BTS Introduction: Encountering a New Culture Part 2 - Mukbang, Cup Ramen, and More

Encountering the K-Pop World Part 2

Continuing from last time, this is about the K-Pop world I encountered after falling for BTS.
It was a different culture!

Watching my bias to my heart's content with Fancams

In the Takarazuka Revue and the Sakamichi series, there were 'bias cameras' that only filmed specific members.
However, those were mainly positioned as DVD bonuses and weren't widely available to the public, and the ones being filmed were limited to top members, second-in-commands, or centers.
I can't believe this has become so mainstream...!

The concept that screen time in a group is determined by popularity rankings was shattered. What kind of world is this that's so kind to everyone?
The moment I learned about it, my YouTube search history was filled with related terms.

I heard that this was originally fan culture that the broadcasters adopted.
Recently, AI facial recognition technology has advanced, making it possible to create massive amounts of fancams. I never imagined AI would be playing such a huge role here!

Oh, I also love the 'BTS Focus (Full Cam)', which is the opposite of a fancam. It's great because you can see the formations well!
I get so happy whenever I spot Jimin-chan moving around a lot.

Mukbang and Cup Ramen

I was shocked by the mukbang (eating broadcast) culture!

Fairies (Takarazuka actresses) don't eat.
Female idols are okay to eat snacks or bento boxes from TV stations, at most.

Living in a world like that, global stars casually starting to eat cup ramen in the middle of a variety show was completely unexpected...!

At first, I was so taken aback that I couldn't even watch 'EAT JIN', but now I'm quite used to it.
Bangtan's eating scenes are bad for my heart in general because they often share drinks and feed each other. It's cute, so please do it more.

BTS is defined by their rap

I like singing, but since my foundation was basically classical music, I had absolutely no connection to rap.
The song that first made me aware of BTS was 'Permission to Dance', which didn't have any rap, so when I looked at the members' roles on Wiki, I tilted my head, thinking, 'Three rappers...? Hmm...'

After that, I started listening to BTS songs and felt a sense of unease, thinking, 'Why is there a rap part every time?' That was when I first realized, 'These guys were a hip-hop idol group!' Sorry, that was a blind spot for me.

Come to think of it, Jungkook also said, 'I decided to join the company because Rap Mon hyung's rapping was so cool,' and V was also a huge fan of the rap line.
So 'rapper' is a position that kids aiming to be idols aspire to. Is the status of rappers in the music world stronger here than in Japan...?

Summary

By now, I've become completely used to all of these, but at the time, I was actually quite surprised.
As someone who had nothing to do with hip-hop or rap, I find myself trying to mimic SUGA's rapping with all my might, and I realize you never know how life will turn out.

Series Articles