u/Creative_Handle2205

There’s obviously been a lot of discourse around the tour, what people feel is lacking, the disappointment with the reduced choreo and the wider reactions to ARIRANG as an album. It had me thinking, to be honest: maybe artists should release tour tickets after the album release/promotions have actually happened.

I know this is just how the music industry works, and I also know there’s a commercial angle here. Companies and record labels obviously benefit from selling tickets before people have fully seen the direction of the era, so realistically they would probably never want to do this.

But still, it would let people make a more informed decision. If people had already seen the Netflix show, the reduced choreo there, the album rollout and the overall direction of the era, some might have decided the tour was not worth spending money on.

And that’s fair. If the performances, choreo, music or general creative direction disappoint someone greatly, they should ideally know that before buying tickets rather than after. Because damn, some of these reviews I've seen have me feeling sorry for people who spent serious money and are just not happy.

ALSO, I obviously know people can be disappointed by certain aspects and still enjoy the show overall. Those things aren’t mutually exclusive. I also know most people are enjoying the tour.

It just seems that some people don’t necessarily enjoy art or an artist’s vision for its own sake, and that’s not an insult. For some fans, concerts/music is less about trusting the whole creative direction and more about wanting a specific kind of experience. When money is hard to come by, this all makes sense. I can't help but think that this would solve a few issues and friction.

I was recently listening to my playlist on shuffle and Change by RM and Wale came on, followed by Strange by RM and Agust D, and it got me thinking about how politically grounded a lot of BTS’s lyrics used to be. I absolutely love those types of songs from them, and "Change" is one of my favorite songs of all time.

I’m not saying they don’t still have that now in some regard. I can see those same tendrils in songs like Aliens and Body to Body, as well as in their solo projects, like j-hope’s Equal Sign, Agust D’s Haegeum, and others. But I’m curious what everyone thinks: do we think the days of foregrounding such politically direct lyrics in group music are over because of their massive popularity now?

Will we ever get another Baepsae, Go Go or N.O? I know UGH was adjacent, but to me it still wasn’t quite the same. I also wonder whether, given how wealthy and globally famous they are now, that kind of critique could be read as patronising by some people, even if the sentiment is sincere.

I’m not saying this as a criticism at all by the way. I’m genuinely just curious about everyone’s thoughts, cause I was thinking on it. I also know this might be a bit of a narrow take, since I’m probably not accounting for every song or project. I’m not claiming to be the paragon of sense here, just genuinely curious.

As a Black kpop fan, this entire situation is becoming genuinely exhausting to watch.

I understand wanting accountability. I understand Black fans wanting to know which idols have said certain things, especially when anti-Blackness in kpop is not exactly rare. I also understand that there are different cultural contexts, varying levels of awareness, language barriers, generational differences, etc. None of that means Black fans have to just ‘get over it.’

But at a certain point, scrolling through timelines and threads that are just endless compilations of idols saying slurs, racially charged terms, CA and memes about it starts feeling less like accountability and more like spectacle. It becomes a competition of ‘well YOUR idol also did this’ or people trying to rack up gotcha moments against fandoms they already disliked. And honestly, as a Black fan, it is incredibly insensitive and emotionally draining to constantly consume that content.

A lot of people claim they care about Black fans, but the way these conversations happen often says otherwise. If your first instinct during conversations about racism is to weaponise incidents for stan wars, dunk on rival fandoms or repeatedly spam clips/slurs without any care for the Black people who have to see them, then what exactly is the goal here? Because it does not feel like education, accountability or solidarity.

And before people twist this: no, I am not saying people should hide things or that Black fans are obligated to forgive idols. I am also not saying discussions about racism should never happen. They absolutely should. But there is a huge difference between thoughtful accountability and turning racism into fandom ammunition.

Being a Black fan in kpop spaces is already uncomfortable enough sometimes. You are constantly balancing enjoying music/artists while also being aware of the industry’s issues with anti-Blackness, cultural appropriation, stereotypes and ignorance. So when discourse devolves into mass reposting of racist incidents for entertainment, drags or engagement farming, it just makes the environment feel even more hostile and dehumanising.

Not every discussion about racism needs to become a sort of weird disingenuine fandom courtroom where people are desperately trying to prove their fave is the least problematic person in the industry. Sometimes the answer is simply: yes, this was harmful, yes, people are allowed to be upset, and yes, people can also grow if they genuinely acknowledge it and most importantly do better.

I just wish people would approach these conversations with more maturity, nuance and actual consideration for Black fans instead of treating racism/anti-blackness like stan twitter/kpop reddit battle cards.