K-Pop Source — Keeping the K-Pop Forum Spirit Alive

very interesting to see how different people get into different groups for whatever reason

In regards to groups like Gidle and nmixx - do you follow or keep a tab out for Soojin/Jini after they left - for soojin I checked out her song and it's not bad same for jini I gave her song a listen but I have trouble keep up with soloists since there isn't as much of that group chemistry since they're solo artists

what's wrong with people hating kyujin - from the limited content I've watched of her she sounds like a good kid - a good dancer and a good friend to eunchae lol

my city is like the furthest city from any other state or other capital in the world - it's also a good thing since yes we are alone but there's also no drama (drama referring to a city means no natural disasters, terrorists don't threaten us...etcetc lol) just quiet

I really KDA I use to play a lot of LOL back in the day - Gidle still regularly gets invited to perform at LOL events / LOL songs and there is a strong connection between LOL and Gidle

In general, I'm willing to check out solo releases, but I'm not going to follow a soloist just because I like the group, you know what I mean? I didn't mind Soojin's, it seemed very like her and reminded me a lot of her vibe in Senorita, but... that's my least favorite (G)I-DLE title track, so I only listened to it a couple times to give it a fair shake. I'm glad she's in her element, but it's not really my element. For Jini, I had to look her debut up again; it gets thrown to me a lot in Spotify because of NMIXX, but I found it very in one ear and out the other; it's not bad, just unremarkable, and like it could have gone to any number of artists. Like, hate or love (G)I-DLE or NMIXX, their songs don't sound like ones that any old group would do.

...You know, as I typed that, I realized you're one of the few big kpop fans where I could say explicitly "I don't like this" and not worry that you're going to take it as some personal affront lol. So thanks for being cool.

When Jini left the group, people decided that Kyujin was personally responsible just because Dice was Kyujin's era. It was very weird seeing NMIXX debut, O.O being pretty universally disliked, and then after Jini left, people acting like suddenly they loved Jini all along and Kyujin was some sort of villain, even though she's just a kid and you know she's not personally deciding who should get featured in which MV more.

Ah, pros and cons, I could see that! It's nice to not have to worry about anything really bad happening, but then there is that element that nothing really happens lol. But that's what travel's for; you can always visit the exciting places and then go back to cozy vibes.

Nice! I've never played LoL (I don't care for multiplayer in general), but I appreciate that LoL is a pretty cool world, and Riot's music arm is top notch. They really used Miyeon and Soyeon well in K/DA.

OMG great minds think alike - to me senorita is also my least fav gidle TT lol
what's is fav my friend?

that is true Gidle and nmixx songs do indeed sound very different from other groups

I think the point is to be respectful and understanding of the "group" in question - that if one states they don't like a song there's no need to harp on about it - mention it once and let it go lol I mean like I said before I barely have enough time to consume my fav's contents and music and performances I'm not going to stick around and discuss something that I don't like. there are certain people though that will go absolutely ham on a song they dislike and instead of sticking to neutral language like "they don't like the song" they call it trash, noise music, dumpster music etc etc and I like why??? why use such emotive language if not to just piss off other people. Why not just state you listened to it and didn't like it???

awww that's not very good - were those people nswers or random antis that just happen to bandwagon and shit on someone???

that's right - travel to other places in the world where there is more excitement lol
do you like travelling my friend?

do you play computer games generally or?

The rare miss! Man, it's hard. I think these days it might be Tomboy just because I Never Die was so special in coming back when everyone was ready to write them off as finished and just absolutely dominating with an eff you of a song. Before that, maybe Hann; everyone really stands out in their own way in that one.

That makes sense! Most reasonable fans will leave you be if you're not being a jerk, and the ones who want to harp on you anyway, there's no point in engaging. As I get older, the more I've realized an argument requires my participation, and I can just walk away. What are they going to do, ping me a bunch to yell at me some more? And yeah, I really don't get the people on the opposite side who need you to hate the song too. It's like everyone wants to feel validated, as if there is an objectively correct opinion. I generally try to leave my comments minimal when it's on a group I don't stan, like obviously a group I don't stan isn't making music for me.

NMIXX had only released two unpopular songs at the time, so they didn't really have NSWERs to defend Kyujin, but there were plenty of nosy kpop fans who just enjoyed the drama and antis who enjoyed stirring up trouble. I think JYPE sensed that, and their releases last year focused other members (and probably they would have done that anyway... most companies are smart enough to rotate whose era is whose these days) and Jini was able to release her solo with no drama, so it made the antis and drama feeders less interested.

