Hello ! This is nefi ✨ I write meta reads on whatever I'm currently hyperfixating on, right now it is all Around Ateez and kpop.
Masterlist
MV interpretations : SLIDE TO ME_Yunho, SKIN_Seonghwa
Ateez inspired studies : 2024 'Summer' Mind Map analysis
Seonghwa inspired studies : On Skin as Queer media
Yunho inspired studies : Yunho and the art of subtlety || Yunho image study part 1 : Intro ||Yunho image study part 2 : Golden retriever || Yunho image study part 3 : Warm/Cold Yunho || Neurodivergent traits in Jeong Yunho
Kpop industry & fandom essays : Woosan : can men and women be friends // on fan "progressiveness" and fan projection \\ fan projection is a neutral act // How I handle my personal parasocial relationships with Idols
In the concept trailer for Golden Hour: Part.5, all of us noticed the nearly monochromatic palette, with most of the members dressed in black against a white background. The only color is red, and it's used sparingly:
There's a significance to the color red in the lore, and I'll explore its meanings and possible interpretations.
The dominant theory is that the members in this clip are under the possession or influence of Sopro, showing us the consequences of Wooyoung's impulsive wish:
Wooyoung, returning quietly to the villa where the members slept, headed to the living room. He passed a table covered with empty bottles and leftovers, went to the antique cabinet, and picked up Sopro. Wooyoung: “So if I use this… I can sync my and my members’ emotions?” Sopro’s red light wavered as though in response to Wooyoung’s question. Holding the stone tightly in his fist, Wooyoung brought his hand to his heart and earnestly prayed: “It’s as though they’ve all forgotten what it was like to be happy. Reignite our passion like it was back then, and let us be happy together again. Please.” Red light spilled from the gaps in his fingers, a ruby aurora dancing throughout the dark room.
Most of us associate the color red with lore!Wooyoung, as he's been instrumental to the chaos wrought by Sopro, and is even perhaps responsible for destruction and deception on a much larger scale.
But I'd argue the colors are also telling us to pay attention to Yunho.
Because there's something going on with Yunho.
In Adrenaline, Yunho (not our Yunho, not World A's Yunho, a different world's Yunho) faces off against his members. Bathed in red light.
This isn't the first time we've seen him isolated from the rest of the group during Golden Hour. Recall in Lemon Drop, towards the end, in a series of quick-cuts, we see Yunho physically separated from the members.
In the end credits, Yunho reappears alone, opening the trunk of a car to find the uniforms worn by Halateez.
Is he possessed? Has he turned against his friends? Is he a danger? The use of red might suggest such a thing.
But remember: "Question yourselves"
Yes, Red is the color of surveillance...
..but red is also the color of defiance, of deviance, of non-conformity. In the narrative of the Towards The Light concert, Yunho is exposed by the red light of the panopticon.
Red marks you as other. From the perspective of a militarized government hellbent on stripping the emotions and color from its population (creating a world of black and white) red is the enemy.
I would argue there's another and related meaning of the color red in the lore: awareness. You might even call it sentience.
Recall how Sopro, in its inert, objective state, is depicted as colorless. This can be seen in the Illusion and Dreamers mvs.
But then, it wakes up.
I am alive. If anyone were to ask why, I honestly could not answer. For as long as I can remember, I have always been alive. I was not brought into existence by my own will. I had lived without thought until one day, I suddenly became aware - aware of the fact that I had been born. But then, where did I come from? Who am I? What am I?
From then on, the color changed. Sopro is now exclusively depicted as red.
the outlier is Crazy Form, but, depending on which theories you subscribe to, the events shown in the mv may not actually be what happened. In which case the color makes all the more sense.
If red is the color of awareness, then the singling out of Yunho in red could mean that Yunho is aware, that he's broken free of whatever hold was supressing his thoughts and emotions
Perhaps we got a picture of what that process looked like in the Adrenaline mv, with Yunho convulsing, as if his system is rebooting Notice how this moment takes place next to a giant glowing red cube.
The point of showing us a third world (World E) in the Adrenaline mv could have been to draw our attention to a Yunho who has gained awareness, and to teach us to watch carefully when it happens in other worlds. This suggests the variants of each member have a shared fate, that in every life Hongjoong is the caption, or that Wooyoung's choices will spiral out of control, or that Yunho wakes up first.
But when does he wake up?
I'd argue he's been awake for a while. For one thing, he knows he's being watched.
And he wants us to know it too. In the concept trailer, the members evade our gaze. Their eyes slip away, off to the side, whenever the camera focuses on them. Except for Yunho. He's the first to look at us directly.
When we enter the club of In Your Fantasy, he's the first person you encounter, and he lets you in. Same with Ice On My Teeth, Yunho's frank regard in the opening shot suggests an intentional pattern.
How did he wake up?
I don't think it's unimportant that Yunho's incarnations throughout the lore are associated with death in some way. This has been extensively examined by my fellow meta/lore writers. But death is not always death. It could mean change, transformation, and transition. A passing of one state (objective) to another (subjective). Perhaps Yunho dies to wake.
I also don't think it's a coincidence that the styling for the concept trailer looked so similar to the concept art of Not Okay, which depicts attempts by World Z to assert control over the members by altering their minds (perhaps that music video will end up being the most relevant piece of lore to inform where we're headed to in Golden Hour).
A similar color scheme is used in the styling and cinematography of In Your Fantasy. For me, the red accents of their outfits indicates a semi-awareness, a struggle against control and freedom. In the club of In Your Fantasy, where everyone is watching, we see efforts at rebellion. Yunho may already be awake, but Hongjoong's actions suggest Sopro's influence over him is breaking too.
