Ever wondered why large K-pop groups like SEVENTEEN, EXO, LOONA, and NCT are so popular? Well, here are the reasons!
On March 22, a Korean media outlet wrote an article featuring large K-pop groups, where it suggested that groups with more than 10 people seem to be more popular to fans.
In the same article, the author further stated the pros and cons of having a lot of members in a group.
PROS: Why Fans Prefer to Stan K-pop Groups With Multiple Members
Super Junior (News1)
In particular, five members used to be the standard for the first and second-generation K-pop idol groups that debuted between the late 1990s and early 2010s.
Among them, some K-pop groups broke this standard including Super Junior and Girls' Generation who introduced 12 and nine members, respectively, in 2005 and 2007.
Having Multiple Members Expand Group's Popularity With Their Various Charms
Girls' GenerationNews1
One advantage of having numerous members is the easy expansion of popularity. When Girls' Generation debuted, the girl group became a hot topic, and spearheaded the activity of fans chanting the names of all nine members.
With their combined synergy, the group was able to produce megahit releases like "Into the New World," "Gee," "Genie," and more. The appearance of each member on various shows contributed a lot to their popularity.
Large Group Establishes Popularity in Music Scene Through 'Bias' in K-Culture
Later in 2012, EXO shocked the K-pop scene with another 12-member group just like Super Junior.
According to the outlet, EXO popularized the saying:
"One of them must be your bias."
SEVENTEEN (News1)
In context, "bias" is a fan's most favorite member/s from the team. Because of this, an inside joke started that agencies prepare every type of member in one group to cater to everyone's personal preferences.
At that time, K-pop was on a roll. K-pop agencies tried to capture the attention of the public by specifically appealing to fans according to their type.
"The more members there are, the more diverse types that can attract fans [...] Interest in a member usually leads to liking the entire group or, benefiting the entire team.
After the 13-member boy band SEVENTEEN debuted in 2015, groups with more than a dozen members no longer surprised the public.
Large K-pop Groups Provide Visually-Pleasing Choreography
One of the reasons why large K-pop groups are popular is due to their elaborate choreo that only groups with multiple members can achieve.
Groups like EXO, LOONA, WJSN, THE BOYZ, IZ*ONE and NCT are known for their complex dance moves and incredible dance formation. This shows that large groups can shine with the members alone doing the dance routine, unlike smaller groups who will require backup dancers to complete elaborate dance moves.
CONS: Why Fans Dislike Large Groups
On the flip side, there are K-pop fans who are not fond of large groups.
Difficulties in Remembering Names
NCT 2021 (News1)
One of the reasons is hilariously due to difficulties in remembering the names of all the members.
Currently, NCT has the most members with 23 people in the whole group.
"Bias" Leads to "Akgae"
While the "bias" culture brings more fans for a group, this can also cause a negative impact when a certain fan chose to be an "akgae" fan.
This is a shortened term for "akseong gaeinpaen," which means a malicious individual fan. Except for their favorite member, an "akgae" ridicules and downgrades other members of the same group.
Line Distribution Issues
Wjsn (News1)
Having large groups make the song lines division shorter for each member.
Members can often sing only a few seconds of individual parts, and fans of other members eventually feel contempt for other members who have more lines or screen time.
With the emergence of a YouTube channel that analyzes the distribution of lines of idol songs through detailed pie charts, overly disproportionate line distribution often brings about negative discussions.
