The Hallyu Garden is beginning to wilt. // [ Kpop post ]

I have been a big fan of kpop for quite sometime, and I have watched the rise and fall of TVXQ, enjoyed reading Allkpop and moaned about it's bias, loved the selection of new rookie bands yet now, perhaps, resent them.

There are too many flowers in the Hallyu Garden. They all look the same. They all do the same. And because of this, the garden is beginning to wilt.



Lee Soo, CEO of SM Entertainment and the slave contracts.

Hallyu Whaaa?

First of all, I should perhaps explain what I mean about the Hallyu Garden. For those of you who do not know, the Hallyu Wave is the most widely accepted term for the hugely growing entertainment buisness in South Korea. Korean pop and dramas have spread world wide, and tourism has also grown considerably because of this.

I refer to the Hallyu Garden as the whole logistics of the Hallyu Wave. It doesn't just refer to the the kpop stars or actors, but also to the CEOs of the entertainment industry, such as Lee Soo of SM Entertainment. The Hallyu Garden has everybody involved in the wave inside. The beautiful flowers of the truly talented stars, and the dark wrath and thorns of Lee Soo, and other CEOs.

So what exactly has happened?

Lets start with the rookie bands.

There has been a lot of new rookie groups lately, and I mean A LOT. So much, even Allkpop doesn't know what to say about them anymore. These three -- nothing truly against them, I'm sure they'll be err, 'oh so talented'. But these bands are by no near as creative as the ones last year, and far less than the year before that. What we see here, is the creation of generic bands. Furthermore, the creation of Evil.

Yes. That's right.
EVIL. 

Because I am afraid of english-reading neitizens, I'm making a reference to bands who are unoriginal, not nessecarly the ones above. But seriously, some of the names... 'Chocolat', and even worse 'Boyz'.

The Older Bands...

It really should be mentioned that this stench of unoriginality has swept towards our beloved older bands too. Single after single... Style after style... Ever heard of the saying been there done that? The Hallyu version is been there, done that, wore this, got the album to prove it. I really don't want to name any bands but seriously kpop...  Stop with the 'cash crop single'. It's killing your precious wave.

The Celebrities

Kpop is also becoming like British and American celebritizm. -Face palm- <-- So elegant.

Not only that, but the Hallyu personality only comes in 5 flavours. Here's a typical kpop boy band. Think how many you can link this too.

The Sexy Leader - This guy is usually meant to be the sexiest guy in the band, and usually the most popular. He is tall, and isn't always very cute at all, but he's dang sexy. If there are occasions to be cute however, he has been trained very well to master the oh so unoriginal face of cuteness.

The Girly One - This guy should be a girl. He has more make up than the average girl, he cares about his looks - especially his skin and face. This type is so surprisingly common that (look away now neitizens!) either 1/4 of the kpop population are gay, or at least 1/2 of these girly guys are putting it on.

and/or

The Cutie - You've always got your cute guy. Either the shortest, or the youngest. He delibrately tries to act cute, poses, and tries to make the crowd go 'awww'. Some may try to out-cute him, only to make this guy go even cuter.

The Loner - This guy is less likely to smile, tries to act tough, and always thinks he's hot for doing it. More common in dramas than in bands, but he's snuck his way into kpop.

The Reject - This sad little guy is clumsy or stupid or both. Sometimes he's the cute one. Usually he's the worst at English, having the most fobby of all accents. Sometimes he has some kind of 'ugly but cute' feature, such as his head is a little differently shaped from the rest, or his teeth are from a crocodile or whatever. More and more often, this persona is becoming common.

The Corruption

And finally, the corruption.

The corruption is all the chaos that big cat companies in South Korea are causing by using Slave Contracts which pay these stars, these beautiful flowers - very, very minimal salaries. There have been so much more scandals that have happened recently, and to be less left wing (blaming on the big industries all the time) I'll blame the fans too. That's right. The fans are tearing the Hallyu Garden apart. They are far too obsessive, treating all their favourite idols like a Korean Justin Beiber. It's just scary. The glory and beauty that made kpop so special is fading away.

I don't want my Hallyu Garden to wilt. Please, can someone spray a little bit of fresh breeze inside?

What's so cool about South Korea?

I love South Korea so much, despite never actually stepping foot in the country. Of course, like most kpop fans I really, (really, really, really) want to visit the country. But some of my friends ask, why? What's so good about South Korea?
Well dear friends, I'll tell you.

South Korea has so many querks and perks from street food to smacaps! I love South Korean fashion, it's much cooler than yours x 100. Unless you're a Jrocker, then you're pretty trendy. AND THE BANDS. THE MANY, MANY WONDERFUL KPOP BANDS.

Have you even HEARD Korean music? Epik High, Super Junior and Suju M, B2ST, BoA, MBLAQ just to name a few... Their music is fun, exciting, dramatic, heartfelt, and just simply delightful. Even if I'll never meet them, just to step into the land where kpop comes from would be enough. Like Beetle fans visiting Liverpool! (Did you know, the Hallyu wave has even been compared to the Beetles?!)

South Korea also has a lot of amazing dramas and television such as Antique Bakery, You're Beautiful, and Boy's Over Flowers. (These examples just happen to be very pro-female or pro-gay happy.... *sweat drop*) There is so much wonderful addiction to be had with Kdramas. (Check out MySoju for all your S. Korean drama needs) It's nearly better than the television in the UK. (Beats everything apart from Doctor Who, which incidently, is South Korea's favourite foreign series.)

There are many scandals in South Korea, such as some of the very crazy and sick fans that take their music idols just a little too far. The entertainment industry in South Korea is also seriously underpaid, and Korean stars rarely get a break. This has to change.  Yet it shouldn't spoil everything South Korea has to offer. It offers an fantastic alternative to mainstream entertainment that is beginning to blossom. Time to remove those weeds, and soon the Hallyu Garden will really stand out.