Irene, Kep1er, Jiyoung
On the most recent episode of QNA, Donovan and I spoke with the hosts of Comic Timing about the comics industry, which like Hyman Roth, has been dying of the same heart attack for the last twenty years. I think it’s easy to hit the panic button in situations like these, as Korean luminaries recently have with regards to the local film industry. On the press tour for No Other Choice, Director Park described a “state of great danger.” It was only the blockbuster release of The King’s Warden that would appear to course-correct from the COVID slump, but there are perhaps deeper, systemic problems.
Given how quickly pop culture globalized, it’s the same as it is everywhere. Production houses like Netflix and Amazon are tech companies, subject to the cosmic tides of infinite growth and the according enshittification. Yeah, Apple shows are high-quality now, but give it a few years. Along with the apparently muted return of BTS, we could be seeing the end of South Korea’s soft power prominence. Look at the most recent Oscars, celebrating a year in which Park and Bong Joon-ho put out films, and the Academy chose instead to honor the K-pop homage and the remake of a Korean movie (one of the more head-scratching nominations). So, I’d never go so far as to say that the bright spots are any more narratively significant than the others, being skeptical of the whole story, but there are bright spots.
Irene’s Biggest Fan
Irene, for one, who continues to defy the odds. Toward the tail end of Red Velvet, her future career was the most difficult to predict. Wendy and Seulgi were destined for solo success, while Joy and Yeri were making inroads as actors. Aside from one COVID-era feature role, Irene’s acting experience has been pretty limited, and as if in a vote of confidence, she was part of a subunit before debuting as a solo artist (like, “Irene is only palatable with a side of Seulgi”). To my surprise, 2024’s Like a Flower was well-received by an audience who has not always been receptive to Irene. For every fan enamored of her legendary visuals, there’s an anti-fan who finds her fussy and off-putting, and that’s actually my own deduction. I find Irene fascinating, and she’s one of my favorite idols because I know she’s as authentic in front of the camera as she is in private because nobody would be such a bad idol on purpose. She’s famously not a people pleaser, and it always seems like she’s uncomfortable, or out of place, but I find that sympathetic. And I certainly don’t require that an idol be machine perfection (which, in truth, is rarely if ever the case), but all the same, I would never want to meet Irene. She’s terrifying.
So, the success of Like a Flower was amazing to see. And now we have Biggest Fan, charting well in Asian markets as well as countries like Australia, Italy, Russia, and Mexico, according to Chosun. That one-two, I think, is doing a lot to change the narrative on the Red Velvet leader. She’s not just a pretty face – no matter how often her music will literally remind us that she’s the original visual (not even true, by the way, as Yoona was the first visual center) – but a reliable, daring artist. Personally, I think Biggest Fan is a near-perfect album, with “Black Halo” being the only “meh.” I’d never argue that Irene evinces a lot of range in her vocals, so I’m surprised that by the end of her ten songs here, I feel like I could keep going and just listen to Irene forever.
As mentioned in previous coverage, Irene is the Red Velvet soloist who most embodies the spirit of Red Velvet, if Seulgi leans more trendy, Wendy more pop-punk, and Irene & Seulgi generally missing the quality bar. And yet, Biggest Fan is even more melancholy, recalling songs like “Body Talk” and “Hello Sunset.” It has a soft touch, consistent with Irene’s characteristic half-whisper, unusually soothing here. Often, in Red Velvet music, Irene is spooky, a far cry from the light, bouncing tracks “Love Can Make A Way” and “MTV.” These songs remind me of blasts from the past like Nelly Furtado or Natasha Bedingfield, or even Wendy’s own “Best Ever.” And then the moody synths of “Face to Face” offset the autotune on Irene’s vocals, giving the performance an affected, cyberpunk feel. There’s a lot to love here.
Addicted 2 Kep1er
Accepting Kep1er into my K-pop repertoire has been like a religious conversion. I’ve spoken before about my discomfort with the fourth generation, informed as much by the idols’ ages as a perception of a “trendy,” Western-styled sound. I mean, that’s Kep1er on both counts, with the youngest members born a little after 9/11, and their latest album, Crack Code, adapting – appropriating – the feel of American hip-hop. Of course, K-pop is rooted in hip-hop and R&B, but an act like Red Velvet creates something new. It might be a difference between sound and theme, with Crack Code’s single “Killa” driven by aggressive posturing, “Mic Check” ending with “and we out” in English, and the very title “Lowkey” derived from Black gen Z slang, to say nothing of the final track, “Addicted 2 Ya.” Once we’re more firmly in hip-hop territory, there’s an issue of authenticity, which was part of Kendrick Lamar’s ascendance over Drake in 2024. For Kep1er, all of this is a put-on, a performance – in literal and figurative terms. This is instead of following the model established by the artists they’re inspired by, pulling from their own journeys and hardships. And man, K-pop idols could fill books with all the shit they’ve been through.
So, the ironic thing is that all those songs cited above, which compose Crack Code, are really good. They’re fun and confident, and easy to listen to. In the end, I’m not sure what to do with all this. I like the music, but it makes me feel a little weird.
Youngji Would Never
For the last story, just a PSA, in case you were unaware of Jiyoung’s YouTube channel, which has seen active uploads lately. Wow! But here’s the catch: they’re only a minute long! I mean, this is consistent with Kara lately, where I’m getting nothing from Gyuri and Nicole and Seungyeon (never Seungyeon), and you know, Jiyoung is one of those busy idols. She’s a straight-up star in Japanese film and television, which is pretty impressive. Like, she was the lead character in the Orphan Black remake. Not a Japanese actress. Jiyoung. That would be like in Hollywood, if all the British actors taking our jobs had to learn a new language to do it. So, I get why she’s a more private idol, in stark contrast to the other half of Jiyoungji.
Anyway, I’m still waiting on a few of the latest Jiyoung projects, especially something called I Kill U, of which I’ve watched some of the fight scenes on YouTube. Good stuff!
With Eyes East 