K-pop's fifth generation: the rookies rewriting the rules
Hearts2Hearts, KiiiKiii, ALLDAY PROJECT, AHOF: what the 2025-2026 rookie class really says about K-pop's fifth generation and its new methods.
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Korea
Society11 min
Aegyo: The Korean Art of Performed Cuteness
Baby voice, finger heart, buing buing: aegyo is a Korean relational language. Origins, repertoire, the gender debate, and its Asian cousins decoded.
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Korea
Society8 min
The Korean Idol System: Trainees, Agencies, and the Star Factory
How the trainee system works in South Korea. Recruitment from age 10, 2-7 years of intensive training, Big 4 (HYBE, SM, JYP, YG), trainee debt and 2025 reforms.
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Korea
Pop Culture8 min
The five generations of K-pop: from Seo Taiji to NewJeans
Seo Taiji, TVXQ, BTS, NewJeans: what really separates K-pop's five generations, with dates, founding groups and shifts in the model.
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The Kotoba Interactive journal. · Kotoba Interactive