This makes him a target.
The way Hongjoong and Yunho are together in the frame implies an affinity.
Even more interesting the way they interact with each other, and how the color red plays a role. Because in the group setting, Yunho is wearing a black coat, obscuring most of the red outfit he's wearing underneath. But then, as Hongjoong looks up at Yunho, the camera (or Hongjoong's mind) cuts to red!Yunho, essentially the manifestation of awareness. Its effect on Hongjoong is immediate: he doubles over in pain. Sentience hurts.
I was also intrigued by the conflict between Yunho and Mingi presented in the trailer. Could it be that Yunho's attempts to wake up the others is being met with resistance, just as it did in World E?
Perhaps Yunho tried at least once before, dangling the key in Mingi's face and daring him to take it - to pursue it. What might that key represent, given its recurrence throughout the lore? When that method didn't work, perhaps Yunho had to take a more confrontational track, triggering a hostile response.
Notice how Hongjoong is framed in the middle, as if caught between the effects of Sopro and his efforts to wake up.
I am probably barely scratching the surface of the use of red in the extensive discography and videography. But it's worth pointing out patterns, and thinking about how the colors are guiding us to the answers we week.
"I'm bad," Yunho spoiled for us earlier today. Question even that. It's all upside down.
My theory on comeback is that BAD is not actually the title track but maybe an early release single they will perform in EU festivals and the actual title track will be released later on with the album when they can perform in Korea music shows.
This remains a theory of couuursee I might be wrong, but since San said :
⛰️Be suspicious.
⛰️ The title could be not BAD too right?
⛰️ You should be suspicious of everything
⛰️ Be suspicious of everything
I have not been sleeping right.
Also a few of them when asked if they will dye their hair this or that color keep saying not this comeback the next comeback, which does makes me suspicious cause they normally don't do that ??? Like how do you already know what color you're doing for the next comeback unlessss ur doing a double releaaase 👀
But then again with their Jap comeback in July I do wonder if they'll be able to squeeze everything in.
One last thing, if San wanna go blonde, Yunho wanna go blue/green and Jongho is currently light brown y'all isn't that the wave hair colors ? Is there some lore I'm missing heree ?
hey everyone i am back to curse you all with my knowledge of korean after wanteez 45 because this made me feel insane:
1. "라면 먹고 갈래?"
is basically the equivalent of "do you want to come to my place?" ie "do you want to come in for a drink?" with the explicit implication of getting physical. yunho says "같이 라면 먹을래?" which adds the word "together" but otherwise essentially means the same so i am counting it especially because he followed it with:
2. "같이 비빌래요?"
"비비다" does mean "to mix" but specifically means to rub two things together; i would translate it as "to rub" before "to mix" in most contexts or maybe even "to grind" (as in, gears and what not. you get the idea. two objects are moving against each other with some force applied). when you mix sauce with noodles like joong was here you usually use the verb "섞다" so "비비다" was felt like a very purposeful choice, he basically asked hongjoong if he'd like to "rub together". that + the little hip movement he did afterwards? tl;dr he's asking hongjoong to have sex with him and not even being discrete about it thank you for coming to my lecture
Hi 👋 I just discovered your meta through your mind map analysis post and went down the rabbit hole of your other writings/asks. Your take on the Woosan can women & men be friends situation from awhile back was really interesting to read and honestly, imo, the most nuanced take that I have read about it. My question is semi-related (I will get to it eventually): I am a relatively new kpop fan in general and have only been following Ateez for a little over a year. I have gone down the rabbit hole and it has remained my hyper-fixation for far longer than anything else has ever. But recently, I have found myself thinking about my guy San. San is my bias and I am kinda obsessed with him. But at the same time, I am genuinely scared that the way he would think of me as a queer fat woman would not make me feel good. And idk how to rectify that in my brain. Like I love him but I unfortunately lean towards the theory that he is likely a pretty traditional, conservative dude and that makes me feel....not good. You mentioned disconnecting the art from the artist and I just want to ask: How do you as a fan do that? It seems so hard to do that, especially with kpop idols where the art and artists feel so closely linked together, whether by the company, fan perception, it's parasocial nature, etc. Sorry for the ramble. Feel free to ignore but I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.
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Helloo! Waaaa first, thank you for your ask and for trusting me with this, I really do appreciate <3 No apologies needed for the rambling, I love hearing people's thoughts. (And considering I'm about to ramble as well, I have no place to judge lol)
This is a heavy ask. I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. I can't offer you a one rule fits all, but I can offer you my perspective, and like you asked how I personally handle this through Ateez and Yunho.
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To start with, I don't actually separate art from artists. (I really dislike what people have made of this sentence, y'all (T＿T)). For me if an artist says or does something I dislike, something I find hateful, I quit. My bags are packed, my train tickets are purchased, and I'm already out the door. There are many artists whose songs or art I refuse to listen to or support because they've said hateful bullshit or done things revealing of really fucked up views and mindsets. But I don't quit just because it's the "politically correct" thing to do. I quit because it's bad for me.
I quit because, and I'm sure you'll get it, I don't want to love or follow something that is fundamentally disagreeing with who I am as a person or my own personal values. I don't want to give my time, energy, and essence to something that does not serve me or that would hurt me long term, directly or indirectly. So I leave, and I try to find my joy, happiness, and fulfillment elsewhere.
I consider myself lucky to have gotten into kpop in my twenties. I don't think it would have been good for me had I started younger, because it's a very predatory industry and you need as many brain cells with you as you can possibly have. Everything is, after all, designed to make you as obsessed as possible. That and it's way easier to fall into the rabbit hole when you're neurodivergent.
