Quick Rant 5 | K-Pop Generations

Miranda Rodriquez

First Posted | 5/8/19 | 4:22 AM PST

Quick Rant 5 | K-Pop Generations

There are many people debating which generation we are currently in, so I wanted to set up a timeline that I personally view as accurate. I have these split in certain ways due to timeline as well as the feel of these artists in comparison to each other. Would love opinions!

1st Generation | HOT, SES, GOD, Sech Kies, Shinhwa, Seo Taiji and Boys, etc.

-Foundation of Hallyu. The beginning of it all.

2nd Generation | Super Junior, SNSD, 2NE1, Kara, 2PM, SS501 (My first K-Pop), BigBang, etc.

-Testing boundaries and making idol goals.

3rd Generation | EXO, BTS, A-Pink, BTOB, Hello Venus, VIXX, AOA, Got7, Mamamoo, etc.

-More personal voices, emphasis on stage presence and fun theatrics/choreography.

4th Generation | Seventeen, GFriend, CLC, Oh My Girl, MonstaX, Up10tion, Twice, NCT, BlackPink, etc.

-Power Up, Fun Cheerful, Powerful. Starting to get younger idols making their debut. Multiple voices.

5th Generation | Current/Transitioning Into?

I’m debating if we are currently in the 5th Generation or not. I want to believe that this is still 4th, but at the same time the newly debut artists seem to have a different feel lately than most of the 4th Generation. Are groups like ITZY, TXT, & Everglow really the start of 5th?

I came to these conclusions by asking myself these questions:

-What year did they debut?

-What was the overall feel when they first started promoting?

-What is the current feel is still promoting?

-Would I really put this group in the same category as this group?

-Why do I feel like this group is of an older generation compared to this one who debut not long after?

-What are the commonalities across all in question?

With this I could find a separation between EXO & BTS vs Seventeen & BlackPink for example. This is also why I am hesitant to say we are still in 4th Gen. This might be a transitional phase we are in where I have to wait to see more debuts in order to make a clear decision.

Agree? Disagree? Leave your feedback in the comments!