Normally I would expect Koreans to worship BoA (as she should be), but lately there have been negative reactions towards her. I understand that not everyone is going to like a certain person, but people in the god/goddess tier should be exceptions to the rule, or so I thought.
First of all, Koreans should thank BoA for bringing attention to their country. Without her, the majority of foreigners would not give a shit about Worst Korea. You could bring up the likes of Korean MMORPGs, Hyundai, Kia, Samsung and LG bringing attention to Korea, but at the time BoA was blowing up, Korean MMORPGs were only known for being boring grinders and Hyundai, Kia, Samsung and LG were still having quality control issues, releasing shitty products that ended up in the bargain bin. If anything, Korea back then had the same image of China today: a country that releases low-quality products that aren't even worth wiping your ass with.
BoA debuted in Japan in 2001 and launched to the top of the Oricon chart. Koreans started bandwagoning and became fans of BoA. She is one the major pioneers of the Hallyu. Though many people (such as myself) started giving a shit about Korea after discovering BoA, many others discovered Kpop through other artists who would not have had the map laid out for them if it was not for BoA. Being Korean didn't automatically make me care about Korea because I thought Korea was a third-world country that released second-rate products for mass consumption. The companies I mentioned have made major improvements over the past decade, but it still is taking them a long time to shed off their previous images.
While such companies gave people a bad impression of Korea, BoA was a major player in turning around the conception people had of Korea. People who witnessed BoA when she was a teenager would leave remarks such as "Oh, she's so cute. She dances and sings well, plus she has great songs." People who discovered BoA when she became an adult would leave remarks such as "I would pee in her butt. Plus her songs are really good." Naturally, most people discovered BoA through J-Pop, which naturally made people think BoA was Japanese. Later on, people discovered BoA was Korean through finding her Korean songs, and others deduced that she couldn't be Japanese because her teeth were straight. Now all of these fans, who knew nothing about Korea and likely thought of Korea as a poor man's version of Japan now saw Korea in a better light because their favorite artist was Korean.
Seeing as how BoA helped change the perception of Korea to many fans (who may or may not have been weeaboos), I would assume Koreans would be thankful for that. Before the Hallyu, Kim Jong-il was more relevant than anyone from South Korea. That was silly of me to have such as assumption. This is fucking Korea we're talking about, land of the Kimchi faggots who complain about every little thing. In order to make themselves feel somewhat better, they have to drag someone down to share their misery with others. If one Korean netizen is miserable, it's not okay for a goddess such as BoA to be on a pedestal. Fuck that shit, UCAAD.
You may have read netizens giving crap to BoA about her acting, and not having the face for acting, but it's all a bunch of bullshit. Who the fuck is ever great the first time they do something? Koreans love the believe in geniuses, but those are rare. Most "geniuses" have simply dedicated their time to their craft. People such as Mozart and Tiger Woods weren't born to excel in what they did. They put in the time from the very young age and dominated their respective fields. Of course BoA isn't going to be jjangbak her first time. That's why people work to improve. Do you think every porn star was able to hump hot chicks for hours on end from the beginning? No, they lasted one minute one second (as everyone would last that long banging Jiyeon.) It takes everyone time to get better. Look at how netizens reacted to Goo Hye Sun in 2012 and now in 2014 during the airing of Angel Eyes.
BoA finally has a flaw that can be exploited, and that's her lack of experience of acting. Korean netizens who haven't accomplished anything can feel like they have accomplished a lot by attacking BoA, someone who has accomplished more than 99 percent of Koreans ever will. BoA filmed a Korean movie earlier this year while juggling promotions in Japan for "Shout It Out" while salty Korean netizens accomplished getting 500 upvotes in the comments section of an article about BoA.
Maybe I would also hate BoA if I was a miserable cunt, but I'm not one. I can attempt to analyze why Koreans are such miserable cunts. Luckily that isn't an inheritable trait.
You do made a valid point. I discovered K-pop because of TVXQ's Japanese songs and like you said without BOA, that wouldn't have been possible. But then when I started I used to only listen to Fly to the Sky, Wheesung, Kim Bum Soo, Lee Seungi, Paran, Shinhwa, SG Wannabe and a few others as the aforementioned but generation after that (BB, SJ, 2NE1) polluted my mind with their filth and I started listening to their cheap crap. Ahhhh!!! How I wish I could go back to those days where all I did was relax to some Fly to the Sky.
ReplyDeleteYOU WILL SOON! they are reuniting & making a comeback~
DeleteHer music's just bland to me...Idk-- IMO-- and she sorta is too
ReplyDeleteGoddess' aren't bland.
DeleteHer music seems bland now because of the influence it's had on all subsequent Korean pop. It's ironic but many influential artists seem bland or cliche in retrospect purely because what made them unique or influential is subsequently adopted by everyone else. The genre has evolved past her, but it still owes her a great debt.
Deletehumans are still the same everywhere ... as E.A.V. pointed out in 2005
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnxlNxFHHCk
She calls herself Best of Asia, and you're asking why people hate her?
ReplyDeleteActually it's Beat of Angel
DeleteSeconded. I do think she's entitled to some stuff but that's a bit over the top. Confidence is attractive, overconfidence makes you lose your charm.
DeleteI love BoA, but sometimes she DOES get given too much credit. She's not the only one who helped K-Pop into greatness, Shinhwa was there long before her and DBSK contributed to the popularity of K-Pop almost if not equally as much - are contributing to it still. But this site generally seems to hate on boybands so I didn't expect anything else.
As for the acting, most idols suck at it. Some get better over time, some don't. Time will tell for Boa, but hating on her from the start on is stupid. Give the girl a chance for hell's sake.