But also, since I pay my own bills now, no one can get on my ass for spending exorbitant amounts on photocards. HA!
I had a conversation recently with a friend who was a kpop stan (BTS) during her teenage years, and she told me the reason she stopped being a kpop stan is because Kim Jonghyun's (former Shinee member, may he rest in peace) death burst her bubble and made her realize how truly toxic the industry is, and how it is not as shiny and cutesy as she was deluding herself to be.
mmmm yeaaaaahh it isnt
I personally beleive It is important, when you like or love something intensely, to stay grounded in reality. Do not fly so high that your wings melt and the sun burns you, but do not fall so far that you forget why you're in it in the first place.
Total fantasy immersion is just as bad as fully detached cynicism. It's why I contextualize my writing as much as I can. I try not to go too far in either direction, because no matter how much the kpop industry tries to make you forget it, these are real people. Real humans we're all talking about and following. And I think I say this at least once in every one of my metas, but : people are flawed. And I never forget that the people I am following are men (mainly). And more specifically: men born and raised in Korea.
I don't actually know where Ateez members fully stand politically or socially. We can't tell, since they try very hard not to tell us, some more than others. What we do know is that they have all tried their best to be kind, understanding and accepting toward their fans, including the ones from the LGBTQ+ community. I am also inclined to believe that some members are part of that community themselves *cough* Matz *cough*.
And we have to remember as well that what "traditional," "conservative," or "progressive" means in Korea is different from what it means in the US, or Europe, or Africa, or wherever. The standards and cultural values are not the same.
I do like to speculate, privately with my friends, about where each member stands politically or socially, because like you anon, it is a worry I have as well. I think it's inevitable when you're queer, fat, or part of a marginalized identity of any kind. You want to be able to love an artist and what they represent, but... what if they stand for things that are harmful to you? What if they don't even think you're a human being deserving of the same basic respect you're willing to give them?
The first kpop group I got into was actually Stray Kids. I thought they would be the last too, but I eventually got thrown off because JYPE is so very obviously marketing the group for a white teenage/young adult audience, which I am not and I simply found alieanating in a way. I'm still a fan and I still follow them, but I don't consume them the way I do Ateez anymore, and I could never immerse myself in their fandom.
I've kept track of more kpop groups since (Nmixx, Itzy, TXT, P1Harmony, Aespa at some point... ehhh) because my main interest is in the industry and the arts, but none of the groups ever hit the same as Ateez. And it's not just about the music (sometimes it is though... sorry TXT).
I'll tell you why Ateez and Yunho (yes, he's his own separate category in my heart) are my favorites despite any potential frictions. There are two main reasons for it.
One : because KQ treats them well. Well enough, at least, that I get to hear Yunho sing-song "KQ best company" every two fucking seconds and hear Mingi say "shoutout to KQ family" at random festivals and music shows. Well enough that they don't have full restrictions on mundane things like dating, swearing, or tattoos. And well enough that they got to renew their contracts for a duration of 7 years. So I don't have to worry about some exceedingly inhumane treatment, and I do know they are at least given some leeway and agency.
And two : because they try very hard at being good people. Even if it might not align with their internal values, there is at the very least a baseline of respect with everyone they interact with. Some people might see it as them being fake, but I do not. They do not mock their fans. They do not belittle or dismiss their identities or cultures. And they are incredibly appreciative of the love and support they get.
Ateez have built a good relationship with both the people they work with and the people they work for. And that's not easy to find. Not many people are like this, at least from what I have witnessed. That's not to say other groups or artists don't have these qualities at all— but personally, I find that Ateez are more mature, more in touch with certain things than others.
And I do my research before deciding whether or not I want to fully dive into a group. I might not choose what my brain pays attention to, but I do choose who I spend my money on, and whether to stop.
For Ateez, I checked their LGBTQ+ compilations made by fans (link), how they handled the past scandal (like Hongjoong with cornrows)(Link), how staff or industry people talk about them (Link, Link, Link) how they communicate with fans on live, how they handle conflict at award shows (because someone... shat at an award show??? wat??). I even paid attention to how San recently handled his conflict with k-fans (I still want somebody to explain what happened here tho cause I didnnt get it)
Because it's the little things that make the big things. It's in the little things you'll find the image of what Ateez, as a group, is.
Individually it's another story. Despite all this, I too believe that San is leaning toward being a traditional, idk about conservative (?) dude. Which potentially puts a majority of Ateez members not that far in line behind him, if you ask me ? I don't know ???
San is just more obvious about it ??? I think ?? His conversation with Risbae, Wooyoung, and Patricia is one example. How he basically doesn't think a man and a woman can hang out alone without some questionable intentions. How he said if he had a daughter he would spoil her, and if he had a son he would raise him to be strong. How he hates hearing about fans tattooing themselves because it's painful and straight up scolds them for it (this one is crossing a line imo).
But at the same time, we see that San is the one always going on queer shows, with both trans and gay hosts. He's the one trans fans come out to (Link), and he responds encouragingly. He's the one saying he'd get another tattoo with Wooyoung if he asked. And it's all very perplexing because... my guy, where do you actually stand? No genuinly i am so confused with him. He's such a grey area, it's why i keep being so fascinated by him, despite him not being my bias. There's so much to admire him for, but there's also so much to criticize.
That aside, I do think San cares as well ?? Wether he cares because his friends are queer, becasue he doesn't want to hurt or alienate people/fans, because he beleives every single interaction with him should be positive or purely because he wants to do his job well and be professional, doesn't change much tbh.
A performance of kidnness can still produce real kindness.
