I think this story shouldn't have billed as bl story, sure there are elements, but the story goes into length how idols (specifically k-pop idols) market themselves, typically in idol story setting, we either get the perspective of a guy in his idol training, or successful idol, or a company managing the idol, not the idols themselves who enter into a music group and how they work hard to stay relevant
This manhwa accurately depicts the idol working and parasocial relationship, though it tries to make it seem so wholesome and passionate, ironically this whole vibe captures the true nature of actual idol promotions, platforms like Weverse exclusively caters to the fandom where they engage in parasocial relations. South Korea heavily industrialized their popular music industry so much that they like electronics and automobiles, constantly launch new groups with new concepts but with same basic music scores, kind of like Electronics and Automobiles (atleast in that aspect, there is a hidden innovation)
So to compensate for staleness, the group members were "kawaiified" (i.e. made them appear childish or cute in their appearance and manners) or "eroified" (i.e. made them appear sexually tempting in their appearance and manners) and the korean music landscape is dominated by these idol group labels which means independant music artists culture seem lacking and the famously brutal south korean society and its heavy expectation on studies mean pursuing music is non starter and the only way fot them is - idol group where they are taught to sing, perform and become stage presentable and people who are interested in music production were trained, but the idol cycle means the company immediately looks to cash in and so imports the song writing and just adapts to the market and launch it with a concept
And the fandom culture is brutal, besides parasocial relationships, shipping and fights, it thrives on attention and drama at the expense of idols. They dont view them as human with a passion to sing, but rather "singing pokemons" to collect their merchandise. The fandom doesnt even really enjoy the music but rather the surrounding aspects of this toxic culture
So, in this environment, going viral is the only way for these idols to go popular. Currently, k-pop is riding on hallyu wave and korean products are now dominating the consumer culture, but the next 10 years, it'll be chinese cultural exports that'll dominate cool consumer culture and we are already seeing it. Chagee coffee, Labubus, Chinese luxury EVs, tiktok platform itself and so even the top companies would struggle to keep these groups relevant, let alone a small irrelevant group like 4ever in this story
And so, the MC is doing everything he can to not only stay relevant, but also become famous. I gotta respect this guy, he's average but he's a marketing genius. He himself singlehandedly made his group and the backing company become popular. This guy is a marketing genius and I think he should have worked in marketing or sales rather than in idol industry, but even then, his talent as a promoter is extremely valuable and even if the group breaks, he can easily negotiate with the CEO and simply become CMO for that company or take that skillset to other industry because, its not easy to make a group not only go viral, but also become popular and he took every advantage of the fandom system.
I dont think he truly likes his fans, sure he likes them and tries to keep their attention as positive as possible, but really I think he's gaming the system brilliantly. So I'd say him cashing in on his popularity as idol while simultaneously honing his marketing skill and if he thinks idol thing is too much he can easily transition from limelight to boardroom
I think this story shouldn't have billed as bl story, sure there are elements, but the story goes into length how idols (specifically k-pop idols) market themselves, typically in idol story setting, we either get the perspective of a guy in his idol training, or successful idol, or a company managing the idol, not the idols themselves who enter into a music group and how they work hard to stay relevant
This manhwa accurately depicts the idol working and parasocial relationship, though it tries to make it seem so wholesome and passionate, ironically this whole vibe captures the true nature of actual idol promotions, platforms like Weverse exclusively caters to the fandom where they engage in parasocial relations. South Korea heavily industrialized their popular music industry so much that they like electronics and automobiles, constantly launch new groups with new concepts but with same basic music scores, kind of like Electronics and Automobiles (atleast in that aspect, there is a hidden innovation)
So to compensate for staleness, the group members were "kawaiified" (i.e. made them appear childish or cute in their appearance and manners) or "eroified" (i.e. made them appear sexually tempting in their appearance and manners) and the korean music landscape is dominated by these idol group labels which means independant music artists culture seem lacking and the famously brutal south korean society and its heavy expectation on studies mean pursuing music is non starter and the only way fot them is - idol group where they are taught to sing, perform and become stage presentable and people who are interested in music production were trained, but the idol cycle means the company immediately looks to cash in and so imports the song writing and just adapts to the market and launch it with a concept
And the fandom culture is brutal, besides parasocial relationships, shipping and fights, it thrives on attention and drama at the expense of idols. They dont view them as human with a passion to sing, but rather "singing pokemons" to collect their merchandise. The fandom doesnt even really enjoy the music but rather the surrounding aspects of this toxic culture
So, in this environment, going viral is the only way for these idols to go popular. Currently, k-pop is riding on hallyu wave and korean products are now dominating the consumer culture, but the next 10 years, it'll be chinese cultural exports that'll dominate cool consumer culture and we are already seeing it. Chagee coffee, Labubus, Chinese luxury EVs, tiktok platform itself and so even the top companies would struggle to keep these groups relevant, let alone a small irrelevant group like 4ever in this story
And so, the MC is doing everything he can to not only stay relevant, but also become famous. I gotta respect this guy, he's average but he's a marketing genius. He himself singlehandedly made his group and the backing company become popular. This guy is a marketing genius and I think he should have worked in marketing or sales rather than in idol industry, but even then, his talent as a promoter is extremely valuable and even if the group breaks, he can easily negotiate with the CEO and simply become CMO for that company or take that skillset to other industry because, its not easy to make a group not only go viral, but also become popular and he took every advantage of the fandom system.
I dont think he truly likes his fans, sure he likes them and tries to keep their attention as positive as possible, but really I think he's gaming the system brilliantly. So I'd say him cashing in on his popularity as idol while simultaneously honing his marketing skill and if he thinks idol thing is too much he can easily transition from limelight to boardroom