#kbs drama series

[baesuzypics]

[160704] pt 2. Bae Suzy, Kim Woobin & Lim Juhwan at 'Uncontrollably Fond' press conference

so excited for suzy and woobin's reunion in their new drama🤭

[mahealinskis]

The 5 times Jihoon had his heart broken for being a gay idol in a homophobic and hypocritical industry

[naksushadows]

[lgbtally4ever]

NOBODY ENTERTAINS AS WELL AS THE SOUTH KOREANS!

W/ eng subs

[ashstillalive]

Welcome to my blog <3

I'm Ash if you didn't already know and I'd like to welcome you to my chaos

Big announcement here

Moodboard by @cheekyboybeth <3

Moodboard by me<3

About me:

I use They/Them pronouns

Im a minorrr

I'm incredibly British

I mostly reblog anything and everything maurauders but on occasion I rant about my life or criminal minds 😍

I'm a Pagan Wiccan but respect all other religions and love learning about the different beliefs it really interests me so feel free to drop me an ask about anything to do with your religeon you love to talk about <3

My fandoms:

Maurauders, Criminal minds, Wednesday/Tim Burton, Good Omens, Heartstopper, Aggtm, The folk of air series, Greek mythology (I'm getting into the rioridan universe slowly but steadily).

My favourite artists:

Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Conan Gray, Chappell Roan, Emei, Rennee Rapp, MARINA, Tate McRae, Melanie Martinez, Alec Benjamin, Artic Monkeys, The Neighbourhood, Ayesha Erotica, Charli xcx, Cavetown, Black stone Cherry, Chase Atlantic, Cigarettes after sex, Dove Cameron, The Front Bottoms, Manëskin, Eminem, Green Day, Halsey, James Marriott, Leah Kate, Melina KB, Mad Tsia, Liana Flores.

Sad Girl Poetry:

words will never hurt you they said

Dear Mum, I'm sorry

Whos on your mind

Everything feels wrong

Trust in you

I had a best friend once

One year passed

Change myself

My other Blog:

@ashwriteschaos my writing acct

My rp Blogs:

@xen0-lovegood my Xeno blog, @rj-mo0ny-lupin my Remus blog, @andro-black my Andromeda blog, @hey-its-lils my Lily blog, @everyonesfavouritebitch-barty my Barty blog

My tags:

#ash chats= when I share random things that I do/ that happen to me in my life, #ash hates the weather= Where I complain about how the weather changes in a blink of an eye (Or about how brits aren't made for the heat and my school is killing me with the weather), #Ash acts= I talk about whats going on in my school drama club or my theatre group, #read with Ash= I update you on the book I'm reading, #ash answers you= responding to asks, #my beautiful moots=Responding and chatting with my beautiful Mutuals. #Ash's poetry=My poetry its a tag I just added and will be used for all my poetry

‼️i don’t tolerate any racism, any of the phobias, or people being shitty persons with fucked up morals to others on here, so please think before you come into my inbox, i will block you if you promote any form of hate.‼️

My wonderful Moots:

@cheekyboybeth @lifeto-be @ll-until-the-very-end-ll @stars-on-my-bedroom-ceiling @james-potter-yall @somewereinthegalaxi @im-ur-sleep-paralysis-demon @aj-mblvck @mrtoadthetoad @cantspellanexitey @jamespottersconverse @motheyesofnight @starving-marauder-lover @theoristswan5683 @my-castles-crumbling @corey-writes-stuff @the-cursedentity @yourlocalbadgerscales

(I'm sorry if I missed anyone 😔)

Dividers by: @xxbimbobunnyxx

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: January 2024 ~ 

✨ Happy February!!! 🎭

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post! 

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank In Hen - January 2nd (Japan) 

🌟 Ossan's Love Returns - January 5th (Japan) 

🌟 Refund Love - January 7th (Thailand) 

🌟 Time The Series - January 9th (Thailand) 

🌟 Intern in My Heart (BL side couple) - January 10th (Thailand) 

🌟 Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Although I Love You, and You) - January 11th (Japan) 

🌟 Beside You (mini series) - January 11th (Thailand) 

🌟 I Wish You Love - January 21st (Thailand) 

🌟 Happy Ending - January 23rd (South Korea)

🌟 Love for Love's Sake - January 24th (South Korea)

Monthly likes/dislikes

👎🏻 I've been catching up on some KBLs from last year this month and sadly most of them were very disappointing. I put a few on my watchlist that generally had good reviews but yeah let's just say I'm glad I didn't miss anything in the last 2 years lol. The only one I liked was Love Mate, the rest was pretty much pointless. Hopefully the upcoming ones will be better 🤞🏻

