Category: stray kids

Hit the Klaxon? (G)-IDLE and Aespa Confusing Summer Concepts

Something that I noticed this summer, is that Korean girl group (G)-IDLE’s July album release ‘I Sway’ felt disjointed and didn’t land. As I watched the beach dancing sequence in the music video, I thought I was the only one, but as I’ve browsed K-Pop subreddits, I am far from the only one feeling weird about this song and era.

I saw discussions about whether (G)-IDLE’s concept was going downhill or what was going on with this album. I have been confused by what a ‘klaxon’ is. Is it a made-up word? Is it a Korean word? Why did the trailer look like the song was going to be set in a city with old cars and instead we get cringe choreography on the beach while the members dance in swimsuits that feel so unoriginal and not true to (G)-IDLE’s normal aesthetic.

It’s vaguely Californian but honestly, the beach could be anywhere? The stage performance and dance challenge shorts feature the members in lifeguard-themed outfits that look like the lifeguard hoodies you can purchase at Wings at the Outer Banks. The dance challenges feel off, not even Changbin really got into it. Which I was looking forward to, as the weird sexual choreography where they pop their chest at the “honk honk” lyric sounded funny for a boy group member to do.

I did learn, from The Grand Tour ironically, that “Klaxon” is an old-fashioned turn for a car horn. Yeah, weird. A bit too niche. Maybe if the music video was more car-focused or the lyrics had built on that theme more the theme would have meshed well with the name and the choreography? 2Baddies and Faster from NCT 127 are two examples of car-focused songs and a car-focused music video that works well, a girl group building on this theme would have been cool!

I personally find this comeback disappointing because so far in 2024, (G)-IDLE has been one of my favorite bands. Super Lady and Wife were amazing concepts that challenged the norm without being trite. (G)-IDLE for years now has been so fantastically original and pushing back against the stereotypes women navigate. Hoping this is a fluke and not a full-on concept change.

Last Summer I had similar concerns about Aespa after their ‘Better Things” comeback which seemed to bop between a mermaid water concept and a sitcom “Friends” style. It was a different song for the band too, with a slower concept, less beat-heavy. In that way it reminds me of Stray Kids ‘Lose My Breath’ music video and concept from this year. Where Aespa was less successful than Stray Kids was that they couldn’t quite blend the conflicting aesthetics and song style together into something that landed. This song, Better Things, has grown on me in the months since they released it, but it isn’t one I listen to regularly.

I hope ‘Klaxon’ does the same. What surprises me the most with these concepts is that the coconut girl, mermaid-core, beach vibes aesthetic is not landing. You would think releasing this in the summer would be a hit, but these concepts just didn’t come to fruition in my opinion and other K-pop fans.

To be fair, I still don’t like the ‘Lose My Breath’ aesthetics, it was interesting but not a favorite compared to other Stray Kids concepts and maybe that is what ‘Better Things’ and ‘Klaxon’ are suffering from. Maybe the other stuff is so good, just peak concepts, that these good but not great concepts seem like flops?

Japanese Update with a Twist: July 2024

Moving and all the little details involved with purchasing a house wreaked havoc on my routines and productivity. I stubbornly vowed that I would not fall behind on my knitting project, my sewing plans, my writing goals for this blog, my Bible reading plan, and my language learning but honestly, it did! I lost all those good habits and since then, yeah my language learning has been spotty at best.

I did a little bit of learning while at my mom’s house where I spent an afternoon reviewing my hiragana and katakana flash cards where I felt like I was being defeated by the language. I would quiz myself and make some gains, do it again, and then I would forget the ones I had remembered previously. There was no perceivable progress and I was frustrated.

Frustrated by my lack of focus and lack of consistency in my life at that point. Frustrated that my Japanese study books were stored and questioned if I should have kept them out. Worrying that I was going to lose all my progress. It was a downward spiral. When I was studying my life was still in chaos and I think it showed in my studying. My perfectionism was coming on strong instead of being willing to learn, to fail, and to keep practicing.