So what do you do with all this ?
The answer depends on what you want out of it. What it brings you. Does following the Idol makes you happy? Does it bring you peace? Do you learn from it? Does it help you build meaningful connections in your life or see certain aspects of it better? Does it motivate you to get out of bed in the morning?
For me, my bias is Yunho. His views aren't as obvious as San's, and so far he hasn't really done anything that made me raise an eyebrow at him (except when he enjoyed that police officer fit a bit too much). But there's always the possibility in the back of my head that... ah, this person/Idol I like could hold problematic views.
Whether I keep following him or not is a choice I make. One weighted by how much his presence brings into my life vs what I risk by allowing it. Because that's the thing about liking or loving soemone/something isn't it? It's a risk you take. Whether you're engaging with a person, a pet, a piece of art, a concept, anything—you will never know how the story progresses, or how it will end. It might hurt you. And admitting to uncertainty and acknowledging fear is not easy. Neither is sitting with discomfort, because our brains like certainty. It like filing things away in neat little boxes. It does require being honest with yourself.
The one question I do ask myself everytime tho is: Will i regret it ? if Yunho turned out to be a shitty person tomorrow, or someone whose views don't align with mine, would I regret having spent so much on him? (I mean that literally. I am spending bank. Free me.) My personal answer is no. I refuse to.
Don't get me wrong, I will cry. It will upset me. I will grieve. But I will also move on. It is something I accept from life. To love anything is to risk being hurt by it. But even if it hurts me tomorrow, the joy I felt today was real.
When you think about it this way, it stops centering his hypothetical stance, his potential rejection, or any imagined perception of you, and starts centering yourself. Your life. Your choices. Your feelings. That's what matters. This doesn't change the fact that his views are potentially hurtful or harmful. But you're not responsible for his actions. You're only responsible for yours.
I don't love Yunho because he will recognize me or validate my existence as a queer person (or anything else). I love Yunho because I can. Because it gives me things I don't find elsewhere. Because through him, I understand myself more. And specifically, I love Yunho of Ateez, Yunho the dancer, the performer, the persona. The Yunho that exists, does so in my head as an ideal. He is not real, but a constructed image. I don't have access to Yunho the person, and I don't need to. My relationship to him is only as symbolic as my relationship to myself.
If Yunho tomorrow deviated too much from that ideal, I would leave. And there is nothing hypocritical about it, because that's the nature of the contract we have as idol and fan.
Just like he is allowed to leave should he ever get tired of this industry.
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Yaaaa anon, I hope I made sense and that I'm not too far off topic. I hope that I wrote ends up helping you in some way !! As for asks I will always try to answer them in my best abilities, but idk something idk it. Thank u for reading <3
the appeal of house is entirely because it came out in 2005, when financial medical anxiety was starting to enter the forefront of peoples' minds. imagine this doctor who, above all else, wants to cure you. he resents the economic aspects of the medical system and openly mocks them. he will not sell a drug he does not genuinely believe will help you. here is a doctor who will lie to his fellow doctors, his boss, his boss's boss, and a board that can disbar him just so you can receive the treatment you need. he is a funny, confrontational asshole about it, but he will respect you as a patient in need of care and it will supercede all other priorities in his care. he was a symbolic representation of what many americans wanted from their healthcare: no bullshit, just treatment. part of it is rooted him in seeing people as puzzles to solve and diagnostic medicine as the avenue to make a career out of that, but there are several instances in season 1 of him going the extra mile for a patient that can only be explained as wanting better for them. he is what americans idealize as an actor of the hippocratic oath.
unfortunately, later seasons thought the appeal was just him being a funny, confrontational asshole and lost sight of him being the advocate for patients, so it soon became his defining trait that he was just a huge cunt who would fuck with patients and even outright torture them at times just for his own curiosity.
this is one of the best k-pop music videos i’ve ever seen: it’s stylistically coherent, confusing and nostalgically performance art-like, everything’s bizarrely funny and sad, TOP and his co-star NANA blur the lines of who is who, it has a dose of body horror and hypnosis (?), the colors are unique, the styling department is giving us everything they got, we finally get a more earnestly angry rap that isn’t sanitized, TOP is dancing like crazy lmao, and you never know what happens next. it’s an instant cult classic.
This is a list of neurodivergent traits I have observed in Ateez Jeong Yunho. I'm not a professional, so this isn't a diagnosis, just an AuDHD person making a comfort thread and noticing some very familiar (and honestly blatant) patterns.
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* Stimming
This might be his most obvious ND trait. Yunho's go-to stim is bouncing his leg. He does it constantly, no matter where he is or what he's doing, that leg is moving up and down(clip, another clip). They even turned it into a bit once on Wanteez, testing whether bouncing your leg brings you bad luck.
But his stimming doesn't stop there. It also includes hand fidgeting (clip), rocking himself back and forth (clip, another clip), a variety of vocal stims including his "KQ best company" (clip, another clip) as well as constant lip biting (open any of his lives). Atiny keep commenting that his lips look dry, but honestly, the real reason they're chapped is because he's constantly chewing on them.
The man stims 24/7. It's impossible to miss. Pull up any ATEEZ variety show, he's always in motion. Matter of fact, pull up their tour clips too. The entire encore and medley sections are just Yunho stimming through dancing, bouncing around the whole stage, especially during 'Now This House Ain't a Home'.
Baby/debut era Yunho stimmed more openly too. He used to flap his hands (clip), was generally more expressive, and reacted with his entire body to everything. Yunho still reacts with his whole body— when he's laughing, when he's watching videos of himself (clip) or when he gets unexpected compliments (clip)— but it's way less intense.