Yes, but boy bands like Shinhwa and H.O.T never took off in Japan. BoA was the one that did, and after BoA's success, SM debuted DBSK in Japan. After a few years of being nugus in Japan, DBSK finally made it and are doing much better now as a duo than as five.
DeleteWe hate on boy bands because they release terrible songs more often than not. Let's selectively ignore all the boy band songs we have positively reviewed here on AKF just to fit your narrative.
I wasn't aware that the success of all K-Pop is measured by its success in Japan. And of course DBSK were nugus in the beginning, BoA was a nugu in the beginning as well. She was just the first to be promoted outside Korea, if DBSK or Shinhwa or anybody else with all that training and the bit of talent needed had been properly promoted before BoA they would have taken off equally well. She was a pioneer of sorts, but it could have been anybody else just as well. Doesn't make her as special as you want her to be.
Delete*lol* And it's funny how you get all defensive the moment this blog receives the tiniest of criticism. That's from a guy who loves nitpicking on and generalizing fangirls while ignoring the one, two, ten who are actually decent and good.
And yeah, I said 'generally' hating on boybands, and I recall an article of yours where you specifically went on a tangent about how you understood the use of English words according to their proper meaning better than the majority of them other stupid people.
generally (ˈdʒɛnrəlɪ)
adv
1. usually; as a rule
2. commonly or widely
3. without reference to specific details or facts; broadly
So yeah, I did ignore the one, two, ten articles you made on boybands in x amount of years because GENERALLY, you don't give a flying **** about them and even the 'positive' articles you write aren't worth much. Also, girl bands release terrible songs equally often, and just because you can fap to the choreography or the idol herself doesn't make their songs any better than 90% of all other K-Pop releases.
It could have been anyone else, but fact is, it was BoA. BoA was the first Korean artiste I knew of (although, at that time, I thought she was Japanese). Not shinWHAT, not dongbangSHITki. Don't give her her deserved credit? Then we shouldn't give any kpop group or artiste credit at all. Not any present girl groups, definitely not any boy groups.
DeleteGosh, I thought I ran away from fangirls when I found this blog... Anyway, this blog is biased. We all know that. It's an opinion blog. Those of us who chose to stay and continue reading their content know that. So, don't take the articles to heart, bae.
[I don't hate shinhwa or dbsk, I just hate fangirls.]
I did not say not to give BoA credit. If you read my first comment, I said that I love the woman. I think she's great, her music's great (most of it, anyway) and it's good that she branches out into the movie industry. I absolutely agree that people should give her a chance before harping on her for lack of acting skills. What I don't think great is overpraising her which is what fanBOYS tend to do just like fangirls overpraise their boybands.
DeleteSo this blog is biased, I'm fine with it. However, it's also double-standard. It nitpicks on fangirls who fawn over their male idols, while the male writers on this blog fawn over female idols in much the same manner. Thinking about peeing in somebody's butthole is not much better than thinking about sending somebody a letter in your menstural blood, IMO.
Ah. You did run away from fangirls when you found this blog, but you came into a world of fanboys instead XD Not that it's a bad thing I suppose, because there are more crazy fangirls out there than there are crazy fanboys and it's entertaining for me to see a male side of K-Pop-idol obsession. It's just that males are usually more covert about it, so I suppose this blog is one of the few online sites where you get to see the male side of not seldom crazy fangirling. I suppose that's what attracts some people to it.
There is a difference between taking an article to heart and having an opinion on it. My general opinion on this article was that sure, it's not fair that BoA gets harped on because of shitty acting skills but on the other hand she DOES get overpraised for things, which is exactly what leads the less sensible people to hate on her. If her fans would be a bit less rabid and didn't try to shove down everybody's throat how awesome she is because she so happened to be the first major breakthrough act in K-Pop, she would be getting less hate for it.
Also, you don't hate Shinhwa or DBSK, but you use names like ShinWHAT and DBSHITKI just to try and spite somebody? *laughs* You're what's wrong with the fandoms. If fans would stop to try and assault other fans by shitting all over their favourite groups, the K-Pop world would be a much better and more peaceful place.
I get you love BoA or whatever group else, but have some respect for other artists' achievements as well. They are famous by now for a reason and you, who has accomplished not even half as much in life, shouldn't take out the right to look down on them just because you don't like their music, or their looks or a few of their songs. That goes for male and female bands and artists.
Hate the crazy fangirls, hate the crazy fanboys. Don't hate and bash the actual artist because of them, it's not their fault that other people have an unhealthy fascination for them.
why she get flack for bad acting tho how many serious actresses exist in mainstream korean cinema (or any mainstream cinema) when casting has so much to do with looks or brand value
ReplyDeleteThere's an ancient saying that I think is applicable here: Haters gonna hate.
ReplyDeleteKorean dramas are choke full of actresses and actors that can 't act for their lives. What makes BoA special in this regard?
ReplyDeleteI don't care for Boa. She's okay, but there are a lot of Kpop acts with better music. It's always funny when people call her a queen or goddess just because she's successful.
ReplyDeleteShe was successfull in a country that prefers their music over the korean
DeleteNo shit. What's your point?
DeleteAs far as I know, people call "queen" (of something) the most successful woman on that field. It doesn't have anything to do with quality or good music. I may not like 90% of her ballads (though I love her R&B/Hip-Hop infused Pop songs, and those kinda electronic/synthy too), but she was the one who helped spread KPOP when JPOP was all the rage for international fans.
DeleteI like BoA because she has been performing since age 13/14 and for her to keep doing it even though she is already rich, it means that she must truly enjoy it. Also, the fact that she seems to be mentally stable (because she started so young, and at least with American child actors/singers they are all fucked up right now), hailed BoA unnie.
ReplyDelete