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Beating Again (dance-themed, starring Kaownah K., Earth K. and others) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Unknown - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 The Book Store - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Term Begins - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Mafia Prince and the Bookworm - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Black Forest - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Go Alone With Me - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Can I Love You? - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 The Shining Star - Date TBA (Vietnam)

🎥 At My Fingertips (Unintentional Love Story spinoff) - Coming May 2024 (South Korea)

🎥 Connecting To You - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 The Star (movie) - Coming March 2024 (Thailand)

🎥 What's the Nong? - Date TBA (Thailand)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ Actors Mike Chinnarat, Fluke Pusit, White Nawat, Pluem Purim and Lee Thanat have left GMMTV.

❗️ After Korean actor Choo Youngwoo won an award for "Best Rookie Actor" at the recent KBS Drama Awards, he came under fire for not mentioning his participation in the BL You Make Me Dance which launched his career and earned him the award.

❗️ Actors Jin Hoeun (All Of Us are Dead), Kwon Hyuk (The New Employee), Byun Junseo (Perfect Marriage Revenge) and Nam Yoonsu (Extracurricular) have been confirmed to star in the upcoming BL Love In The Big City, which portrays the life and love of an HIV-positive gay writer.

❗️ ZeeNunew and GeminiFourth won an award respectively for "Best Thai Artists" at this year's Seoul Music Awards.

❗️ The Chinese BL Stay with Me is getting an audiobook. The series furthermore recently confirmed its second season, further details are unknown.

❗️ Over a year after its initial premiere, the Thai BL To Sir, With Love won "Popular Foreign Drama” at this years's Vietnam Face Of The Year Awards.

❗️ The Thai BL Playboyy will no longer air on youtube after the suspension of the channel due to explicit sexual content. The show will continue to exclusively air on Gagaoolala, as well as RakutenTV.

❗️ Actors EarthMix had a cameo appearance in Ossan's Love Returns; they will star in the Thai adaption of the same name later this year. Details about the production are still unknown.

❗️ MileApo (KinnPorsche) were announced to star in the upcoming series Shine. The show is an extension/spinoff of Man Suang and focuses on Khem and Chatra's story in more detail.

Upcoming series & movies for February

👉🏻 Anti Reset - February 2nd (Taiwan)

👉🏻 Perfect Proposal - February 2nd (Japan)

👉🏻 City of Stars - February 2nd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Love Syndrome: The Beginning - February 8th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Baka Pwede pa? - February 9th (Philippines)

👉🏻 1000 Years Old - February 14th (Thailand)

👉🏻 My Strawberry Film - February 16th (Japan)

👉🏻 A Secret Love - February 17th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Unknown - February 24th (Taiwan)

👉🏻 Wedding Impossible - February 26th (South Korea)

👉🏻 Kiseki Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 - February TBA (Thailand)

[blamebrett]

MHJ v HYBE: A Tyler Perry Production

That's right, y'all! From the studio that brought you the Madea series and Testimony, we now have

Diary of a Mad Hype Girl!

Let’s first put that into perspective. Min Hee Jin has had 2 press conferences to HYBE’s ZERO press conferences. And yet she wants HYBE to stop the media play…moving along.  She calls two national emergency conferences and did an exclusive KBS interview. Fortunately, she kept this one brief, less than 2 hours. There are a few things I want to discuss about the first and second press conference: 

Presentation is the Key to Manipulation 

Min Hee Jin showed up to the first preference channeling her inner Felicia from Friday wearing a oversize shirt and hid under a Dodgers hat. She did this to remind everyone that like Gwen Stefani, she’s just the only girl in the world. Which was smart in a way, no one would ever sympathize with two power hungry people vying for power. She knew what she had to do to gain the public, or so she thought. Even though she went to the Tyler Perry school of acting, most people did not feel empathetic to her cause. So she switched tactics and came dressed modestly, and pretty simple, if I must say.  She dressed like a modern woman, but not too elegant, and her demeanor shifted from frantic to polite. 

The Two Faces of Min Hee Jin 

This woman to ramble and rave without a clear thought pattern in her first. I mean, she was only two seconds from channeling R. Kelly and screaming “I’M FIGHTING FOR MY FUCKING LIFE.” This time, she was so polite, but her arrogance was also in full display.  As she stated during the press conference, she felt vindicated by the courts. Even Korea is feeling whiplashed from her changes in personality. She’s so weird and manipulative, and it leaves many question “who are you.”

