Art means something, and the dolphin meme overlaid with the word "shibal" means something especially lately for some K-pop fans. "Shibal," or "ssibal" (씨발), is Korean for F**k, and this happy-go-lucky, Lisa Frank-esque meme overlaid by the curse feels like the exact mood
Do you really need a No.1 nowadays? Or do you just need No. 1 fans? A few months ago, everywhere I went I felt like I was hearing the latest music industry buzzword: superfan. The idea of superfandom features in so many press releases that fill my inbox lately.
Sadly, the answer is "stupidly, dangerously, foolishly (and perhaps illegally) easily". When news broke that on August 6th Suga of BTS was caught with a DUI by police in Seoul when drunk driving a scooter and had his license revoked, there was a lot of different sort of
Last night*, a bit after 11:30pm EST and after hours of rain delays, ATEEZ was rushing to finish their Towards the Light : Will to Power New York City stadium show at Citifield. A lot went on that day, with the show beginning over two hours late to avoid thunder
Gen AI is taking off in K-pop, but it doesn't seem like anyone really knows what is or isn't being produced by it anym,ore. A few weeks ago, Woozi of Seventeen publicly denied a claim from an article by the BBC that alleged that Seventeen
A few months ago, I decided to launch a fellowship to give an opportunity to new voices with the first Notes on K-pop Fellowship/Mentorship. A lot of people applied, and it was a struggle to narrow it down, but I ultimately picked some people whose applications stood out. With
In April, the Daily Beast published an article titled "TikTok's Latest Wellness Trend: Starving Yourself in the Name f K-pop." "Pastel pink and soft vignette filters, images featuring thin girls with long eyelashes, and good grades and skin-care products: These are all manifestations in the
There was a press conference yesterday held yet again to air the grievances of an aggrieved party by one of South Korea's biggest entertainment agencies, a repeat occurrence. If you assumed that this was Min Hee-jin holding a third press conference against Hybe, you'd be wrong:
After talking in-depth about his brand for this interview, Jinsol Woo wanted to know which OHT NYC piece was my favorite. I was curious what he thought I'd like, so asked him to choose. Then he did something nobody ever has asked me: do I wear crosses? When
When I first saw the other day that the BBC had released a documentary on Burning Sun, I was a bit on-edge. If you're unfamiliar "Burning Sun" is a catchall referring to several interrelated sexual abuse and criminal cases in South Korea that were uncovered in
This is one of several mini notes, more intimate, random musings. The first music festival I ever went to, I left before the headliners played. It was 2008, and I was too cool (and dumb) for Panic! At The Disco's Pretty.Odd album. Instead, my friends and I
At the 2024 Met Gala, Stray Kids and Jennie represented the world of K-pop, showing up in Tommy Hilfiger and Alaïa, respectively. And, as most good things eventually are, the night ultimately became awash in drama over photographers acting inappropriately, racially stereotyping Stray Kids on the red carpet. A series