Something I completely forgot to mention. While reading through opinions on the K-pop industry debate, I noticed a lot of people saying that there are still newer-generation groups holding onto that classic K-pop essence, they just don't always get as much attention as the biggest groups. So if any groups like that come to mind, please drop your recommendations below!! My personal recommendation is NEXZ, they're such a great group! 🫶

Vernon really sat there, said what the entire 2nd and 3rd gen K-pop community has been thinking for years, and left toxic fans fighting for air 💅🔥✨ ultimate main character behavior!

Vernon said what was due for a few years now. Much respect to him.

vernon is 100% correct 😭 i miss old kpop

Bro that caused Deserving chaos and going straight to the military be like: 😝✨😝🔥👻

The sad thing is, if Vernon's opinion came from their favs mouth,THAT certian fandom definitely would've clapped and made big deal praising their idol saying other groups can't come close to them or something along the lines.

Vernon came dropped a bomb and went to military 😂

Vernon has been in the industry for more than a decade, pls he himself listens to both kpop and american pop since he was a KID... He knows BETTER than yalls sensitive azzez 😭

I am someone from that specific fandom. And I support Vernon wholeheartedly in his statement.
He said something that I have been saying in my own fandom but I find very few who could hear me out without getting offended. Some agree but many vehemently shut the thought down.  Hearing a kpop idol say it made it so much easier to put my words forward.

I joined kpop thanks to UKISS (back in 2013) and then I stanned BTS. So, my transition from 2nd gen to 3rd gen was smooth and i didn't notice too much of a difference. However, thanks to that, I listened to Shinee, SUJU, GOT7, BEAST, SNSD, F(x), SVT, TWICE and other 2nd Gen-ish/3rd Gen-ish sounds to understand what kpop is and I loved it precisely for that reason. It was not just the Korean lyrics. The arrangement, the structure and how unapologetically it was itself - thats what made it more than 'western beats with korean lyrics'. It had its own personality.

Although now, it feels like a facade.I am avoiding a lot of the new groups for this same reason. I don't want korean lyrics on an american song. I want that western sound to be creatively structured, as if its Korean. Like, if i change the lyrics to english, it should still sound different from an american or western song.

Imagine singing SHinee's RingDIngDong in English or GOT7's If You Do in ENglish - it still sounds korean!
Even the group I follow BTS have some awesome songs like I Like It, Danger, I Need U, etc - western beats sure but change it to english and it sounds nothing like a western song.

And no - this does not mean the songs are bad. But the reason i changed to kpop instead of western music - that reason seems to be disappearing.

Vernon nailed it on the head, but to go further, it's becoming a problem with Kdramas too. I feel like ever since Squid Game brought them somewhat mainstream, production teams are gearing their new releases in that direction to maintain those views. Kdramas, no matter the genre, used to be more about the story and the relationships between the characters. But now its more geared towards the shock value and pandering that plagues the American movie and TV industry. It's truly sad. I moved from American TV to Kdramas to get away from it and now its followed me.

I'm with Vernon all the day he said what he said and what other idols couldn't say

Vernon is 100% correct. I’ve been following K-pop since the early 2010’s, and you can clearly hear the difference. Old K-pop didn’t just have less English or more dance breaks — it had an entirely different feel. And if you wanna talk about going viral, what was the first K-pop song to go massively viral in this millennium? “Gangnam Style”. Compare that song to any recent song by THAT group. Night and day.

I wish K-pop producers would stop focusing on appealing to the west (read: Americans) and start making “K”-pop again. And no, SEVENTEEN’s music is not nearly as westernized. I think the best comparison is “Love, Money, Fame” vs. everything else in their discography. Not a big fan of that song because it’s pretty much just an American pop song.

That's true and I'm not even a carat . Why're we not accepting the fact ?

Why are armies getting offended, unless they think that BTS do fall into that category, which is true, they are just proving the point by getting offended

Completely agree with Vernon. I miss old K-pop. That’s why I adore Seventeen, they still keep the K in Kpop

Omg thank you Vernonnie!! How do some not noticed this? 2nd gen kpop is iconic for a reason. They kept the K in kpop. More than less.

Congratulations SeungKwan!!

Everyone in kpop are agreeing 100% with vernon except #that fandom....
The ONLY reason they arent agreeing is becuz they know their faves make that typa music

Although last month I completed a year of being a fan of K-pop and also that I became a fan in this period when K-pop has become like pop, But I agree with vernon if K-pop will become like pop remove the word Korea and it will become pop only
(I will complete a year at the end of October as a carat^^)

Oh, it made me so happy to see Woodz too at that match knowing he used to play football, his grin was so big! And while Vernon might be called a hypocrite for that remark, it sounded quite like nostalgia to me. I would also like for k-pop to be more like it used to be, artists releasing English tracks so obviously just chasing that western chart success is just… those charts are rigged anyway, don’t bend over backwards for them!

Sorry, i listen K-Pop for different taste. And now only Seventeen still feels like old K-Pop with the musically and language. Even they now is one of the biggest group in the world. I love they still stan with their identity as an Korean😍😍