I don't really care for the actual act of traveling, because I get motion sick, but I enjoy being in new places! As an adult, I've been to Russia, Mexico, and Vegas (it's very different from my midwestern state, so it counts, I think!) and I've come to appreciate going to places that have lots of things for visitors to do. It always feels like I'm stepping out of my regular life a bit. Do you have a favorite trip you've ever been on?

I play solely on the Nintendo Switch. I used to play on multiple systems, and had a PC, Xbox, PS, 3DS, and WiiU, but it's too hard to keep up with all the exclusive releases, and I realized I will literally never have enough time to play all the games that seem interesting. Since Zelda is my favorite series, I decided that a game has to come to Nintendo's console or I won't play it. It's less expensive, if nothing else.

my fav is hwaa since it has a very distinct oriental flavour to it - like I can see it being used in any chinese historical drama ost or something...

just listen to what one likes and if one doesn't like it don't listen to it anymore lol
there are no objective bad nor objective good songs...different strokes for different folks and if someone doesn't like a song great that's your right just as it's someone else's right to like a song that you don't...

one thing I did want to ask as a fan of itzy and twice...are nmixx members getting more solo activities (obviously not music wise) but like do they get on a fair amount of variety shows and magazine gigs and stuff like that?

China - since it's so huge and every province is different from another in terms of culture and history and even food - for example did you know that people in northern china don't eat white rice at all (or that much) and consume a lot more wheat (flour) as their starchy food?
I've been to the forbidden city where the last kings of china lived and also to the gltiz and glamour of HK where my uncle took me to dinner with triad (gang) bosses lol
so it's really a diverse country probably like a lot of places in the US

I have a switch that I play games with my son

so besides kpop what are some of your other hobbies?

Hwaa is a good choice!! I was torn between that and Hann, but it's hard to go wrong either way.

"Don't listen to it anymore" reminds me of when people feel the need to announce leaving a fandom, and it's like... you do know there was no signup sheet? You can just go listen to something else lol. If I was a social psychologist, I have to imagine it would be fascinating to study what being perpetually online has done to people's need for validation.

For NMIXX, as far as I can tell, not really. Sullyoon is currently the MC for MBC Show! Music Core, and Haewon and Bae had a little variety show on JYP's channel for them as a comedy duo, but still the kind of thing you'd only watch if you were already a fan. Generally, though, it seems to be all of them or none of them. I'm not sure if that's because of the Jini controversy or if it's a matter of opportunities; there used to be a lot more variety shows where companies would send 1-2 idols and you'd kind of get that cross-pollination of interest.

That is interesting!! You could travel all of China and still find something cool to check out. I didn't know that about the food. Now that I think about it, Chinese food is generally presented as monolithic over here; you can go to any number of Chinese food restaurants and you'd still get the exact same offerings. But that seems are crazy now as assuming that what people eat in the south is the same as in the Midwest or California. Of course different climates would result in different food cultures.

I read a lot, mostly scifi/fantasy, though a local bookstore made some recommendations for me, so I'm willing to try horror out now. I'm also part of a book club, but mostly for social reasons; I don't really care that much if the book is good, since that's not the main point of going. I met one of my good friends through the book club. I write too, but that's a lot harder, and I'm very aware that it's just okay compared to what I read lol.

I also have a couple of gaming tables, so every Wednesday, I DM a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and 1-2 times a month, I go to a different group and we play some sort of tabletop campaign, but that DM likes to change up the gaming system all the time. So I tell nongamers it's D&D too for simplicity, but it's typically not lol.

What about you? Or does wrangling the kids take up most of your remaining free time?

"people's need for validation." it could possibly be that they don't get validation from elsewhere and hence they need to seek it from online sources and whatnot plus the anonymity and all that

no ask because if you didn't already know jyp basically prevented twice from having many solo activities for like the first 6 years - they only got their IG accounts last year (in their seventh) and they've had more solo activities in the first half of 2023 than the entire previous 6 and itzy still don't have theirs yet so I was wondering if that situation has changed with nmixx - also did you like dash?

yeap it's very diverse - what are you fav foods my friend?

I like to read too I used to read a lot more since I have less time for it now but I used to read a lot of fantasy as well back in the day - dragonlance - forbidden realms - tokkien. Besides fantasy stuff I read a lot of business books and autobiographies and such
My fav book is Sun Tzu's Art of War

cool - I've never plaed dnd but I've always wanted to - I watch critical role casually when I find the time and (yes I've read real dnd isn't anything that polished) it seems cool - that's right there's lots of tabletop games and various systems and you're a DM huh - does it take a lot of time to prep and stuff?

basketball - I've played it and watched it for roughly 30 years now lol it gets me out of the house - some exercise and meet friends and it's really good to destress since on the court nothing else but the game matters
I used to a play a lot more computer games when i had the time but now it's just mostly playing with my oldest son - he's started getting into plants vs zombies recently lol

Ah, that's one way to think about it! A bit of a double edged sword: so many additional sources to compare yourself to, but also, another outlet to feel validated and secure in who you are.