Baby Yunho also had a tendency to slap himself in the face pretty strongly (clip), a habit he still has but only in tiny now (clip).
We all know Yunho is a big Spider-Man fan. He's consistently liked the character for over seven years now (the oldest clip I can find). He always finds opportunities to bust out some Spider-Man moves. At various points, he's owned a themed Spider-Man PlayStation, a themed Spider-Man AirPod case, and had Spider-Man as his wallpaper. Recently, he even purchased a Spider-Man suit and posted cosplay pictures on his official Instagram.
Another one of Yunho's interests is gaming, specifically Valorant. The oldest mention I can find on Twitter/X is from 2020. Yunho himself mentioned he's been playing with his brother since beta. At some point, he reached Radiant, the highest rank in the game. (for an active idol it is absolutely insane). In 2025, he did a Valorant livestream that lasted 4 hours and 12 minutes, setting the record for the longest Ateez live. He spent the entire time infodumping, playing, and explaining game mechanics to Atiny. Later that same year during the European tour, Yunho told us he brings his PlayStation abroad with him everywhere on tour.
Recently, Yunho revealed he's a military geek and collects fake/toy guns as a hobby. He also owns at least two swords from the show Demon Slayer (clip).
Abura Soba is, as well one of Yunho's interests (earliest mentions I can find start in 2022). It's his favorite meal. He talks about eating it whenever he goes to Japan, sometimes days in a row. Yunho chose to work part-time at an abura soba restaurant to learn the proper recipe, has mentioned wanting to own an abura soba restaurant, become an abura soba embassador, and even has a specific routine for how he likes to eat it.
I'm not fully sure on this one, but I think Atiny could also be classified as an intense interest. If we're actually on his mind 24/7 like he says we are... well.
Edit : Timing is great because this interaction just happened yesterday
💬: don't you get tired (of aburasoba) even if you eat it over and over again?
🐶: no, i don't!
🐶: it's like ATINY. no matter how many times i see you, i never get tired of you. you're always lovely.
🐶: the comparison … to aburaso- i mean, i'm just saying… it's just 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 delicious
🐶: no matter how many times i see you, it still feels new. just looking at you makes me happy.
🐶: i think aburasoba is the kind of food you don't get tired of the more you eat it.
source
But if you listen to Yunho, he seems to have a deep love for many things: games, arcade games, old cartoons like Shinchan, tech (apple), cameras and Japan in general. He probably has more intense interests and private collections that we aren't even aware of.
3* Mirroring/Mimickry (Objects)
There's this thing Yunho does that I've always found particularly curious. If there's an object near him, an artwork, or a plushie in his hands, there's a 90% chance he'll replicate its expression or pose. He treats his environment as something to interact with physically, not just look at.
And it doesn't stop at the inanimate. He does this with people as well, observing them, picking up their behaviors, and impersonating them often (clip, another clip, other other clip, more clip). His recurrent victim is Mingi (clip, another clip) but lately he's been fixating on San as well (clip).
He's also done fictional characters like SpongeBob (clip) and and emojis (clip) in lives. You know it's bad when he imitates hair as well (clip).
No wonder he got into acting.
*Sensory seeking/avoidant
"After Waterbomb ended yesterday, I rushed because I felt all sticky, and my clothes were kind of wet... once I came back to the hotel and felt the air conditioner, it got really cold. So I took a long warm shower."
source
"Out of all desserts, I like ice cream the most. Chocolate ice cream or drink-type desserts. Usually those really dense chocolate brownies or bread-like things… I don't really eat those."
source
There's a lot of things in Yunho's lives that raise my eyebrow, one of them you'll notice he's always describing things or telling stories in vivid sensorial details.
Yunho is very aware of his own body and sensitivities. He has mentioned many times that longer hair irritates him. He hates the smell of cigarettes. He's sensitive to heat. And he's particular about the texture of his food. (his words sorry i cant look for all the specific references)
I've always noticed his wardrobe gravitates toward certain materials as well (yes, I keep track of what brands Ateez wear), and I had a feeling he had texture sensitivities but didn't have proof until recently. In his latest vlog, he mentioned hating hotel gowns because their texture is scratchy (clip).
In an old interview, he talked about not being a huge fan of perfume but still loving the smell of detergent on a futon. And surprise surprise the only perfume he's ever recommended 'Diptyque Orphéon' smells like expensive detergent. (Never doing a blind purchase again.)
Yunho explained that he records barefoot in studios because he's worried about the sound of his shoes "TAK TAK TAK", and it helps him concentrate better to have them removed (clip)
Yunho chews on his drinks? (clip) And he can't help but make a face and cringe with his entire body whenever he drinks something sour (clip)
During his Japan tour with his brother, we got to see just how much of a sweet tooth Yunho really has (clip). He purchased 200 USD worth of sweets (clip). He's especially avid about chocolate. Like too much honestly, it's a comfort food.
Food in general seems to be highly sensory-stimulating for Yunho. In the video where he had to rank various korean dishes, you could really see him struggling with having to pick a favorite. This man does not play about food.
In the 1N2D x Ateez Adrenaline tour episode, Hongjoong had to write his own bingo card, and one of the squares he wrote was "Yunho tastes every food" because it was so expected of him.
Tours and concerts could, as well be highly sensory-stimulating environments for Yunho.
*Rituals/Desire for sameness/consitency
Yunho has kept more or less the same haircut for the past five years. You could argue it's a stylistic preference, but since his comment about longer hair irritating him, I'm inclined to include it in this category. It might vary slightly in length at times, but it's never that drastic. (Long hair Yunho only lasted two months. 💔💔💔)
Crazy how everything goes back to food, but Abura Soba is back here, because if he doesn't eat it every time he goes to Japan, he will explode. He also has a very specific way of eating it, like it needs to have the right amount of onions on top or he will die (clip).