Once we closed, June was basically a month of hauling cubes, cleaning, and finding our life once again. But in July I began to feel the lack of habits getting to me. I had a place to work, but instead, I was prioritizing sewing, knitting, and recording the process for Instagram and the blog. Although those are productive, not having that sense of order and balance was irking me. I was pleased with how balanced I was in the spring, I was working on, creating, learning, and progressing. Instead of letting myself get bummed out, I needed to keep fighting to reclaim those habits. I’m so excited about this new home and the space it has to pursue the things I want to do. I needed to accept that this chaos was temporary and discover a new plan.

To get started I’ve been blocking out activities for focus. Laundry on one day where I balance with knitting. If I sew I tend to do it all on one day where I can stay in my sewing studio. Cleaning in the morning, and my personal projects in the afternoon. I’ve been challenging myself to be in the moment and let things be out of my control. If I forget to workout, or read my Bible, instead of making myself feel bad I’ve shifted my perspective to looking forward to tomorrow and the ability to do better.

But what about my Japanese language learning? This idea came to me randomly. I was watching a video that had to do with K-pop and the person was saying she was also learning Korean through Duolingo. Well, I remember Duolingo. It was an option I tried before and got tired of. I questioned whether I would actually learn Japanese to the level I would like and if it was a gimmick. Feeling like I needed to break up my studying routine, something to jump-start my drive and get me motivated again, I decided to re-download the app. This time I mixed up my plan though – I signed up for Korean lessons and picked up my Japanese progress from 2022.

So yeah, I’m learning both now. This probably sounds insane but I watch so much K-pop content on YouTube, particularly the SKZ Code episodes. I listen to K-pop most of the time, and I like K-dramas. While watching M*A*S*H, I realized that they were actually speaking Korean and that I was picking it up because I was already learning Korean by exposure to Korean content. So why not start the process officially?

My plan is to practice on Duolingo and then pick up actual learning books because I have learned in the past year that Duolingo is a tool to practice with but it does not replace other resources and taking the initiative to study. Duolingo has its limitations but it also has one good feature – reminders! And pre-made lessons which are such an amazing thing when you are feeling stuck. This has been the jumpstart I’ve needed for Japanese. I’ve been getting into a habit again!

The last thing that I’ve added to my learning routine is watching Haikyu, a Japanese anime about high school volleyball. It is epic! I’ve been watching it with subtitles and getting immersed in the language like I have been able to do with K-dramas. I’m so encouraged by my enjoyment of Haikyu because I would love to find more anime shows to watch.

Oh, I almost forgot – I have also started listening to J-pop through an Ateez collaboration with the Japanese boy band Be First. I’m hoping this will continue my immersion into the language so that I can improve my listening skills and pronunciation. Things are looking up and I am feeling encouraged! 🙂

My Spring 2024 Soundtrack

The Dawn Chorus – Robin at 5 am

Super Lady – (G) IDLE’s performance at the MLB Seoul Game

K.K. Bubblegum

Car doors shutting and opening

Japanese spoken in conversation – Coupy Camper Channel

Lose My Breath – Stray Kids (feat. Charlie Puth)