Yes, I remember discussions on that! I don't tend to closely follow idols' side things, but I remember a lot of people were speculating that JYPE wanted to avoid a second Miss A situation. Which in hindsight seems a bit... it is what it is. Like Jia and Fei are both popular in China, and Min was given tons of individual activities, she had a solo debut before Miss A officially debuted. Sometimes the general public just likes a certain member more than the others. But JYPE seems to be staying that course; I did see that Bae and Haewon just had a small magazine shoot together, but still, no one really on their own. That reminds me... Did you like Itzy's solos on their new album? That was the first solo songs the girls got, wasn't it?

I do like Dash! I added it to my workout playlist. I need enthusiastic songs, especially to get through cardio days, so "Dash, I wanna dash, I wanna run it" suits it really well. I like the B sides more than the title though. I'm obsessed with how cute Passionfruit is. I don't know if you'll like it, because it's not very much like our favorite (G)I-DLE songs, but I know you like Twice, so maybe! On that note, what are your favorite Twice songs?

My favorite food is probably sushi. I love that you could go eat it every night and it be totally different every time, and it's easy to add a light soup or salad to and have all the flavors go together. What about you?

Nice selection! I haven't read Art of War, but I know it's highly praised. If you like scifi at all, then my favorite series is the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It's 7 books, but five of them are novels and the remaining two aren't particularly long even for novels.

I got into D&D by accident, lol. Just before 2020, I decided that I wanted to make an effort to get out of the house at least once a month, so I went to a "learn to play D&D" thing at a local bar, and afterward, the guys were like "so you're coming to our real table tomorrow night, right?" And then COVID happened, my table actually split into two and each table added different members, so my friend group grew quite a bit after seeing everyone virtually once a week for a straight year. In that way, D&D is kind of like my book club for me... I don't really care that much what we're playing, but it's nice to see my friends, especially to have something that always makes it fun, even if no one has any real interesting news or updates since last time. It sounds like basketball is kind of like that for you! Where it doesn't really matter who wins or even if anyone has new exciting things to share, just an excuse to hang out with people you like and keep the connection.

For DMing, I'm pretty new to it, so I currently use modules where all the NPCs and cities and such are premade. Which means the prep isn't too bad, except for when we get to cities where the players have a bunch of different plotlines to chase, because I have to prep for all of them, not knowing what they will go after. I am definitely no Matthew Mercer, lol, but it's fine because no one really expects that anyway.

Oh, the original Plants vs Zombies or the shooter version? I loved the original, but the genre shift was too unexpected, so I never bothered with it, lol.

yeap my fav song off the album was yeji's solo crown on my head ever more so than the TT but I did like untouchable I also liked ryujin and yuna's songs but chaeryeong's and lia's were a pass from me...

that's great - there are a lot of times where I prefer a bside to a TT as well but for groups which aren't my favs I generally won't give the bsides a listen since the opportunity cost of doing so when I could have just listened to my favs or consumed some other content...
My fav twice song is Knock Knock - I think it's a very catchy and cute song

lobster but basically any seafood is good for me...I also rarely have lobster even though I'm in Australia and it's sold fairly frequently but I guess the rareness of it is what makes it great - I like Sushi too (especially with lobster lol) but I guess the different "fillings" is what makes sushi unique since you can have sushi but with salmon or chicken or beef or pork or whatever and it's like having a different meal each time

it's about warfare originally but it's very much used in strategy and business context these days - I like scifi as a genre for movies and tv shows and stuff but never got into it via print medium

absolutely hobbies (especially ones that involved other people) are about the social aspect just as much as it is for the enjoyment of said hobby aspect...and if you find the right people to enjoy said hobby with it just makes it ever so much more enjoyable. but the reverse is also true - if you find someone that is problematic in one's hobby it can almost ruin it for oneself then that hobby might be associated with that person

how long does it take for you to prep everything before the actual game? I've heard that it can take upwards of hours to prep? are you a creative person by nature? that is do you ultimately want to design your own world and systems and stuff like that or are you happy to built upon existing sources and sourcebooks and whatnot?

original - since I wanted something single player and the fact that he's six so controlling a mice and keyboard is still a learning curve for him lol

I liked Crown on my Head the most too! lol, Yeji has the right vibe for it.

