Today in K-Pop

BLACKPINK member Jisoo is drawing attention online after sharing a batch of behind-the-scenes photos from her new Netflix series “Boyfriend on Demand” — a move that comes as the idol-actress once again faces mixed reactions over her acting. On March 12, Jisoo posted several photos on her personal social media account along with the caption, "I'm freshman Seo Mi-rae." The images quickly spread across fan communities and social platforms, where fans praised the cheerful set atmosphere and the singer’s college-student transformation. The photos show scenes from the filming of Netflix’s original series “Boyfriend on Demand,” which stars Jisoo in the lead role. In several shots, she appears dressed as a freshman university student wearing a varsity-style department jacket, portraying a youthful campus look. Other images capture her smiling alongside fellow cast members on set. One scene features Jisoo wearing a kendo uniform, while actor Seo Kang-joon, who plays a senior member of the university’s kendo club and a virtual-reality date partner in the story, stands beside her.

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Short-form platforms are changing the nature of K-pop. While overall quality and musical flow once defined a song’s success, a 15-second “killing part” can now determine whether a track goes viral or fades away, pushing K-pop songs to become noticeably shorter, to the point where even three minutes can feel too long. Chorus first, built for challenges ILLIT’s “Not Cute Anymore,” which gained traction on short-form platforms, runs just 2 minutes and 12 seconds. Other songs popular on such platforms are similarly short, all falling under the three-minute mark: Le Sserafim’s “Spaghetti” runs 2 minutes and 53 seconds, BLACKPINK’s “Jump” 2 minutes and 45 seconds, Jennie’s “Like Jennie” 2 minutes and 4 seconds, Hearts2Hearts’ “Focus” 2 minutes and 58 seconds, and TWS “Overdrive” 2 minutes and 40 seconds. The compact length is driven by structural changes that minimize introductory sections and move quickly to the chorus, reflecting the nature of short-form platforms, where content needs to hook users immediately. The shift has been developing in K-pop fo

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When recent online disputes between Southeast Asian and Korean netizens were reposted on Chinese social media, Irene Jin felt a sense of deja vu. For the longtime K-pop fan, the arguments echoed a wave of anti-Korean sentiment she remembered well from years earlier — one that had put K-pop fandom in the crossfire. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a wave of large-scale criticism of Korean idol groups over cultural appropriation,” said Jin, who has followed K-pop for more than a decade. “Many groups used elements associated with traditional Chinese culture in their content — such as Chinese knotting and folding screens — but often described them broadly as ‘Oriental style.’” The disputes have played out repeatedly. In 2020, stage outfits worn by girl group Mamamoo drew criticism from Chinese netizens who argued that the designs drew too heavily from Hanfu, China’s traditional clothing. They rejected the group’s characterization of the costumes as a modernized take on hanbok, Korea’s traditional attire, framing them instead as an appropriation of Chinese cu

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