Bamboo Knitting Needles & the pulling sound of yarn leaving a skein of yarn

Endless Phone Calls – Samsung S23

Endless Text Notifications – Hala Hala by Ateez

S-Class Whistle – by Felix

A tin lid opening – Rooibos tea tin

Suicide is Painless – M*A*S*H

Wife – (G)IDLE

The rushing current of Wolf Creek tripping over rocks and weeds

Buzzing of bees and other insects pollinating wildflowers

Old WW2 jeep noises – TFL Classics

Dogs barking endlessly

Tap – by Taeyong

The sound of nothing – noise-canceling headphones

The sound of paper being shuffled while I organize

Fabric being cut by pinking sheers

A gentle clicking noise – Grammy’s Rotary Cutter

Arriba and Jongho’s high note – Ateez at Coachella

Slow even rhythm of a properly tensioned sewing machine

Sigh of frustration at Google’s AI Results update

Dash – by NMIXX

Branches swaying in the breeze

That’s very noice! – Felix, Hyunjin, and Chan

Scratching sound of pastel against paper

K.K. Soul

Killin’ It – P1 Harmony

Clarkson’s Farm Season Three Theme

Learning Japanese from K-Camping, Bunny Content, and Going Back to Basics

Since starting this language journey over a year, my learning style has changed a lot and I feel like I’m falling into a rhythm that is helping me retain what I’m learning instead of feeling overwhelmed. Let’s get into it!

When I started learning in 2023 I decided to go “by the book” I thought and bought the books, used college textbooks to be exact, and dictionaries, thinking it would help me tackle this with ease. What I learned as the process went on is that I don’t have a lot of experience learning languages like I thought. I got distracted by the process I set out for myself – working through the textbook, and in turn, procrastinated like a champ.

What helped me get my motivation back was diving into the language itself and leaving the grammar rules of the textbook behind, like diving into hiragana, katakana, kanji, and some vocabulary. I made hiragana flashcards and katakana flashcards. I began learning kanji from an account called the Joy of Kanji on Instagram, as well as started learning vocabulary from Hamasuke’s Japanese Learning channel on YouTube. This was a great way to start learning words and putting the sounds and the alphabet of syllables together in my mind. I would watch Hamasuke’s channel when I rode the exercise bike to try to keep me motivated and it was fun.

Getting Advice From A Native Japanese Speaker

Online I follow several Japanese language teachers as well as many Japanese creators, one of these creators shared advice on an ‘Ask Me a Question’ story post after a follower asked for Japanese learning tips. He said to memorize hiragana and katakana, learn vocabulary and kanji, and immerse yourself in listening to people speak Japanese and worry about grammar and sentence structure later on. Starting in 2024, that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s been back to basics and it’s working.

Kinda obvious actually, I mean that’s how we learn our first language, but I think when we are learning as adults or learning a second language, we overcomplicate. I was doing that! I’m so glad that this person shared this advice because it’s taken the pressure off and given me a clear path to follow. It’s been game-changing!

My new learning plan has been to copy down hiragana, katakana, and the kanji I started learning on an app so it’s in front of me and in my notebook. I take my flashcards of hiragana and katakana and I write them down. I go through each stack. Sometimes I go through the stack again, and again depending on how focused I am that day. As long as I keep to schedule and do this several times a week, I see progress. When I skip, I notice I don’t make progress and that is motivating to be consistent. This has been better practice for my own retention of the language than reviewing the flashcards on their own.

Recently, I’ve been marking which ones I can guess and which ones I have guessed wrong to begin tracking my own memorization. That has helped me track my progress and I would recommend after you’ve given yourself enough to practice and learn. Where I’ve seen the most growth is in the next thing I’ve added to my learning – immersion in listening to native speakers.

Forget Anime, I’m a Kei Camper and Bunny Girl

It’s been interesting to find that there are a lot of rabbit channels based in Japan on YouTube. Technically I should clarify – they are usagi channels, the word for rabbit in Japanese. I follow several channels – Pocket Usagi, Kogarana’s Bunny Popo Channel, and Hana-chan no Usagi Channel. I’ve been watching Pokke and Milk of Pocket Usagi and Bunny Popo since 2022 and Hana-chan I found this year. They all include subtitles, which I’ve had some trouble following even when I was learning in 2023, the only word I could pick out quickly from the subtitles was Popo-chan. Since following the new learning strategy, I’ve been able to quickly recognize syllables and pick them in the subtitles as well as words like Hana-chan, Usagi, and some kanji that stand out to me like the one for rest.