That's fair! Every once in a while, I'll check out a B side for a group I'm neutral to, but mostly, I'm only willing to give their titles a listen. At least Spotify makes it easy to check out the whole album, which can be nice when it's a group I like well enough (like Itzy) but don't go out of my way to listen to. Sometimes, I want fresh background noise.
Interesting!! I rarely see people mention Knock Knock as their fave. I remember liking the MV for it.

I almost never have lobster, because it's definitely not fresh here, but I've had it in Maine before, and it's really good when fresh! I can totally get saving it for a special occasion.

You're totally right on the group making the difference. Pre-COVID, someone brought a new guy to our D&D table, and the new guy basically wanted to be the most important player, and it was awful to be around. I almost quit, but our DM kicked him out before it came to that.

It usually takes a couple of hours for me, depending on what the party is going through. Visits to towns where they have to meet new NPCs take longer because I kind of have to set up a bunch of variables, and even then, the players might decide to do something completely unexpected. I try to do "broad strokes" prep, so I generally know what they're supposed to find out, and I try to say "yes" to anything they want to do to get to that point. It's less stressful to go with their craziness than try to shepherd them in a particular way.
I think I'd be open to doing a campaign without a module, but the table I DM is in the middle of the workweek for me, so having premade NPCs and dungeons and such makes it more feasible for us to meet every week. There's just so many tiny elements that I think it'd add a ton of time if I had to make all that up wholesale. I have friends who do, but their entire lives are also work/sleep/gaming in some fashion. Like they're always prepping something for a game or are at a game, and I like D&D, but not enough to suck up my non-work time.

Ah, good choice! The original is a good introduction to gaming, since the earlier levels aren't too bad, though some of the later ones are really challenging! (For me, anyway, maybe he's a way better player than I am lol.)

great minds think alike!!!

it's ok if someone says hey check out this bside I think you'll like it in which case I always do since someone thought I'd like it but otherwise it's rare for me to delibrately check out something from a random group/singer...

I'm usually a contrarian when it comes to kpop lol

it certainly is and I think sometimes when something is rarer then one can appreciate it more (like BP comebacks??? lol)

and a lot of times it's we're excluding you because you're a problematic person not because out group is exclusive or whatever - like I play mahjong which was traditionally a chinese game but I was always open for new players and this white guy (we've had white guys play and play well before) wanted in and I as like sure - teach him the rules and everything and after a while some of my mates said they saw him cheating and I spoke to him and he did it again so we kicked him out and he was like "your kicking me out because I'm white" and I'm like no bro I'm kicking you out because you're cheating piece of shit your white ass has nothing to do with it lol

that's really interesting to listen to DMs trains of thought - I think I'd be a good DM if I really put my mind to it...
on the other side superyeah and I discussed the possibility of an AKP D&D group session lol

he's currently stuck on the night levels (he doesn't plant enough sunflowers lol)

Ha! I do kind of hope the members of BP who want to more seriously do music can. I'm not much on the group itself, but I really like Rose's voice. So I'm mostly hoping she's someone who wants a much bigger solo career than YGE has given her space for.

LOL, the audacity! I can't imagine trying to join a group and get them to spend time teaching me and making all these new friends just to fuck it up by cheating. Especially as an adult. I can't think of the last time I was like, "Man, this person is the best at everything, they're so cool, they're my new favorite person!" Usually the people who have to win no matter the costs are exhausting to have in a game group. Do you still play Mahjong? I can picture the game because they played it in Alice in Borderland lol.

Oh, I bet you would be a great DM! You've got the right personality for it. I think sometimes people are less good at it when they get too obsessed over the details and then feel like the players are "ruining" their perfect homebrewed world by not doing what they wanted them to do. You know, there are probably plenty of premade character sheets floating around somewhere; you could totally run a one-shot!

The night levels are tricky! Hopefully he's having fun with the challenge. I never mind being bad at a game if it's just... I'm bad at it, but I hate it when it's RNG and it feels like the game's out to screw me over.

I guess as a fan I'm used to it now...like the good thing about liking many groups is there's usually one group who's comingback or just came back or some group releasing content so it's never boring but yes hopefully BP releases something this year..

when I have the time lol with family I play for fun - with friends I sometimes play for money (not a lot just like enough for a meal between friends)

I have yet to play a single game of d&d lol I'd probably start with that before jumping in and DMing...how long was it from your first game till you started DMing and I guess also which do you prefer as a player or DM?

also Gidle's wife? yeah or nah? lol

That's fair! Some of the groups you like are pretty much constantly up to something in some form or another anyway (like how Twice will have Korean and Japanese comebacks close to each other and now they're doing subunits and solos). So you don't really have a ton of downtime!

