Hello there! :) Am a new jikooker and glad to see so many lovely blogs supporting them. I would like your perspective as a K-army, if you don't mind - hope I can phrase my question appropriately!
I'd love to know your thoughts (as a K-army) on how Jikook appear differently from what other Kpop idols/groups do? What makes them stand out? My knowledge of 'fanservice' comes mainly from Kdrama like You're Beautiful, couple of varieties and that now-overdone Pepero game. Any examples would be good to understand if I am ahem...getting ahead of myself.
THANK YOU!
(I'm very aware BTS has also been filmed a lot more heavily, and have a lot more social media exposure since the beginning of their careers - which has given a lot more insight into their lives vs other idols. Given that, there's too many moments to capture - and you cant really fake almost 80 percent of your life on camera.)
Hi!
Oh wow this is a pretty loaded question, isn’t it?
So I think I should start this with a warning that I’m actually not the best person to talk about other K-pop groups... because I’m not really into them. 😔
I used to like the first generation groups from the 90s, then my taste in music and overall interest in pop culture shifted to other genres. BTS is the first idol group that I became a fan of in more than 15 years, and during that time I literally had zero interest in Korean boy bands, so I’d feel like a fraud comparing KM/BTS to them like I know anything.
That being said, I do think it’s what’s not being deliberately told/shown that really makes people go hmmmm when they see KM. For instance, the way they are frequently filmed in the background of a clip hanging around each other. The way some footages are very conspicuously cut from Run/BV eps. The way they act around each other on a live stage.
Some non-Korean armys argue that in Korea, the culture of showing affection between men is different so you can’t hold KM being cute with each other against them as proof of them being in a relationship. Well, yes and no, because while Korean men may seem more liberal with physical displays of affection than men from other cultures due to no sense of personal space lol, it doesn’t mean that the touchy-feely-ness seen not only between KM, but among BTS in general, is the average in our country.
I know that there are other K-pop groups that use over-the-top skinship as a means to get the fans’ attention. And that that can make it confusing to tell whether a given pairing’s chemistry/dynamics are authentic or not. But to me the fact that a) BTS as a whole are more touchier with each other than the average young Korean men, and b) even among BTS Jimin and Jungkook are especially more tender towards each other, and finally c) a lot of KM’s moments either happen in the background or in real time, or are shown only very partially (think: spooning photo from Run, tent-sharing thumbnail from BV3), kinda pings the radar for a lot of people.
I feel like this wasn’t a very good answer to your question, but I couldn’t claim to have insight on what I don’t, so this is my best shot.
If you can give me more specific situations that I can comment on, for example, whether an average twenty-something Korean male might do this or that with a same-sex friend, or what the average Korean thinks of boy band members doing this or that, then feel free to drop an ask any time!
