Chapter 214
Chapter 214
Around the time TeSTAR was busy preparing for their move, the public—waiting for the new Netplus variety show created by the "crew from Idol Inc."—was in quite an uproar.
This was because the bait in the released trailer was top-tier.
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[Am I the only one who thinks the new show by the Idol Inc. crew looks mid?]
I don't get why they’re groveling to K-pop haters, begging them to like K-pop… It feels like cultural sycophancy.
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-Agreed, I felt the exact same way.
-This. So much this.
-There are plenty of people who already love K-pop, so going out of their way to gather haters like that looks really desperate.
-It feels like watching one of those "rehabilitating delinquents" survival shows. Instead of doing that, they should shine a light on hardworking, passionate people. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-?? I don't think that’s the vibe… Isn't it more like, "Hey, you weak Americans, get a taste of K-pop hell"?
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s how I saw the trailer too.
-Getting bashed for sycophancy on one side and nationalistic pandering on the other. They’re getting hit from all directions. Impressive. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-It’s annoying that they keep churning out this kind of low-quality trash, but it’ll probably do well. People are already losing their minds over just the trailer. Ugh.
-The undisputed king of buzz. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Furthermore, the production crew waited until the chatter and controversy reached their peak before subtly releasing official details about the program's content.
-The K-pop idols are mentors, and they gathered a bunch of American attention-seekers for a K-pop Hell Camp. Only the survivors get the prize money.
└ Holy Shit ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ This is insane.
└ How do they even come up with this? Does the crew actually run camps in hell or something?
-Our boys are already busy enough, and they’re making them do this? It’s absurd, but it’s also hilarious.
└ You must be a TeSTAR fan. This is the karma for buying Idol Inc. stocks and raising that production crew. Tsk tsk.
└ I joined the fandom during Haengcha, you prick.
And just as the controversy began to die down slightly, articles about the mentor lineup started pouring out.
The sheer scale of the cast left people stunned, leading to another wave of posts about the show.
-Wait, VTIC is actually appearing?;;;
-No, Jae-hyun... You're so smart, why would you choose this?
-Golden Age is in it too. Did they get picked because they’re from Idol Inc.? Hmm... ㅋㅋ
└ Now they’re ranking idols even for a Shitty variety show. These people kill me. ㅋㅋㅋ
└ Yeah, whatever, nugu.
-It’d be hard to get this lineup together even for a weekend primetime show. What is this, a 2000s-era Dream Concert?
-TeSTAR probably got dragged into it because the Idol Inc. crew considers them their "royal blood." Poor guys.
As for the TeSTAR fans, who had already resigned themselves after seeing Park Moon-dae in the trailer, they had already gone through their cycle of outrage and exhaustion.
-Well, at least they aren't mentors for a new season of Idol Inc.
-They’ve appeared on more variety shows during this promotion than ever before. I guess one of them can be something like this... Lol..Lo...l!
-TeSTAR will do what TeSTAR does. They’re so good that I’m actually looking forward to it. (That’s a lie.)
-I just hope the kids don't suffer too much during filming.
Many fan communities concluded their discussions with sentiments like, "I just hope TeSTAR doesn't get their feelings hurt while filming."
This was because the Spring Out promotions had gone perfectly, and with the positive indicators from overseas, the fans were feeling less defensive than usual.
The minor controversy regarding Ryu Cheong-woo’s camera had also long since subsided thanks to their frequent appearances on major variety shows.
Thus, amidst the lukewarm reactions from the idols' fans and the less-than-favorable buzz from the general public, the show aired its first episode.
[K-NOW!]
[K-pop is for losers! These attention-seeking participants, whose only goal in life is to be celebrities, fall into an unexpected quagmire.]
True to the introduction, the production crew highlighted the extreme traits of several of the 24 participants, using the magic of editing to emphasize two commonalities:
They were starved for attention.
And they looked down on K-pop.
Naturally, the reactions from domestic viewers watching in real-time were just as extreme.
-Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is making me so mad.
-Is that really what the average American thinks?
-This is genuinely unpleasant... What is wrong with their mindset?
-The guy who said "This is real music" or whatever—I really want to punch him in the mouth.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s just funny. Koreans are taking this way too seriously.
-I actually kind of relate to what the participants are saying... Idol songs these days all sound the same. ㅠ
└ Okay, boomer.
The participants engaged in power struggles and marveled at the various sponsored goods in their fancy lodgings, but that didn't last long.
Finally, the infamous scene arrived.
[The K-pop mentors are arriving now!]
[3, 2, 1]
[Ta-da!]
[Oh my, the screams are everywhere!]
The participants, shown screaming, getting angry, or looking flustered, were still portrayed as unlikable and shameless.
Faced with that alien sensibility, the viewers now took a step back and watched the spectacle as if they were simply watching idols appearing on a foreign show.
-I’m about to turn this off.
-I want to skip ahead. ㅠㅠ
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why is this so funny to me? The idols are all so handsome and professional. The contrast is giving me such a nationalistic high. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
If it had continued like this, K-NOW! would have likely lost its domestic buzz and fizzled out after the first episode.
However, the atmosphere shifted in the next moment.
[You will be facing off directly against the K-pop mentors!]
[The categories are singing, dancing, and photography!]
[That’s right, the very items you listed as your 'specialties' on your applications!]
-What?
-Wait.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Are they doing a competition here too?
-Stop talking nonsense.
But it was the truth.
[Great! So if I win, I get 50,000 dollars?]
[Honestly, I don't think I'll lose. Yeah.]