Where I have felt the most growth has been since watching Coupy Camper Channel over the last few weeks because he has closed captions, and Japanese subtitles to the side, and he also speaks on camera, which the other channels do not. His channel lets me experience the cadence of speech which is different from my English comfort zone and Korean which I hear watching K-dramas. It’s been such an interesting way to either just listen and see what the words mean in my native language or listen and follow the subtitles to see what the Japanese syllables I’m learning sound like and how it all get put together in conversations. It has also shown me how Japanese is written and how to navigate the lines of characters in their vertical structure. Through recognizing the sounds and characters I learned that it is read vertically right to left. It’s helping me understand pronunciation, which is huge!

Coupy Channel is giving me a taste of Japanese culture too from seeing the country from the perspective of a resident, exploring the countryside through his trips, learning about the cuisine from how he cooks, and seeing how it is not that different from life here. I feel common ground and that is helping put the pieces together. I am incredibly grateful for his content because I am not a big anime fan. I’ve tried watching anime and while I love the style, I’ve struggled to find the right ones to pull me in. I will eventually try again. Until then Coupy Channel will be my guide.

LALALALA and ACNH

The R sound in Japanese has been confusing me from the start but unexpectedly, a song has helped me remember the pronunciation to keep me focused on learning the sound when I am practicing. That sound is ‘LALALALA’ from Stray Kids’ ‘樂-STAR’ album. The song is a wordplay of rock in English and ‘rak’ in Korean, the Chinese character means delight and pleasure but rock is the first part of ‘rock n roll’. It’s quite clever. I’ve used this to help me remember to not read the Japanese syllable as ‘ra’ but remember to pronounce it with the softer ‘la’ r-sound.

Animal Crossing New Horizons’ I’ve learned from watching Coupy Channel and the Rabbit channels, features a lot of little details from Japanese culture which is such a cool way to immerse even if it is being played in English. For example, the Firefly squid came to the game in April and I later watched Coupy Channel prepare while camping. In this, I learned the Japanese name for it hotaru-ika. I’ve learned about festivals in Japanese culture and traditions, it’s been a fun primer.

In conclusion, I’m optimistic that I will make some real progress in 2024. Hopefully, the next update will be an exciting one!

A Stunning Green Loewe Shirt

Seungmin in the building! I am beyond excited that Loewe chose Seungmin of Stray Kids to be an ambassador because he flies under the radar but has fantastic potential in this role from his personality to his visuals, this is going to be a great combination.

Loewe was another brand that I learned about in 2024 that is quickly becoming a favorite. I first heard of the brand in a discussion on Fashion Roadman’s channel and didn’t believe it would be for me, but I was sorely wrong! This is next-level art.

I truly enjoy the textures of Jonathan Anderson’s designs. Like the texture on the collar of the leather blazer, the texture of the rolling garden behind the dog, or the fluffy cloud-like texture effervescently emerging from the bottom of his knitwear. Not to forget the carpet-like floor of the black sweater vest with a brown collar. There is fun, there is whimsy, how is it this sophisticated and fun at the same time? I like the way the clothing is draped from the pants to the layers of lightness on his blouses and coats. The stunner is the plaid dress that melts into a stripe and then a solid like Willy Wonka’s Three Course Gum. Have I found a new designer whose work inspires me to want to learn more and create more? Yes.

I.N. and Sean McGirr

Sean McGirr’s debut collection at Paris Fashion Week 2024 – Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show was the most anticipated collection for me because of how bored I was by Sarah Burton’s creative direction. Sarah Burton took over after the death of Alexander McQueen in 2009. Although Sean McGirr’s appointment to Alexander McQueen has been a controversial move, and that’s fine, that is an opinion but not my opinion. I think he has talent and his debut collection, and for me, it has injected a new interest in the Alexander McQueen brand. If I.N. from Stray Kids had not been appointed as a Global Ambassador for the brand, I probably wouldn’t be as excited either, to be honest, I love the collaboration and how I.N. looks in the McQueen silhouettes.