Well, here’s what I think about her. 

Apple Music currently playing “I’m just a girl” next song, “Human nature” by Michael Jackson

Let’s make a drinking game out of every time she said she was human. 

Reporter: “How do you feel about how Le Sserafim is being treated?”

MHJ: “I’m getting targeted to!”

Reporter: “What about New Jeans”

MHJ: “I love them…they checked on me and comforted me because I’m human and I have emotions”

Reporter: “What about BTS now being questioned about their album sales”

MHJ: “I didn’t want to tarnish their names, but I’m human”

Somehow, this grown ass woman has found a way to always make herself the center of the conversation, and no other victim can exist outside of her. It’s maddening. And while I’m not an Army, those men have worked hard to keep their brand rather clean, the girl groups are just starting out so they need to build their brand to be as clean, and yet, here comes MHJ like a racking ball, not giving a fuck. 

I’m so over her. I’m so over this drama, and quite frankly, she’s not even getting more than half of my hanger in the situation. 

BIG BACK ASS BANG YOU’RE NEXT~

Overall, Tyler Perry did a great job with this production. MHJ surely learned from his acting and has manifested into a great actress. I find Jigsaw to be the next best role for her. Tell me what y'all think.

[absolutebl]

Was wondering if you keep track of BL music videos and if you have recs for something similar to Tu Tem (https://youtu.be/4GuR_g75ufY) and Tu Tem 2 (https://youtu.be/5d6IiLmjQYg)

These two vids have so much drama packed in and w/ their god damn plot twists, I ended up wondering if there's more like these out there

You want ...

The OnlyOneOf BL MV series 

YooJung (main dancer, visual) - begin - BL love story continued in... 

KB (lead rapper, visual) - be free - continuation and other side of above story 

JunJi (lead vocalist, lead dancer) - be mine - second BL couple story continued in... 

Rie (lead vocalist, lead dancer) - because - other side of above second couple, this one has the BL pool trope and is a break up MV 

Mill (main rapper) - beat - this is my favorite of the series it’s a “saving him from his bullies” romance, very cute, completed in... 

Nine 'beyOnd' (vocalist, mak) - beyond - other side of above third couple, bit of a bad boy trope

These last two are the ones who are reported to be staring in forthcoming KBL Bump Up Business.

I talk about some of the BL MV's that I know about at the bottom of my Kpop Idol ins BL tracing post:

More Kpop MV BLs:

K.will - Please don't... - unquestionably the most famous, this is a tragic BL and features two extremely famous Kdrama actors from almost a decade ago! 

Park Won - Fuxxxxx crazy - features Han Se Jin from Mr Heart and Lee Ki Hyun from Light On Me) 

Park Won - Fuxxxxx crazy - in English, vocal by 스텔라장, with additional sexy footage 

The Rose - Beauty and the Beast - 3 fairy stories, one of which is gay 

OnlyOneOf’s hit libitO also has BL themes. 

LOVE is RIGHT

Bonus: 'Fuxxxxx Crazy' MV Making Film 

Most of Holland’s stuff is hella gay, but not necessarily BL. 

Taiwanese BL actor, Lin Yu (OuWen in Love is Science?) featured in a sad gay MV

[beardedmrbean]

Recently surfaced North Korean footage has captured the North Korean government's crackdown on citizens, including teenagers, for consuming banned South Korean media.

The footage, obtained by South Korean production company KBS Media, shows a public denunciation session where a group of young girls, including a 16-year-old student, are publicly humiliated and arrested for the offense.

Pyongyang maintains tight control over the flow of information within its borders, forbidding citizens from accessing foreign music, films, and TV series. Those caught violating these restrictions face severe penalties, including public shaming, imprisonment, and in some cases, execution.

The Kim Jong Un regime views South Korean media as a direct threat to its ideological purity and legitimacy, heightening crackdowns on such content in recent years.

The footage shows a young girl identified only as Choi, breaking down in tears during a public denunciation session—a form of organized group criticism employed by communist regimes such as North Korea, the former Soviet Union, and China under former Chairman Mao Zedong.

"I made the mistake of listening to and distributing impure published propaganda," Choi said into the microphone during the hearing, according to KBS's translation. The footage then shows her being led away in handcuffs.

Though such public punishments are commonplace, a North Korean defector surnamed Jang who fled the country in 2020 expressed shock at the public punishment of someone so young.

"I've never seen school students punished like this before," she told KBS. "The fact that they were handcuffed is really shocking to me."