From what I've heard through fan stories and seen in his vlogs, Yunho tends to go to the same exact restaurants in the countries he visits, even if he hasn't been to that country for a year or more.
The food thing is so consistent that in a recent live, he tried to make Atiny guess what he was ordering from his hotel lobby after a concert. When everyone successfully predicted it would be beef and pasta, Yunho got baffled. You could see him reconsidering his life choices live on air before saying, "It's already been seven years, so it would be strange if you didn't know." (clip) Seven years of the same post-concert meal routine is definitely... interesting.
And his post-tour meals aren't the only thing Atiny find predictable but his reactions too. Specifically his jealousy or when he gets flustered. There's a running bit that Yunho runs away or dodges subjects whenever he does something risqué, so Atiny try to predict the messages he will send or what he will say by replicating his exact speech patterns. (sorry i couldnt find links for this one)
Speaking of speech patterns, Yunho's messages always start in a similar way "Tini-ya" and Yunho's lives, as I've mentioned once (or thrice), tend to have a similar structure. [Greetings, current condition, main topic (behind the scenes/performace/event), a moment to connect with atiny, words of thanks/reassurance, wind-down and finally the hatyu of the day]. His interactions always end with a customized "Hatyu." And at the beginning of each month he tries to send a “please take care of me in (Month) too”.
Yunho, despite being an idol, has no issue repeating outfits or clothing items. There are quite a lot in his wardrobe that he rewears, whether for airports, lives, soundchecks, or in his free time. (Outfit repeating in itself is not an ND trait, but the degree to which Yunho does it, especially compared to other idols...)
In a vlog years ago, Yunho explained he has a specific pillow ritual for how he likes to set his bed before sleeping. He called it the "pillow squad". Something he mentionned in a 2022 vlog, and in 2025 Guerilla Log as well. (clip) This one singlehandedly tops the charts.
*Eye contact
There's already full compilation on Tiktok about how Yunho looks at his members like he's in love with them. Yunho tends to hold deep eye contact, fully absorbing someone while they speak. You can even see the way his focus shifts across their face as he listens.
But on the flip side, I've also noticed he avoids eye contact when it becomes too much ? (i think ?) The main offender is Mingi — Yunho really struggles with Mingi's sudden eye contact (clip, another clip). He always looks away incredibly fast. The same pattern shows up in smaller crowd settings: during certain fansigns (clip), his birthday lives (clip, other clip), and in some variety shows. In all of these, you'll see him make a split second of eye contact before quickly glancing away. He tends to look away when he's telling stories a lot.
*sensory overload/ overwhelm / shutdown / burnout
I have never seen Yunho visibly have a shutdown or meltdown. I think he tries very hard not to appear tired.
The only evidence I can think of Yunho ever experiencing overwhelm is during send-off. I've noticed that it takes him a bit more effort than everyone else to sustain his attention on people. Every direct eye contact he makes is deliberate, and if he's not looking directly at what he's signing, his eyes are darting everywhere, processing everything happening at once. (clip, another clip)
*Masking
Even though he's known as one of the warmest, softest members, Yunho has talked openly about how people who don't know him find him intimidating or cold at first glance. (airport non smiling yunho with a neutral face). His solution was to "reserve his warmth for his Atiny " The answer might be fanservice-y but the experience, being misread as cold or scary when you're just existing neutrally is incredibly common in neurodivergent communities.
I would argue that personas themselves work as a form of masking. They tend to come with certain scripts, mannerisms, gestures, or repeated phrase, a template you're meant to follow. It could also explain why Yunho is especially skilled as a presenter. One language analyst even talked about Yunho's tone, called it the ideal voice, said it's very clear and consistent, a perfect fit for broadcasts or sales pitches.
The same analyst was surprised by how messy Yunho's writing was, because he expected it to be just as polished. And let it be known: I had the exact same reaction to his drawing style. The mismatch is worth noting here.
That aside, clearest example of Yunho masking that I've ever seen is during his Lee Mujin Service episode. For that entire episode, he didn't stim, didn't bounce his leg once, and you could see him trying to subtly fidget with his hands instead. He didn't sustain eye contact with the camera or the host for very long, or he sustained it a touch too long (insane) . At one point, he wanted to make one of his weird jokes, and you could see him visibly hesitating before dropping it on them. His voice and tone were softer during that episode too.
*His Mind map
Yeah i was not going to let that one slide.
In my last post i did an analysis on Ateez' mind maps and I noted how unusual Yunho's mind map was, and how much its structure deviated from the standard set by everybody else.
"Aditionally in Yunho's map, 'Summer' is contained inside the sun, and the five words/images are inside it's field touching said sun, orbiting around it like a solar system. That's exactly why he's number one on this ranking for most unconventional — because everyone else attempted a tree diagram (hierarchical/linear), but Yunho drew a solar system (gravitational/cyclical). His words are held in place by gravity, not by logical descent. That's the most different model we have of how concepts relate to each other."
Non linear or system thinking, visual-spatial reasoning are more common in neurodivergent people.
*Extra
-He's an avid fans of puns. He makes them all the time. He frequently uses sound effects and onomatopoeia too (Pattern recognition, verbal stim)
-In a Logbook during Work era, he said he's a person who can't stand injustice. (clip)
-He's had the same favorite song for years now "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script. He recently mentioned wanting to sing a cover. (clip)
There's a few more things, but I want to make a proper post for them later on, so for now...