Now, this collection was exciting for one reason, it was weird and was a refreshing expression of knitwear, dresses with pockets, suits, turtlenecks, and what should be worn – like broken glass! I loved how bizarre the fur turtlenecks were for covering the face and the goblet-esque shape. Pockets on the chest for dresses and jackets just seem cozy and a challenge to the norm. The exaggerated and absurdly oversized sweaters are fun and stylish despite the possibility of swallowing the silhouette of the wearer. I think we worry too much about how our bodies look at all times and the usual silhouettes of this collection are a challenge to the standard, I would love for this to go mainstream. I’m sick of leggings and the tight-fitting clothes of recent years. Give me more of this.

Little details that I appreciated the most were the ties at the ankles and arms on suits, the tie bag show covers, and the use of fluffy textures on the front of the body mixed with delicate tulle. I enjoyed the knit skirts, broken glass textures, the pairing of tailoring and oversized drapes that break up the lines of the body in odd ways, and the mix of shine and floof for lack of a better term. I’m optimistic about the future for McQueen under McGirr’s direction. His show was well designed and I loved the music.

The Striped Cat Ear Beanie

The Inspiration

Stray Kids. More specifically, Felix’s hat on stage at the Music Bank Paris performance in 2023 and Hyunjin’s striped crochet beanie during a video in 2023.

The Plan

It seemed simple at first glance but then again, new knitting patterns can be a bit confusing so I did research, to be safe. The cat ear is a corner and the point or drape, depending on the structure of your beanie is created by the length of the hat horizontally across. Once I understood that the shape would be determined by these top corners it was easy to jump in!

So I cast on 50 stitches on size 8 needles with worsted-weight acrylic yarn (I’m allergic to wool) and alternated between olive green and teal every three rows. After 55 rows, I cast off and sewed the two panels together to form this lovely cat-ear beanie. Honestly, such a fun and easy project once the ear structure clicked. 🙂 I’d say if you are an intermediate knitter you could make this over a weekend for sure, potentially in 24 hours if you were in a super rush. As a beginner, I’d say give yourself a week and take your time to keep the stitches even across. Sew up the sides and top with a tapestry needle.

I think the trickiest part was choosing what colors of yarn to use for the striped pattern. I didn’t want to make an exact copy this time, well I couldn’t anyway because I don’t currently crochet, but I wanted to use a unique color palette from my existing stash. These colors are some of my favorites in my stash. I’ve found the color story versatile to style with both cool and warm-toned accessories. I think the earth tones help keep it neutral. I love it and reach for it the most out of all the hats I’ve made in 2023.

Kpop B-Sides from 2023

In 2023, the amount of good releases felt like a never-ceasing wave of music. It was an epic ride, and I’m sad to know the year is almost up. But hopefully, Year of the Dragon will be as generous as Year of the Rabbit was. Here are a few of my favorite b-sides (not title tracks) that made this year melodious and fun.

Also, congrats to 3RACHA for winning Best Creator at the 2023 Asia Artist Awards last night! They deserve it ❤

5-Star by Stray Kids

  • Item
  • Hall of Fame
  • Youtiful
  • Superbowl
  • Topline (ft. Tiger JK)
  • FNF
  • Collision

Golden Age by NCT U

  • PADO
  • The BAT
  • Not Your Fault
  • Golden Age
  • Kangaroo

My World by Aespa

  • Salty and Sweet
  • I’m Unhappy
  • Thirsty
  • Welcome to MY World

Get Up by New Jeans

  • New Jeans

Unforgiven by Le Sserafim

  • Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard’s Wife

Rockstar by Stray Kids

  • Cover Me
  • Comflex
  • Megaverse
  • Leave
  • Blindspot

This World Ep. 2: Outlaw by Ateez

  • This World
  • Dune

Kill My Doubt by ITZY

  • Kill Shot
  • Psychic Lover
  • None of My Business
  • Bratty

Fact Check by NCT 127

  • Parade
  • Space
  • Love is a beauty

Drama by Aespa

  • YOLO
  • Hot Air Balloon
  • Trick or Trick

The World Ep. Fin: Will by Ateez

  • Everything
  • IT’s You

Bunny Hat (Loverboy Hat Recreation)

