artwork or fanarts of the idols they ship and some fans who are very talented writers, have been writing magnificent fan-fictions about their favourite artists for a long time. This thing is prevalent not only in K-pop but also in the Western music industry. As long as the muses of these fanarts or fan-fictions are not hurt in any way, the shipping culture is seen as harmless.

Cons are way too many when it comes to the shipping culture in the South Korean entertainment industry. Talking about the same fanarts and fan-fictions, some fans may go too overboard with their creations, and that is when things get personal and offensive, and rightly so. Sometimes fans start to obsess over ships so much that what they write or create can cause a lot of unwanted uncomfortable scenarios among the idols concerned. Of course, the idols won’t openly acknowledge their dislikes because of obvious reasons but they sometimes get mentally stressed out seeing things take off in distressful directions.

Why do Ships Start?

This can be answered differently because the answers vary from person to person, but there may be a proper reason. For instance, skinship in the South Korean entertainment industry is seen as a common gesture of friendship. Idols have been seen hugging and even kissing each other on several occasions.

Before clearing the air on this, one thing should be made clear that even if the K-pop idols are each others’ rivals in the industry, they are still friends with each other. Some of them have been friends since their childhood, while some became friends in their trainee days and have stuck together through the hard years of training to become K-pop idols. They have seen the true struggle together. Even though some have ended up debuting in different groups, their friendship is still strong. That being said, kissing or hugging each other to show their admiration or to congratulate each other on their successes is nothing wrong. Some idols even playfully kiss each other on camera and that is okay as long as the idols involved are okay with it. But again, some people put the stamp of ships on such idols and things go downhill.

Some companies frame contracts with their idols, where they clearly state that dating is not allowed while they work under the agency for the certain period mentioned. This is so disturbing, considering the fact that Western artists also date people they like and their fans are completely okay with that, as they should be. And this no-dating policy in K-pop is almost always owing to the same “fans” who like to ship artists without consent. As it is, K-pop idols are put through rigorous routines and they barely get time to sleep properly, let alone date people. And that is also because, in South Korea, LGBTQ+ is still not seen as freely as it should be. But things are changing slowly for the good, and some K-pop artists have also embraced this topic in their music videos.

How to Control Shipping Idols?

It is simple, we have to look at idols as human beings with their likes and dislikes, their own minds and hearts. One cannot force their will on others, people can have their own will, including internationally famous K-pop artists. People who call themselves “fans” of such idols, must learn to respect the decisions and privacy of their idols. Creating fanarts and fan-fictions is not wrong, as it is also a method of showing your love and appreciation towards your favourite artist but such creations should either be kept to the creators themselves or be shared with the public in such a way that they respect the idols and their privacy. Disclaimer should be mentioned at the beginning of fan-fictions or for fanarts that claim the creations to be completely imaginary and not related to the idols in real life. Anything vulgar should be sued by the companies under which the idols work.

Mental health is a very important topic that should be acknowledged at all levels.

Until news of relationships between idols is officially announced by their companies and by declarations on social media by trustworthy South Korean websites with the permission of the companies concerned, one should not believe any rumours about idols dating each other. This causes unnecessary fuss about the idols involved and is misleading. In apps like V LIVE, Weverse, etc., while one idol goes live or comes online, fans should not mention other idols in unacceptable ways.

Conclusion

We all are allowed to have our own opinions, but as sensible people, we should also know what and how much to share, so that others are not getting hurt or involved in any wrong way. We are all human beings with emotions and feelings at the end of the day.

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The K-Pop world | Which K-Pop group is better?

Lifestyle

June 9, 2021
1 Comment on The K-Pop world | Which K-Pop group is better?

5 min
3 years
864 words

Tagged BTS, GOT7, K-pop, K-pop culture, K-pop world

The K-Pop world | Which K-Pop group is better?

Music changed all over the world. In South Korea – a musical revolution was being started. In 1992, the first Korean Pop (hereinafter referred as K-pop) boyband came into existence, called Seo Taiji and Boys. They not only included English in their lyrics but also introduced dance moves into their music, creating the modern K-pop which is seen today.