CUT !
⋆｡ﾟ☀︎｡◑｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☀︎｡◑｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☀︎｡◑｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆
Once again, I am not a professional, nor am I diagnosing.
Some things might be off, but I'm very curious about how you all view these traits already, whether you notice more, or if you even see what I'm pointing out at all.
I am more unsure about this thread since I could be projecting. It's also why there is no section on social interactions, and there won't be one. I can't even tell what's socially struggling versus just regular human interaction. Tho sometimes, I do sense a general air of awkwardness with Yunho and people, but I don't know if I'm reading too much into it.
Hello Thirst! I think it was in one of your metas that I first encountered the "Mingi's Stage Performance is Drag" idea and I simply have not been able to stop thinking about it since then. Do you have more thoughts on this?
Hi! First of all, thank you for your patience. I know it's been over a month since you sent this ask, but sometimes with a really good meta question I need time to think and motivation to write.
I can't recall where I first wrote about this, but a few others have been using the concept of Drag as a lens through which to better understand how various members' develop and perform their on-stage and off-stage personas. This isn't exclusive to Mingi! I wrote about how the Grand Duke of the North is a version of Drag for San and @nefiriouschemes is working on a fantastic series about Yunho.
In one essay, they compared the similarities and differences between idols and drag queens:
"Both idols and drag queens craft a public character that is separate from their private self; both offer exaggerated aesthetics, a defined character or concept, performance as a product and both rely on an interactive, and often intimate connection with their fans/audience. The difference is that Drag, at its roots, is subversive and political. While Idol culture is commercial and often serves at reinforcing social norms."
OP used an explanation of Drag to frame Yunho's endless refinement of his idol persona to be consistent no matter where he is, from stage to livestream.
But by contrast, there is a huge variation between Mingi's public "on stage" persona and his public "off stage" persona. And while there are fundamental and insurmountable differences between an idol and a drag queen, Drag does provide a useful framework for understanding "Fix On" Mingi.
From the very beginning of Ateez, Mingi was known for his outsized stage presence and powerful performance style. The members credit Mingi for his ability to ramp up the energy of the stage and excite the crowd. He was impressively cool and cocky, perhaps even arrogant.
Off-stage, it was a different story. In these early years, Mingi struggled with presenting himself in interviews, variety shows, and livestreams. Surrounded by quick-witted members and dodgy hosts, Mingi often faltered or tried a little too hard to be funny or sound cool. @syster19 made a really good observation in this post about how Mingi's role in the ensemble was to be the comedic relief, and more often than not the punchline. I don't say this to make any of the members look bad; in fact, there were a few incidents where the hosts clearly went too far and the members defended Mingi, calling him a quiet caregiver and good listener. I just mean it's hard when you're in your early 20s and figuring out how to be famous and trying really hard to make an impression on an audience and industry that's already pre-disposed to think less of you because you're from a small company.
I won't speculate further about what led to Mingi going on hiatus, but I would argue that the Fix On persona began to take shape after Mingi's return.
So who is "Fix On"?
Fix On Mingi is loud, bold, brash, impulsive, passionate, commanding, sexy, excited, energetic, outlandish, and a little vulgar. He thrusts his hips, he smirks, he fondles his mic. He enjoys attention and ensures he gets it.
Fix On is also: clumsy, ungovernable, sincere, and silly (Mingi Wonka?!) How many memorable tour moments came from Mingi flubbing a bit, trying to sing Jongho's high notes, getting pranked by the band, becoming a little too rowdy, or missing the timing? Yes, he still plays the comic relief, but this time we (atiny) are there to laugh with him, not at him. There is a safety on both sides: he places his trust in us, and we place our trust in him.
So much of Fix On hinges on the audience's understanding that Mingi is playing a role, and Mingi cleverly trained us to recognize Fix On when he appeared.
Call-and-response. During the opening ments, like a summoning ritual, Mingi barks three times and we enthusiastically return his greeting. Mingi did not originate barking at concerts, but he's become associated with the phenomenon. It goes back as far as 2022, but really picked up steam in 2023 when he even got Hongjoong to join him at KCON LA. He got the crowd at Coachella to bark for him. Mingi has talked about wanting to create a trademark fanchant, even when the members teased him for it.
I took this video in New York last year. You can hear my unhinged cackle at the end...
Dress Up One of the signature elements of Fix On is his sunglasses.
Sunglasses are undoubtedly very cool and he looks great wearing them (he owns over 70 pairs), but Mingi has also joked about why he wears sunglasses on stage in a way that begs for overanalyzing:
(240124 trans @sunshine_1117)
(260122 trans @sruumx)
When Seonghwa asked "I wonder how Mingi performs with his sunglasses on?" Mingi responded: "I'm better when I see nothing."
Fix On Mingi is confident, and Mingi puts on the sunglasses to inhabit that confidence. I also suspect it does the work of helping him create a necessary distance or shield between himself and the crowd. Perhaps If he can't see them, it helps reduce the anxiety of performing.
He's also said the same about makeup in the logbook for his Off-White appearance.
There was one moment last year during a concert in Japan where we saw a clear demonstration of the switch between Fix On and (just) Mingi. When Mingi puts on the sunglasses, his voice gets lower and he starts using the masculine pronoun "ore" to refer to himself. Ore is not a very polite-sounding pronoun, used mostly by dudes with inflated egos and rough personalities (it's also used in very familiar and casual settings). No other member uses ore wa when they're in Japan; especially not in a crowd full of women! When San and Wooyoung remove the sunglasses, Mingi switches to the more polite "boku" pronoun. This is hilarious to the crowd, who fully enjoy the macho cosplay of Fix On.
credit @_lila_regen_
Branding Mingi sometimes explicitly refers to Fix On as a character he plays. Sometimes he'll even refer to himself in the third person, as when he teaches one of his managers the sexy choreo for Ice On My Teeth: "Mingi does it a bit sexy, you know?"