The video is part of over 10 recordings obtained by KBS, most of which were produced after May 2021.

North Korea closed its borders in early 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country finally reopened its borders to returning citizens in August 2023.

Video under the cut

North Korea's rigid control over media intensified in 2020 when Pyongyang enacted what has been dubbed the "evil laws" as part of its crackdown on perceived external threats to ensure loyalty to the regime.

These laws target foreign cultural products, including media and also South Korean slang.

"The North Korean authorities have been policing and cracking down on foreign culture for over a decade now, but the three new laws formalize and strengthen the draconian punishment for the offenders," Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, a legal analyst for Seoul-based NGO the Transitional Justice Working Group, told Newsweek.

Shin pointed out that the degree of punishment is linked to the gravity of the offense.

"The distributors are generally more harshly punished than the consumers," he said. "Similar to how other countries would deal with narcotics-related crimes."

The South Korean Ministry of Unification's 2023 report on human rights abuses in the North highlighted testimonies from defectors who witnessed public executions of young adults simply for watching K-dramas and listening to K-pop.

Pyongyang earlier this year amended its constitution to label Seoul as its primary enemy.

Despite the harsh punishments, South Korean media continues to penetrate North Korea, often via activists in the South who send USB drives filled with dramas and music into the North using balloons.

USB drives filled with South Korean media sent north by activists in the South have further inflamed tensions. The North has retaliated by sending balloons south laden with trash, and in some cases human waste.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson previously told Newsweek that Washington, DC advocates human rights and the free flow of information in and out of North Korea and condemns the country's three "evil laws" and "draconian punishments and youth targeting."

The North Korean embassy in Beijing, China, and U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to written requests for comment.

[heretherebedork]

So there was this tweet going on around and this is about the actor Choo Young Woo who did a BL named "You Make Me Dance" (the twink guy)

“It's so disgusting when an actor who debuted in a BL pretends that his debut work never happened I don't like it when a straight person acts in BL, but I tolerate it. Now if he wants to turn this into a dark story, his own queerphobia will be revealed, Choo YoungWoo, who won Rookie of the Year at the KBS Drama Awards.”

-https://twitter.com/simhwae_pub/status/1741442390588858442?t=Bmn2M1aJ30nHQo7FskFdqA&s=19

Context: He was being criticized not only interfans but also kfans because in his award speech, he did not acknowledged his debut series YMMD. Didn't even mentioned it. As they dig in more, apparently he unfollowed his co actors, deleted all promotions, materials related to YMMD. Hence, the backlash.

Now here are my two cents in this one:

Yes, at first it kinda is frustrating and dissappointing that you won an award and don't even acknowledge the series that made you the star that you are now. One of the series that is a catalyst for the K-BL wave. Like, if you don't want to do BL or even ashamed of it, then don't. It just makes you look homophobic.

But then again as i think about it, he lives in Korea; A Conservative Society who still treats the Queer community shit and 2nd class citizens. I would understand why he did not acknowledged out of the fear that he might get intense backlash of it. Or maybe his own company asked him not to. I mean, look at what happened with Jaechan at that fishermen variety show and how Jiwoong also probably faced backlash for doing BL. So, yeah it is sad, but there is nuanced reasons. That's why i admire and respect those two because they're brave that they did BL, and even proud of it even if they will face homophobic backlash from the people.

What about you Francis? What's your take on this one?

Honestly? I have almost no stance on what actors do outside of the shows because I have no idea what their managers, publicists, parents, friends, anyone is telling them or what matters to them in their career or their culture.

I do not know these things and it's why I rarely talk about actors outside of their characters or specific instances in shows and behind the scenes moments. I do not know enough and I don't want to know either, frankly.

Actors do what they need to do for their careers and I fully respect that, whatever it may be.

There's also a ton of cultural aspects that I know I don't know and I fully respect that people living those lives to do the best thing for their lives rather than for me to judge.

Who knows? He could be homophobic and regret his choice or he could be following the advice of people trying to help him succeed or maybe he had other issues. I genuinely don't know. And I never will. Because I don't know him. Heck, everything that the fans know about him is performative end of statement.

So... I don't have an opinion on it. I won't have an opinion on it. Or any other actor. Actors are real people and I don't know them and I will not judge them because of that.

I mean, there have been so many backlashes that have been taken back against other actors because of misinterpretation or because of cultural clashes or because they matured in years to come and there is no way for us to know what's happening.

Which is to say...

I dunno.