Games with friends are always fun! Especially with non-serious stakes.

I've only DM'd with one group and it's a mix. As a DM, there's always something to do, so there aren't giant lulls in the game for you. As a player, though, your character could be off doing something away from half the group, so you're just sitting there while that half is doing their actions. My table is pretty good, though, in that they don't give me a hard time and we're all on the same page that this is for fun. I also have a hard rule that I don't play evil; we're the good guys always. I've played at tables where one person wants to rules lawyer everything, which is boring, or wants to be evil (like literally, "let's extort this poor baker who just gave us a questline by threatening to kill his daughter") and I don't like that.
If you get into it at all, I would recommend smaller tables over larger. Even if you like everyone, I played at a table with eight players once and everything takes forever when the DM has to run through everyone's actions. Lots of downtime = boring.

Wife is a bop lol! I think it helps that I got into kpop when fun songs were more the norm, like Orange Caramel or SNSD, so my first listen was "I cook cream soup???" But it's earwormy. And after I got the lyrics down, I appreciate the fact that Soyeon can make an over-the-top ridiculous song that's also a scathing criticism of men who want wives who function as someone to clean and cook and fuck, and not like they're a real person at all.

But if you hate it, I would understand lol. It's definitely not what we've been conditioned to be expect from the group.

which is why I say I barely have enough time for my favs...

that's what I thought larger tables are also difficult to keep in control for the DM I heard since it's a lot of things to keep on the top of one's head...
I'm pretty certain the downtime when others are having their moment to shine can be boring

I really like the song as well lol
it's completely random and different and trust soyeon to think of something so far-fetched...she knows how to make a "good" (I guess we're biased lol) song

Yes, it helps if you have seasoned players, so you can trust them to know their character and then it's just on you the DM to know the world and the plot. It's harder when a lot of people are new because you have to answer a lot of questions that you're not going to have memorized, like "how does this spell work." Well the game has thousands of spells.

It's not even so much like when people have their time to shine, but in a round of combat, going through seven other people plus the DM who's playing the bad guys before it gets back around to you. It's really hard to anticipate what your character is going to need to do at that time, right? So it's kind of boring while you get through five players or so before the battle settles enough that you can start to anticipate how you can best help the group. So a single round of combat can take 30 minutes and that's even if all you're doing is something like "I move over there and I swing my sword."

Plus, as DM, I personally don't care how good the bad guys do, but when you're the player I would always feel a lot of stress at like, "Oh I'm letting the group down" if I had a bad round.

Okay, whew!! I saw they were hating it on the other site, so I was worried you might too! I'm glad you have such excellent taste! I also really like that, the more you think about the song and MV, the cleverer it is. Like the chains on the girls' shoes, mocking the "ole ball and chain" nonsense.

the other side huh? well you know if they hate it there then it's going to top the charts lol

I've had a gander at the players handbook and DM guide and even the monster manual - there's a lot of information to take in lol

single round of combat - 30 min? damn that's a long time to be waiting around

Ha, that's fair! I saw the views were rising on it even faster than Allergy did, so I think people are liking it well enough!

Yes! Hence why I do modules. I think sometimes people jump into DMing and want to homebrew something super cool, but don't think about how the game is balanced (because of the sheer volume of mechanics) and find it less fun.

My two tables have 3 players and 6 players (in addition to the DM of course), and the 6 player one has a couple of flaky people, so it's often 4 players anyway lol. So if you get into it, I'd suggest smaller side and only add people once the table understands the basic mechanics. 'Cause then your current players can help the newbie while you're running the game. Not that you asked lol.

how's it charting?

I think it's because there's so much things one can build upon in D&D and most tabletop rpgs I guess that like I said I read a lot (some) fantasy when I was younger and I'm not sure about you but it was the world the characters and everything that was so cool and I guess if one had the option to one could built our own so to speak... (at least I did)

I guess one day when my kids grow up I can go find a group to start playing lol

Let's see... Currently 91 on Melon. It was released too early to hit the other charts yet, so I saw commenters say we'll get those numbers in, like, 10 hours. I tried to find some comparisons to other prereleases, but it's hard to find months after the fact. I suppose top 100 isn't bad, thinking of NMIXX anyway, but NMIXX is more divisive than (G)I-DLE is. In general anyway lol, maybe not this song specifically.

Yes, I can appreciate that! I know there are some fantasy stories that just have super cool world building, even if other parts aren't as good, like it kind of doesn't matter because the world is so cool.

You have a few years, but a lot of people at my local game store seem to do that! Turn their kids into gamers with a family D&D night.