Conceptual Guidelines in Idol-Based Variety
As we've discussed quite a number of times before, concepts are integral and extremely relevant in the very visual, idol-saturated K-pop industry. Conc…
TV
Ranking Infinite’s Ranking King: Ep 1-5
Here, at long last, is a review for Infinite's new variety series, Ranking King. Eleven episodes into the series, your humble writer has decided to spl…
Ten Reasons Why The Idol Olympics Are A Must-Watch Guilty Pleasure
The Idol Star Athletic Championship is my favorite guilty pleasure of the season. Yes, it is random -- what do idols have to do with sports, anyways? Y…
Immortal Song 2: Development into a Worthwhile Watch
KBS 2TV's Immortal Song 2 began with a dreamy and fairly straightforward concept: idols would get to show off their vocal ability and performance skill…
Variety Screen Time: An Idol’s Ongoing Battle
Competition and the competitive mindset are very evident in almost all forms of Korean pop culture. Rankings, surveys, and polls are treated very serio…
Hidden Cameras: The Line Between Variety and Reality
Idols -- or entertainers in general -- and cameras have a very interesting relationship. From the start, idols are taught to eat the camera up. They ar…
From Humor to Song: Comedians in Music
To be a comedian takes wit, timing, a character, and the capacity to laugh at yourself, numerous times. It's a job I admire because it cannot possibly …
SB Exchange #18: Running Variety
Another week, another Exchange. But this isn't any normal exchange: today we take a look at one of South Korea's popular variety shows, SBS' Running Ma…
K-variety and their Over-Reliance of Guests
For a variety show to succeed, it needs to able to stand on its own with its own distinct charms. More often than not those charms lie in the main cast…
Shinhwa: Legendary Variety-dols
While idols can be charismatic on stage, performance isn't the only necessity for any idol group. K-pop runs on the devotion of fans, much of which is …