#these guys care very deeply about each other i don't think it's amazing or unheard of for them to be touchy and verbally affectionate

[allsassnoclass]

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#going to do another fandom-related vent once again i don't want anyone to take it personally #this is just me thinking out loud this isn't a call-out this isn't me condemning anyone for how they behave online or interact with fandom #content. how many of these tags do i have to put so people can scroll past without expanding the meat of the post #is this good???? okay i think this is good now #i think. it would do well for all of us to remember that men can and should be platonically physically affectionate with each other #throughout this tour i have seen a lot of people describe stuff the boys have been doing as ''really gay'' and it's been rubbing me the #wrong way because the majority of these things are just. normal stuff i would do with my friends #and i know that it's not in bad taste. i know the people saying these things (that i've seen and who i follow) aren't actually speculating #on sexuality or labeling the lads without consent #but as someone who really values platonic love it's been really bothering me the more and more i see it #boys can cuddle with their friends. they can give each other compliments. these things are not inherently romantic or inherently gay #i also get excited when they show affection to each other! but some of the freak outs over comparatively small things are just. idk #idk man i just personally don't like calling certain actions gay when they're actually just normal friend things. #these guys care very deeply about each other i don't think it's amazing or unheard of for them to be touchy and verbally affectionate #they SHOULD be hugging each other and spinning each other around! #they SHOULD be calling each other attractive and hyping each other up! #they SHOULD be physically comfortable with each other in photos #men should be affectionate with guys they've been best friends with for a decade! especially coming out of their longest time spent apart #this isn't a piece of media we're analyzing these are just guys being dudes #and i don't think hugs and compliments and affection should be limited to romantic relationships #yeah. idk. it's just something i've noticed throughout this entire tour cycle that has been progressively bothering me more #i don't think we should erase the platonic love they have for each other by calling every little piece of affection they show ''gay'' #that's just my thoughts and opinions

[boysplanetrecaps]

Hi!

Thank you for writing up these detailed and insightful recaps, they're so helpful. Today I somewhat randomly decided to start watching Boys Planet, even though I know very little about the K-pop industry. It's fascinating to watch with little context, but I also had tons of questions, so it was a delight to find your post and get tons of answers! I also appreciate your perspective on everyone's singing, since I'm not a singer myself and can only distinguish between amazing and terrible, but none of the gradations in between.

Aww, thanks! I'm so glad I could help. I read a lot of K-drama recaps on Dramabeans when I was first getting into K-stuff, and they helped me a lot when I couldn't quite follow what the heck was going on. So I'm glad I could provide that for you!

Let me explain a few other things here that I think I might not explain in my recaps, but that might help a lot.

In Korea, there's a cultural expectation that age will define your relationships. Essentially, if you're younger than someone, you have the duty to respect them and follow their lead. In return, you can expect them to look after you like a parent, with affection at times, and scolding lectures at other times. This is true even if the age difference is only a year or two. It's not unheard of for an older stranger to walk up to a younger person on the street and tell them to fix their hair or something, and the younger person is expected to politely accept the correction. Meanwhile, if you're older than someone, you are expected to take care of them, but you will likely count on them to look up to you and respect you.

Similarly, if someone is in the same job/line of work as you but started sooner, they will be your senior, and you should treat them with respect even if, perhaps, they're less successful than you. So, some terms to know are: hyung = an "older brother" to a younger "brother" oppa = an "older brother" to a younger "sister" noona = an "older sister" to a younger "brother" unni = an "older sister" to a younger "sister" dongsaeng = a younger sibling regardless of any gender chingoo = someone the same age as you; often translated as "friend" but doesn't always mean that, it just means someone you're on the same age level with and thus you can kind of relax around each other; can also be used to be mean roughly "guys" or "kids" In all of these cases, you'd use these terms whether you're blood related or not. So when trainees call each other "hyung," it's not an overstatement of their relationship; it's just what you call an older friend. You may also have seen me talk about the "stylist noonas" because I kind of assume that all the stylists are women who are between 5-10 years older than the trainees, and I picture the trainees calling them noona. The younger person often calls the older friend simply "hyung" or "noona," or sometimes "name+hyung," but older friends don't call the younger friend dongsaeng. They call them their name with an affectionate suffix, like "Gyuvin-ah" or "Gyuvin-ee". They might refer to them *as* dongsaengs, but don't call them that as if it's their name. Other terms to know: maknae (mahk-nay): the youngest one in a group of people sunbae (sun-bay): someone who has been in your industry longer than you -nim : a respectful suffix to other terms. Like hyung-nim is for a older friend who you really respect, or sunbae-nim is for a sunbae you are probably in awe of hoobae: someone who is below you in the same industry.

The thing about all of this is that it's not just the terms that need explaining -- it's the whole system. I think for people new to all of this, they might be kind of surprised at how affectionate people are to younger trainees, or how respectful younger trainees are to older ones. They might be surprised when a younger trainee feels uncomfortable about stepping up to lead a group. If you know how deeply engrained the whole age-thing is to Korean culture, I think it all starts to make more sense. That's why I prefer to use these actual terms (hyung, chingoo, etc) rather than translations, because if you change "hyung" to "bro" or something, it really affects the meaning of that relationship.

If there's anything that's confusing you about the show, feel free to ask! I may not have an answer, but I might, so go ahead. :)

Also, if anyone reading this is actually Korean and would like to correct me on anything, please do, but please be nice about it. I'm almost certainly older than you, if that sweetens the deal ;)

#boys planet