This is a project purely inspired by Stray Kids and their Los Angeles shows from their 2023 Maniac Tour. I was fangirling hard for these hats, and so are a lot of people because even with a high price tag the hats have been sold out. I really wanted one that would emulate the joy that these hats create in my heart and so I decided to try making one. Now, I’m recreating what I can see in the image and because I am not using a pattern, I have no idea if my dimensions are correct at all. That part actually makes me feel better about recreating the Loverboy Bunny hat because I will have to put my own spin on it!

The Inspiration

Adorable, right? Their stylist killed it. I love how cartoonish the hat is yet at the same time it feels wearable and is warm. A casual staple for a maximalist. The middle photo is from the Maniac M/V which I forgot Seungmin wore this hat in the video. I probably have been wanting this hat for a year and a half without realizing it because I was obsessed with the fashion of the Maniac video in 2022.

The Process

This was not an easy thing to figure out. I referenced photos of Stray Kids members on stage and the actual photos on Loverboy’s site. I made the mistake of including the Amazon knockoff as a reference because the ears are far skinnier. I used the knockoff ears as a guide for my first attempt and finished two ears before realizing they were too narrow. Therefore I cut the knot and frogged my way back to a ball of yarn. Three attempts later I determined the correct ear width. Yes, four attempts. At times this project felt cursed!

I decided to rib knit the ears for two reasons, it was accurate to the original and I would not have to double layer the ears because the tension of the knit would help the ears to lay flat instead of rolling and losing the bunny ear effect. I wanted the ears to have a lightness to them so that they would move with me and even blow in the wind behind me like Lee Know. I have wanted to be a Leebit through this project, maybe that’s why this project was so chaotic.

The hat itself was a different story! This was the easiest process I’ve ever had with the hat and it by far took the least amount of time and fits me quite well. I made note of how wide the pattern was to be able to replicate this style of the hat again in future projects. Possibly another Loverboy hat.

Wrap Up

Overall I’m thrilled with how this turned out! It’s exactly what I was imagining and I am so happy when I wear it. Bunnies are a favorite animal of mine, especially lop-eared rabbits. I like the chaos of the ears and how they drape from the hat crown. I think I will get a lot of wear out of this. I’m looking forward to the cool weather to continue to style this into a look. Because of the reference, it also feels like a piece of merch from the band. I still regret not finding a way to see the Maniac world tour but it just wasn’t the time to go. The Oddinary comeback was my first experience and it remains a favorite for me.

If you have a crazy idea, go for it. You may just make something or make a memory that you will absolutely love. Now I’m going to try to make a mooncake for the first time. Until we meet again.

Being a Gentle Soul in the Social Media Age is Hard

I woke up this morning and was scrolling Instagram to wake up, I was feeling pretty groggy from a mediocre night’s sleep. Acid reflux got me again! Anyways, I saw a post from the Stray Kids official account with a dark square. I immediately had a sinking feeling. After the tragic loss of Moonbin, I knew that Bang Chan was struggling. I hoped everyone was okay. I scrolled down to see the English caption and found a puzzling series of paragraphs. I like many other Stays found this morning, an apology from Chan for his comments during his most recent live on Youtube, Chan’s Room. To be honest, even though I had seen the clip he was apologizing for, it took me a few minutes to register what he was talking about. That is the reason I am writing this, I think some things on social media are getting out of hand, especially for those of us with a gentle soul like Bang Chan. Since this drama was created by K-pop fans, I think as a K-pop fan I should do my part to counteract all the negativity being thrown around and show some love, Stray Kids fam style.