[reginarubie]

Ciao!! Scrivo in italiano perché è la PRIMISSIMA volta che trovo una persona italiana nel lato fandom di ao3 di ASOIAF e quindi sto particolarmente gasata nel voler scrivere in italiano- (sentiti libera nel rispondermi in inglese se vuoi, soprattutto in risposta alla domanda che sto per farti!)

IN PRIMIS......amo le tue ffs.

A mano a mano le sto recuperando tutte, ma sono particolarmente affezionata alle tue jonsa, in particolare "The Tale of the black Knight and his fair lady wolf" e "Like wolves in the darkness" ed è qui che arrivo al dunque chiedendoti di quest'ultima: la continuerai? 👀👀👀

Spero questo messaggio ti trovi bene e di nuovo complimenti per le tue ffs, perché davvero meritano!

Detto questo...buona serata!!

(P.S.: il tuo fancast di Sansa con Cristiana Capotondi è SPETTACOLARE, è diventato il mio Roman Empire da quando l'ho visto)

Ciao @idkcallmelauren !

Prima di tutto, ciao e benvenuta nel mio antro! Sono contenta di sentirti così gasata! Effettivamente non é comune trovare italiani nel lato fandom di asoiaf che siano attivi su ao3 di questo periodo. È anche una vita che non rispondo ad una ask o un commento in italiano :)

Quindi risponderò per un po' in italiano per poi passare all'inglese quando risponderò sugli aggiornamenti delle mie jonsa.

II tuo messaggio mi trova bene e spero che la mia risposta ti trovi altrettanto bene e grazie mille per i complimenti, a volte quasi non riesco a credere di essere arrivata fino a qui quando ho cominciato a scrivere in inglese solo per puntiglio ad imparare la lingua meglio e provare alla ma prof. Delle medie che non era vero che non sarei mai stata capace di imparare l'inglese (detto poi in sede d'esame, la simpaticona) comunque, come sempre sono immensamente felice che le storie riscuotano questo successo (che per me è enorme).

Quando ho scelto adam driver per la parte di jon mi serviva una Sansa che fosse all'altezza e sono sempre stata letteralmente innamorata di lei soprattutto nelle vesti period drama quindi è stata nella mia testa una scelta scontata ❤️ (anche se il materiale da editare è relativamente poco non ho scrupoli nel riadattare O utilizzare più volte una stessa scena).

Now on to your questions about LWITD I usually write braccio even if I do have a slight idea of what I wanna do and write, which means that at times I write myself in a corner. I have been working on and off on the next chapter but I keep returning to the beginning of it and erase it all to write it from scratch again.

Right now I have several chapters ready for the Celia spin-off and the kbf-kbs serie so I am focusing on those mainly until I get struck by the inspiration on how to write myself out of the corner I got myself in LWITD, though I have given myself a dead-line - even if I am not completely satisfied with the chapter I will post it by Christmas and go on, jumping over the obstacle so to speak (maybe I am just not meant to be satisfied with this chapter; after all not all chapters I have written have satisfied me completely).

So worst case scenario you'll get an update of LWITD by Christmas (before if I manage) and I should also be able to post soon the next chapters of the soulmate jonsa story and DGITF with Aegon and Jon bonding even more.

Grazie mille! Spero tu abbia una grande e meravigliosa giornata per questo inizio di weekend❤️

[baesuzypics]

[160704] pt 1. Bae Suzy at 'Uncontrollably Fond' press conference 🦋💙

[mahealinskis]

Bump Up Business in the Junjiverse

[naksushadows]

“Keep people close to you. Do things that you want to do and enjoy your life. Don’t live just for me.” – Grandmother

[kudouusagi]

hii, do you know if there's plans to make more CD dramas of KB? I know there's 8, the last two being somewhat recent additions

There aren't currently plans to make more drama cds.

The reason the last two CDs were so late was because the CDs were originally made by a company called inter communications but it went out of business so there weren't any made for a while.

Movic finally picked it up and "finished the series" with volumes 7 and 8 since 8 was supposed to be the original ending of the series but then Takanaga started off saying she was just making a few volumes of "extra stories" and then just kept writing more.... so here we are 6 volumes later without plans for more drama cds lol

It's possible if people send in requests to Movic for them to make more cds they'll pick it up again. I know the last time someone asked Takanaga about it she told people to write in to them to tell them people want more cds.

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: Only One Of (Supplemental)

A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. All this to say, for the love of god, I’m a sleep-deprived student and I don’t have time for internet hate, so don’t kill me. With that being said, enjoy!