I think this shift owes much to the concurrent development of Mingi's Fix Off: Desire project, a series of self-produced solo works that are intensely autobiographical. This is the real Mingi.
I plan to write more about the Fix Off project for another post, but if you watch his performance videos for Untitled (August 2023) and Tunnel (released in February 2024), you'll encounter a very raw and introspective Mingi, who sang about fears like "I guess I'm scared of dreams staying as dreams."
From April 2024:
While Fix Off project allowed for Mingi an artistic vehicle to express his internal struggles, he also used Fix Off to describe his "truer" self.
From March 2025:
For a while, it felt like Mingi really needed to reinforce to the public that while he could be "powerful, passionate, and someone with strong energy" on stage, he was not actually scary or intimidating. Instead, he was sensitive and introspective. The Fix Off project showed those sides of him, as did Youth, which is about confronting the expectations and burdens placed on young people.
But while you might've assumed that Mingi's Fix Off project would continue to deviate from his Fix On persona, the opposite ended up true. There's a dramatic and shocking shift in sound from Untitled, Tunnel, and Youth to Autobahn, and even Roar (which I absolutely bet was originally intended as a Fix Off project and not a solo for GH3).
More shocking are the music videos, because the main character seems to be Fix On Mingi! What is he doing in a Fix Off song?
In Autobahn Mingi sings about finding the light at the end of the tunnel; of confronting the void and moving through it and making it to the other side; of freeing himself from the chains of his own fears and anxieties. He's shifted gears and nothing can stop him now!
The MV is so clever and evocative: the imagery of the chains, the cars, the tunnel and the light; the flashing lights and shadows; all the shades of Mingi from his swagger to his vulnerability; the way his expression changes with every flicker of light; the way it contrasts with the Fix On Mingi in red, wearing his sexy concert attire.
Fix On is the light at the end of the tunnel: his dreams and his passion for performance.
Mingi words from earlier this year affirm the motivations behind his change in sound:
You can sense it too, right? That in the last year, Mingi has blossomed. There's a newfound ease and confidence to the way he moves through the world, as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.
This hasn't necessarily affected his on-stage style; in fact, I'd argue that Fix On is even freakier these days. Perhaps Mingi had to reconcile the different facets of himself in order to better perform in that register. Having gone through the process of working on himself, he's figured out how to let fear and anxiety motivate him to push forward rather than run away. The rituals of the sunglasses, the make up, the barking are all ways to channel that power. You can't watch a performance of Roar and not be affected by his magnetic force.
While Mingi has pretty much perfected his Fix On persona, we've recently observed another interesting development: The Princess. Haven't you noticed that we're getting more and more instances of Mingi being called Princess? Not just by Yunho, but others - including the press?
When atiny asked if Mingi was a teto-nam (“테토남" representing a the “testosterone” type) or egen-nam ("에겐남" refers the “estrogen” type), Mingi replied:
"I don’t have any teto in me at all though..? I’m a princess, so I’m egen."
Mingi may be pushing "Princess Mingi" as his new off-stage public persona, a variation of Fix Off that is more expressive of Mingi's natural softness, sweetness, and affection.
You could say Princess another kind of Drag, subverting the gendered expectations of how a guy that looks and sounds like Mingi should behave: he needs atiny to protect him, he pouts and whines to his members, he shrieks when he opens a prank can of worms from atiny while fully knowing what to expect.
he posts selfies like this:
Like his Fix On persona, Princess Mingi provides glimpses into the real Mingi, of whom we can never fully know. Someone who is bold, energetic, and charismatic but also cute and adorable. Who quietly listens to the concerns of his members and also lights up the green room with his irrepressible spirit (and loud singing).
While Mingi's Princess persona is a clever way to perform fan service for an already-adoring fandom, it serves a more important purpose: it's an effective means of distancing himself from the hyper-masculine, hypersexualied version of Fix On that more and more people are convinced is Mingi's real self. I've seen so many misconceptions or bad-faith readings of Mingi's character come from casual or non-fans who encounter Mingi almost exclusively through thirsty ttiktok edits.
Let me be clear: there's nothing wrong with thinking Mingi is sexy. There's nothing shameful in being attracted to hot adult men. Nor is it wrong for these adult men to enjoy doing fan service or titillating their audience during the In Your Fantasy tour, which was explicitly framed as an indulgent experience for fans. The whole point is that we were entering a world of play, allowing us to experience desire (of any kind) in a safe space. Because, at the end of the day, we all know it's not real. Mingi isn't actually going to ask you to sign the NDA at the end of the concert.
The problem is, there are plenty of people who don't know it's not real, maybe because they don't follow groups who heavily invest in concepts and personas; or maybe because they weren't paying attention to anything other than the sexy sunglasses and saucy smirk. They don't understand that it's part of the costume. They process it as verisimilitude and not Drag.
I have to imagine that Mingi is at least somewhat aware of his public perception. Perhaps Princess Mingi will continue to make appearances, creating viral moments that spread just as rapidly as the viral thirst edits. Perhaps as Fix On will evolve into something else, to be whatever Mingi needs it to be.
We are hopefully days away from a new Fix Off project, one that promises to be an exciting new phase of Mingi's artistic development. I am keen to see if Fix On remains as the main character, or if Mingi has a new part of his self that he wants to share with atiny. I can't wait to meet him.
