It's obvious how a group's name plays a big part in introducing and establishing themselves in the music industry, especially in South Korea, where the competition is tough due to the increasing number of idols debuting each year.
A user on Pann recently posted her opinion regarding famous idols and the name of their groups sounding "countrified" during their rookie days but have lost the "provincial" feeling since they're doing well nowadays. Below are a few bands that were mentioned in the comment section.
1. BTS
Before BTS was known as Beyond The Scene, they were named Bulletproof Boyscouts. The worldwide superstars are known in Korea as Bangtan Sonyeondan, which directly translates to bulletproof boy scouts in English. One fan even admitted that before they became an ARMY, they thought the group was a bunch of boys' scout kids!
2. BLACKPINK
Amidst comeback rumors and speculations, some people noticed how tacky the group's name is when translated into Korean. An observation made by a commenter said that since the members are pretty, luxurious, and popular, it makes up for their simple and almost countrified name "black and pink."
3. (G)I-DLE
(G)I-DLE must not make a lot of sense in English, but the name is a little more complicated in the girl group's native language. The girls of (G)I-DLE have double and secret meaning in their Korean name, pronounced as Yeoja - Idle when translated it means Female Kids. The letter "G" in the parenthesis is silent and not mentioned when reading the group name, and because of this, many netizens and fans are still not used to the group's name.
4. GFRIEND
GFRIEND, or in Korean, literally means girlfriend! Although BUDDYs love and cherish their favorite girls, it's not a secret how some of them found their group name to be cringey and funny when they first heard it.
5. The Boyz
Another simple and plain name, just the boys, but spicing it up by changing the "s" to a "z." One fan said that no matter how much they love all 11 boys, they still find the group's name funny while another fan is a little upset at how the simple name undermines the group's talent and hard work.
6. Stray Kids
STAYs also joined the discussion, one of them commented that whenever they read the group's name, the only thing that they can think of are homeless children, which makes sense since "stray" is what you call a person or animal without a home. Under that comment, another STAY replied that even naming the group "District 9" would have been a better-sounding name and vibe for the boys.
7. Gugudan
Last on this list is the girl group Gugudan! The girls debuted in 2016 but have gathered a loyal fanbase over the four years they've been active. They refer to them as Dan-jakk, which means "dear friend." Gugudan, in Korean, "GuGu," literally translates to nine times nine, which is funny considering the group's name means multiplication in Korean.