So, since I’ll probably be tackling some groups with large discographies, both now and in the future, I thought it’d be good to shine lights on some smaller groups and soloists who either aren’t as popular and/or have much smaller repertoires, so that’s what we’re doing today! These are going to be a lot more chill than my deep dives because they’re really more of a fun break than anything else.

Here are my credentials: I’d already been a fan of SHINee for a while before, but it was actually OnlyOneOf that helped me realize that I wasn’t just a girl group stan and SHINee weren’t just a one-off. I’m mainly a fan of their Underground Idol solos series so I’m looking forward to hearing more of their other titles and b-sides. Let’s do this!

OnlyOneOf debuted in 2019 with seven members: Love, Nine, Yoojung, Rie, KB, Junji, and Mill (Love left in 2021). They’re most known for their…concept in a way? Basically, for basing their music around queerness, while not stating their actual orientations. This is thorny territory, as k-pop is infamous for its shipping and fanservice-heavy culture, which we could argue about until we’re so blue in the face that we’d be mistaken for smurfs. Is it queerbaiting? Is it representation? I know what I believe, but is that “right”? I don’t know. Either way, it’s important to keep in mind (even as I’m going to praise them for the good work they’ve done) that what they’re doing is, at the end of the day, proving profitable.

We start off with Savanna, which has one hell of a music video intro. The song is more subdued than I’m used to from their later singles, but with a similar subject matter. It gives me Taemin vibes with its self-assured sexuality, but speaking of sexuality, what would later make them famous is basically non-existent here. I do like this song, especially the slowed-down reverb and distortion, but it’s not especially unique, and it didn’t have a lot of staying power with me. I love the drama of the visuals though—I’m a sucker for cathartically lighting things on fire. (For the FBI agents reading this, I promise that that was a joke.)

From the Dot Point Jump single, I enjoyed the chill soft-rock of Time Leap, which absolutely did have staying power for me and I added it to my playlist. I really liked that chorus, and by the end of the first one, I was in. I think their voices both blend better and feel more unique in this one than in the title, which is probably another reason I liked it so much. Blossom I enjoyed less but it reminded me more of what I’m used to from them.

Sage is up next, and again we have a really odd MV intro. A lot has changed since Savanna—now, the song has much more sing-talk, feels more disjointed in terms of when the tempo changes, and it has a greater focus on the cyberpunk citypop vibes than before. It also adds a greater sense of drama with the slight strings and the control in the voices. It took me a few listens but I like this one too, more than Savanna, and I can see how the singles are slowly shifting to become the OnlyOneOf they are today.

Line Sun Goodness is a pretty solid EP, and I enjoyed the whistling hook in Boss, the chill guitar in Desert, and the breathy layers of vocals in Only One Of Me (which was my favorite). However, the songs, despite the few quirks I mentioned before, sound very similar to each other. None of them are bad, but none of them stick out either.

Dora Maar goes even further in the direction that Sage began, with its harsh background clanging, its heavy use of percussion, and reliance on more intentional frying in the vocals. I wasn’t as big a fan of this one as Sage, to be honest, because I felt like it went from the calmer (yet still fried) parts to the harsher ones, and I got a bit of whiplash.

Angel was a song that I’d heard before, but I actually had no idea that it was by OnlyOneOf. It’s catchy from the outset, and has a self-aware humor that I could get behind. It’s also softer than their usual titles, and that little bit of vulnerability is a good balance for the flashier parts of their discography. That repeating rap in the pre-choruses caught me off-guard every time, I have to say, and by the time I’d gotten used to the new tempo, we were back to the usual. I have no idea why it's there, because it really didn’t have to be. I really liked Heartbreak Theatre from the single, because I love some drama and that piano was perfect.

A Song Of Ice & Fire pulses with a great energy, and I was nodding my head through the first verse. I was worried they’d go with the dreaded anti-drop chorus and they kind of did in the second half, but thankfully the rest of the chorus is quite strong. I liked this one, but I actually have the opposite comment I have on the rest of their songs, which is that I wish it carried through that great build up through the chorus, because they were almost there…but no. I didn’t have a hidden gem for this single.

Libido is the song that I think most people know from OnlyOneOf, and it’s obvious why: unlike many of their singles, it’s pretty unique. I was surprised that what they’re so known for started here and not before though. Between the choreo, the lyrics, and the music video, it definitely breaks the boundaries of what’s normal in k-pop. It’s a song I appreciate more than enjoy, I’ll be honest, but I do like the pre-choruses. I know the whole point is that the chorus comes out of nowhere, but it’s not for me. I admit though, the “girl I just wanna know” makes me cackle every time, because what girl? Where? There is not a girl within a 10 kilometer radius, folks. If we’re aiming for plausible deniability, that train left the station halfway through the first verse with whatever the hell Nine’s character was doing watching Love take a bath.