[With a pop song? Mm-mm, there's no way I'll lose. Sorry, guys, you made a mistake.]
Once again, several arrogant participants were given significant screen time.
They argued aggressively over song choices and photo themes, then took the stage looking like amateurs filled with nothing but baseless confidence.
In contrast, the idols were shown looking very calm and kind.
[Aha, so you're giving us one hour?]
[I guess I should work hard.]
[Should I put this here?]
-Seeing them like this, they really look like a different species.
└ They are a different species.
└ LOLOLOL!!
And then, in the latter half of the program.
The idols, competing with nothing but their raw skills, absolutely slaughtered the participants.
[Victory, Victory, Victory!]
Combined with the Idol Inc. crew's signature dramatic editing, the scenes were brutally refreshing and dominated the screen.
[Oh my, there's no need to see more!]
[It’s another victory for the mentors!]
[It’s overwhelming! Hmm, do you still want to say the camp is useless?]
[Participant: Dammit...]
The results remained the same, from Park Moon-dae’s meticulously edited first vocal stage to the dance stage where everyone wore masks.
In an instant, the internet was flooded with reactions.
-Wow, holy Shit, I’m so proud.
-Crazy Park Moon-dae, you madman. I knew it. That first-place experience doesn't go anywhere.
-Get a tiny little taste of K-pop hell.
-Please give us the Keun Se-jin fancam in the teddy bear mask! Release the behind-the-scenes! ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-I can't believe only Americans got to see this. Do it in Korea too.
-This is so fun. The Idol Inc. crew really knows how to spice things up. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The viewers of survival programs were already suckers for formats that involved pure skill-based competition.
On top of that, seeing the K-pop idols they felt emotionally close to win so decisively provided a thrilling sensation, much like winning a sports match.
However, some people still had doubts.
-Is it... is it really okay to promote this nationalistic flavor to the English-speaking world? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-I don't think it'll be a hit in the US. They’ll probably find it offensive. ㅠ
-Yeah, I feel like they’ll be repulsed by how much they’re hyping up K-pop.
-They probably all stopped watching when the idols started noob-stomping them. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
But that wasn't the case.
This was because the international audience was viewing the program through a different lens.
It was the joy of "reformation."
They didn't feel any sense of kinship with the participants yet; instead, they were thoroughly enjoying watching them suffer.
The production crew had done an excellent job of giving the participants traits of "annoying people you've met in real life."
-Guys, take this chance to grow up a bit. (Tongue-out emoji)
-Oh please, that blonde guy in the cap is exactly like my ex-boyfriend who used to post weird stuff on Inheart all the time.
-This is actually pretty funny.
-I hope they’re all reborn as PG-rated people like the 'K-pop' stars. (Laughing emoji)
Here, one of the representative images of K-pop was performing exceptionally well:
The image of being "wholesome."
The setup of these wholesome, all-ages-friendly idols giving a reality check to toxic attention-seekers was quite peculiar, yet it worked perfectly.
-It feels like watching a reality show where they take mean kids and send them to a special summer camp. (Laughing)
└ Popular opinion: It’s true.
└ And that camp has K-pop (rainbow and unicorn emoji) instructors!
To the English-speaking viewers, the whole thing felt like a humorous parody.
At the same time, they began to feel a growing fondness for the K-pop idols who excelled in the show.
-Everyone is so kind and dignified! It’s actually kind of touching.
-That kid in the hoodie is an amazing singer.
-I heard they start training from a very young age. I guess it wasn't for nothing.
Existing K-pop fandoms worked hard in the gaps to promote and spread information.
-The kid in the hoodie never received any training! He was a 100% ordinary person from an audition! He’s just a bundle of talent and hard work! ♡
-Their latest song is incredible. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in a mix of Orientalism and Steampunk. (Link)
-It’s surprising to see people finally recognizing the good points of K-pop. What, are you guys living in the 90s?
And even before these reactions could be translated and brought back to Korea.
The reactions of viewers who had even a slight knowledge of K-pop converged into a single voice due to the preview for the next episode shown at the end of Episode 1.
[Look at that, our most senior mentor is appearing!]
[Mentor: Hello.]
A close-up shot of VTIC’s Cheong-ryeo appeared.
The production crew had intentionally withheld his face during the initial appearance of the K-pop idols, only to reveal it in the preview.
-Holy Shit, Cheong-ryeo.
-He’s soooooo handsome.
-Wait, what did he do?
-Shin Cheong-ryeo, come back to Korea right now.
[Mentor: I hope you learn many things at this camp.]
Cheong-ryeo delivered his lines in clean English.
[Mentor: Ah, the name of this evaluation is... 'Learn from VTIC.' It will probably be a meaningful training session for you.]
[Mentor: Because we are famous.]
Cheong-ryeo gave a gentle smile.
Accompanied by tense BGM, the preview ended with short cuts of the participants glaring.
-The crew is basically saying "Watch the next episode, you b*stards." ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
In this way, the new variety show from the Idol Inc. crew secured its buzz once again.
It was a very smooth yet noisy start.
However, TeSTAR—who had vowed to watch the show "as soon as it came out"—was currently in a state where none of them could check the reaction, despite being the stars of the show.
There was a reason.
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Do it again! Do it again!"
"N-No...! Th-this is right!"
"Whoa, A-hyun is being this assertive with his refusal?? That’s suspicious."
"You're the one who's suspicious."
"Guys... it’s been two hours."
They were currently over-invested in an overtime match of the roommate assignment game.
It was a side effect of the fan-service content they had started lightheartedly after moving.