What do I mean by Stray Kids’ fam style? Well, it’s a bit of a tangent, but if you are not familiar with Stray Kids and their band culture – they are one big supportive family. They love “Stay” the fandom name for Stray Kids enthusiasts. They also love each other, showing up in the joyful moments and the hard ones. For example, when I.N., the youngest member, sang off-key at a K-pop competition called “Kingdom” he was so disappointed in himself that he was overcome with emotion that he cried back at the band’s apartment. When the other members, who were in the living room saw I.N. crying in the kitchen they went to him and enveloped him in a group hug, wanting to know what was wrong and how they could help. They are a really sweet group of guys. They are also quite passionate about their work, being one of the hardest-working bands at JYP Entertainment. Bang Chan who is the leader of the group, along with Han and Changbin write and produce the band’s music. He also hosts a weekly live stream on Youtube called Chan’s Room where he interacts with the fans through live chat.

As a fan, not knowing him personally, he comes across as a very dear person, truly caring for the fans. His responses to questions are so thoughtful. He genuinely does not seem affected by their fame, it is one of the reasons why Stray Kids is so popular. That is why this whole controversy is so bizarre to me. Okay with context established, so a fan on the live asked about an event called Music Bank Paris that happened in April, I believe. There were a lot of bands at the event, and at these events, the bands have some interaction. They at least greet each other and are generally friendly. I mean for them it’s literally a work event, being friendly just seems natural. Chan mentioned that it was frustrating to see some younger bands not greet the older bands, which he claimed he may sound like a “boomer” for admitting. He never mentioned names, he did not call out anyone in particular and he was respectful in how he shared his thoughts.

That’s pretty typical of Chan, he is professional and respectful when he shares his opinions. He is not aggressive in his delivery, this is why I was caught off guard by his apology. I’m not the only one! Most of the comments below the apology expressed confusion and disappointment in the pot-stirring fans who created rumors about who Chan was referring to, creating the drama. The fans also expressed frustration at JYP Entertainment for their role in the apology and called JYP out for not doing a better job at handling this when K-pop idols are pushed to do these live-stream shows by the company. I have to agree, this was all blown out of proportion by social media. Just like a rumor mill in a small town, a few gossipy viewers decided to assume which bands Chan was referring to and ran with those ideas, inventing the entire thing. That’s poor behavior. They are the ones that should be apologizing, in my opinion.

Because Chan is such a sensitive person, he conveyed in the apology how much he was grieved by this situation and never meant to hurt anyone. I love that about him, but I don’t think he hurt anyone. I think the random commenters who decided to figure out the band Chan was referring to did the hurting. And to be honest, respecting your elders in many cultures, especially Korean culture is a big deal. So greeting the older bands at events like Music Bank Paris seems like a no-brainer to me just like being respectful and kind. The fact that none of the drama-crafting fans stopped to consider the cultural side baffles me.

This whole situation points to a deeper problem for me, as a fellow sensitive person, with a few sensitive and gentle friends – why does it seem like the people who are genuinely nice seem to be ripped apart on social media more than the aggressors? Do you know why? Cause I see it all the time. It’s why I don’t have Twitter or TikTok. There is a growing culture of nastiness on these platforms that is trickling into the culture. And it concerns me. Why does our social media society seem to reward rudeness and hearsay? I don’t think we should have to respect the mob mentality that dictates that might is right. Social media clout lacks wisdom and generosity of spirit, which are key ingredients that make communities function in a healthy state. Take a look at what happened to the girls in the viral “Baseball Mean Girls” TikTok video, they were doxxed because the cloud of social media outrage descended into their personal lives, although the girls made it right with the woman they flipped off in the video outside of TikTok, none of this seems to matter to those carrying forth the social media justice. And I digress, my point is that Chan’s apology is a symptom of a bigger problem of the heart we are seeing in the people within our societies, and if we don’t address the heart and start acting in kindness and grace toward others when you think someone has made a mistake, we are in for a lot of strife.

Thank you Chan for being Stray Kids’ best leader! The music you create with 3racha and the rest of Skz has truly made such a positive impact on my life. Even if you make mistakes, this Stay will show you grace and love.

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