From Instinct (Part 1), my favorite was Instinct, because it has good drive and its vocals match perfectly with that distorted guitar instrumental in the background. It’s definitely not a combination I’ve heard before, but it works quite well. The other songs are similar to other b-sides from earlier, in my opinion.

Coy is calmer and more subdued than their usual singles as well, while still keeping the smooth sexuality that defines much of their work. I think it needs more of a show stopping moment, personally, but this isn’t a song for me. I don’t have a hidden gem from this single, but I did like Night Flight.

Skinz gave me a jumpscare right away, I admit it, with that scratching noise grating on my ears. It continues the queer themes from Libido. Unlike a lot of their other work, it doesn’t have enough of a balance between the harsh distortion and the gentler moments, because there really aren’t enough gentler moments for that to happen. It’s just not a pleasant experience on my ears, and not one I want to repeat either. OnlyOneOf has a lot of charisma but none of it carries through enough for this one, and quite frankly, I don’t like it. From the single, I think that Suit Dance would’ve made a better single with its well-flowing vocals and jazzier beat and I also liked Ultimate Bliss.

It’s nothing new for idols to release solo music while still part of a band, but Only One Of’s “Underground Idol” series is absolutely unique. The members were divided back into their branded pairs for this, and each pair told the story of a couple from two different perspectives. Yoojung and KB were the first in Begin and Be Free, Junji and Rie were the second in Be Mine and Because, and Mill and Nine were the last in Beat and Beyond. This series is both where I found them and where, at least to me, a discography that could have been seen as queerbaiting-for-profit becomes something that genuinely means so much to so many queer people, myself included.

Begin, fittingly, begins the solo series, and expertly captures the feeling of boredom expressed in the music video until, of course, we get the meet-cute and literal crash into each other that begins the relationship too. The song is a gentle, breathy city pop sound, and feels both hopeful and resigned (“when you’re free from prejudice, freedom will begin”), reaching a catharsis in its understated bridge (“It’s time, and I know it.”) as Yoojung’s character takes care of KB’s when he’s drunk. Never has a k-pop song title so fit a song, because it’s about so many different beginnings: the relationship, the freedom, and even the journey of coming out itself. I like this one.

Be Free is Begin’s other side, and starts where it left off. As befits the title and its character’s personality, it’s far more open from the beginning and knows what it wants right out of the gate (“Hey guess what?”), while also embracing a funkier, brighter sound that feels more joyful. The relationship continues, and the characters bond deeply in the space of a night (a very queer thing in and of itself), before they end up waking up together, shirtless. Genuinely, the first time I watched this, I was shocked that they were so open about it, despite the fact that nothing is shown, and it was this that began to change my mind on the subject of queerbaiting. The story shown here is given an open ending—we have no idea what happens after that one day—but the final line (“You never know, baby. One more time could make it right.”) seems to hint that it won’t end here. I like this one more than Begin, but it’s not my favorite.

Be Mine starts the second of the three stories, and, again fittingly to the title, feels softer and more romantic with its gentle piano as Junji’s character runs after Rie’s. This duo shows an established relationship between its characters as they have a summer romance that involves dancing, listening to music, cooking, and just spending time together. Its slow and settled melody isn’t for me, personally, and neither is its seemingly out-of-nowhere rap verse, but on the whole, the song is very sweet.

Because was actually the first song I’d heard by OnlyOneOf, since it was recommended to me about a week after it came out, and, as previously stated, changed my mind that I was only a girl group stan. I was surprised by it right out of the gate, and was soon won over by the quite convincing intimacy between its two characters, its quiet folding of paper cranes, and overall bluntness of its subject matter. The song is nostalgic and feels lived in, waffling between comforting and melancholy as the characters have a fight and go their separate ways while all their best memories replay, then reconnect many months later (though it’s left open whether they get back together). It’s genuinely quite touching; I wince when Junji’s character smacks the paper cranes off of the table and I hurt for Rie’s when he’s heartbroken. It was my favorite of their songs when I first watched it and it’s stayed that way since.