AUTHOR : Sreejita Karmakar

Introduction

In the past few decades, we have watched the scene of music change all over the world. The metamorphosis has produced worldwide musical sensations like The Beatles, Queen, Backstreet Boys leading up to One Direction. While all this was taking place, in another part of the globe – specifically, in South Korea – a musical revolution was being started. In 1992, the first Korean Pop (hereinafter referred as K-pop) boyband came into existence, called Seo Taiji and Boys. They not only included English in their lyrics but also introduced dance moves into their music, creating the modern K-pop which is seen today.

The World of K-pop

Through the years, many generations of K-pop idols have reigned over the field. H.O.T, Shinhwa, BIGBANG, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, 2NE1, BTS, GOT7, TWICE, BLACKPINK, MONSTA X, TXT and, ITZY to name a few. Standing today and gazing across the glamorous ocean of K-pop artists, one simply cannot pick one and drop others. Many people end up becoming a multifandom for life, like yours truly. Therefore, to set things right, there is no way one can say that a particular K-pop group is better than another. But surely there are ways in which one can choose their favourites from the multitude of options.

Different K-pop Concepts

Firstly, K-pop groups debut with different concepts. Concepts are almost like genres or the type of sound or look preferred in the K-pop industry. For instance: BLACKPINK (currently the Biggest Girl Band in the world) are artists working under the Girl Crush concept. TWICE songs are generally under the Cute concept, songs by Dreamcatcher are under the Dark concept, MONSTA X is slightly under Boy Crush, and so on. And since every listener has their own taste, all these different concepts cater to their needs. And sometimes listeners jam to all concepts at once for a change of taste or otherwise.

The Fans

Now coming to the fans of these myriad tastes of music, there are many fans who connect to some artists on emotional levels as well. Explaining further, we all know that in the world we live in today people are suffering from problems manifold – mental illnesses, personal dilemmas, family issues, and the list goes on. Time and music are magical healers, we are told. Scars may fade away from the skin but the remains of the experiences in our minds are rarely erased. K-pop has become a household term for many such sufferers worldwide.

My K-pop Experience

I can say from experience because just two years ago, I was depressed and lost. The path in front of me was blurred and I needed guidance and someone to tell me I could conquer what my heart desired. As human beings, we all face times when we cannot explain the storm raging inside us but we need an outlet to stem the pain. When my spirits were at their lowest, BTS (the Biggest Boy Band in the world right now) helped me get up on my feet. The barrier of language and the defined border of two different cultures slowly ceased to exist for me. I became mentally healthy and started many projects of my own which I never imagined taking up in the first place. Two years later, I’m a changed person, and that too in a good way.

BTS told me to love myself through their songs, and I did just that. They asked me to follow my dreams no matter what others say and I am still blindly chasing my dreams. Their songs like 21st Century Girl, Spring Day, Magic Shop, and more helped me heal. They gave a famous speech at the United Nations for Generation Unlimited which is a global partnership for young people to get quality education, training, and employment by 2030. For me, BTS members are not only K-pop idols but the people I respect and look up to.

K-pop Songs with Deep Meanings

Others around the world have been helped by other artists when they could not find their voices, dreams, and passion.

The song María by Hwasa of MAMAMOO is a gentle reminder that one should love their bodies and stop thinking about what society has to say. Someday is a song by U-KISS which says “Eventually a day to smile will come.” Also, since Pride Month has just commenced, the songs Please Don’t by K.Will and One More Day by Sistar & Giorgio Moroder, deserve to be mentioned out of several pride songs in K-pop, as they represent the LGBTQ community not only in South Korea but all around the world.

Conclusion

To sum it all up, a person new to the world of K-pop would be on the losing side if they were to pick just one group and not try out songs by the others. There is such a broad range of variedly talented K-pop groups and even K-pop soloists, that it would take days to come up with just a few favourite artists. In the end, it all comes down to which K-pop band became your saving grace when you needed saving, a boost of confidence, and self-love.

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