Beat marks the start of the third and last series, and sticks out from the rest of the songs in the solos with its harsh beat and most of the song is either sing-talk or outright rapping. Mill is the group’s rapper, so I do get it, but this one is just too grating for me. The video shows two students falling in love with each other while facing hinted-to-be-homophobically-motivated bullying and dealing with both the fear and the excitement of that love. The song does fit the video, I’ll give it that, perfectly connecting with the insecurity and genuine danger the characters face (“wanna tell them to beat it, beat up, beat out”), and the video ends with Nine’s character falling into Mill’s arms after getting beaten up.

Beyond is the last of the Underground Idol series, and rather than match the harshness of Beat, it goes the exact opposite way, and is quite an understated slow burn mixed with citypop that makes the most of Nine’s smooth and soothing vocals, meaning that I enjoyed this one much more. Its lyrics are quite lovely with how they mix floral imagery (“perhaps it’s withered; my heart is dried up, but you take root”), and openness (“Baby, I wanna make you mine”), and captures the head-over-heels feeling of first love quite well. These two videos don’t push boundaries in the same way as the first two sets do, only because they tell what is a quite well-trodden story rather than breaking new ground, but seeing the characters take care of each other is very sweet. The quiet, mutual moment of realization at the end where they’re lying next to each other and move to kiss feels very comfortable and honest.

The description box written for Beyond on their official YouTube channel states: “How did our music reach you, who are far away? How did our small melody crafted in Korea reach you, who are on the other side of the world? To all those lovers who do not feel like they’ve been given the blessing, we hope our music will comfort you and cheer you up. We hope you’ll dream the same dream as us.” Is it a little cheesy? Perhaps. But does it make me emotional? Absolutely. Does it still matter? Hell yes.

The thing that really felt meaningful to me was the mundanity with which the characters live their lives; they may face internalized or external homophobia, but what the solo series gets across so well is how normal and everyday these people are, no matter who they love. The best way I can explain it, as a queer person myself, is that it feels like another queer person wrote and planned these six songs. They feel very honest and self-reflective, and don’t try to tiptoe around their subject matter, which I really appreciate. Look, I’m not going to speculate on whether any of the members of OnlyOneOf are queer themselves, because I frankly can’t stress enough that unless one of them bursts through my window at 2 am with a megaphone and tells me to share it with the world, it was and remains none of my fucking business.

Seoul Drift is their latest comeback, and similarly to many of their other full-group singles, it’s not that fun to listen to. It follows Skinz; there isn’t really a break in the song, which normally I’d be a fan of, but here it just makes it feel overwhelming and unnecessarily harsh. I like the idea of it—the lyrics are pretty good and the whole idea of loneliness and the intensely fast pace of life in Seoul in the MV intrigues me—but the execution just doesn’t win me over.

From the album, Seoul Collection, Blue Blue Seoul stuck out to me. It’s breathy and soft, and it moves along with an inviting, almost warm feeling. It feels a lot like a song from their Underground Idol series, which is probably why I like it. I love the way the voices are layered and how the minimalistic background gives them a chance to grow.

OnlyOneOf have gained attention yet again this year, not only for their earlier comeback but for their participation in Bump Up Business, a short drama adaptation of a BL webtoon that stars Mill and Nine as two k-pop idols forced to do a “business gay partnership” (basically, act like they’re in a gay relationship with each other), who actually end up falling in love. You can see why this is causing a stir, when their whole concept already has people declaring it queerbaiting.

Personally, I honestly don’t know where I stand, because I do think that they do genuinely important, boundary-breaking work, but they also play into the queerbaiting and the lines between characters they play and the idols themselves are intentionally made smaller. I applaud them for acting in this and having the guts to actually kiss on screen, and despite how toothless the show is, I did watch it and go “aww” at several points.

I’m glad I did this! Even if I didn’t end up becoming a Lyon or a fan, I did still have fun with this, especially watching the series and the solos, and a couple interviews (which gave me some good laughs, so thanks guys). I also learned that Nine and KB are very involved with the writing and composing of OnlyOneOf’s music, which is something I really appreciate that happens to be quite rare in k-pop.

My top 5 songs from Only One Of are Because, Time Leap, Heartbreak Theatre, Be Free, and Beyond, with Only One Of Me as an honorable mention. Only One Of gets a 7.75 / 10 from me. To be honest, I’ve found that besides their Underground Idol series and a few odd b-sides, their music is mostly not for me. I do really appreciate the self-production, the important messages, and the experimental quality of a lot of their work, but at the end of the day, this is my blog and it comes down to personal preference.

Next time, we’ll be doing part two of the Red Velvet deep-dive and next week we’re restarting the one-group-a-week schedule with a boy group. Tschüss!