For those of you who find yourself agreeing with this anonymous commenter above, you'll probably not be surprised to know that this is not a recent development and I've actually always been an annoying cuntfaced asshole that people hate. One of the things that used to annoy others a lot about me when I was younger is that I actually knew how to use English properly from a really young age. However, I might be a cunt, but I'm not a fuckin' cunt, so it's time to help k-pop fandoms everywhere and give something back, by highlighting some of the ways in which people who write and discuss k-pop use words incorrectly.
1. UNDERRATED/OVERRATED
What the word actually means:
How k-pop fans use it: to describe whatever the hell they want.
All the members of the most popular k-pop girl group ever are "underrated" somehow. All of them.
The poor dears. Look at them here, probably at some "underrated" award show I'm sure nobody has ever heard of.
Don't you just feel sorry for them? Whenever will these special snowflakes get enough attention and praise?
In fact lots of k-pop idols are underrated, including obscure people like these...
I'd talk more about BigBang and how underrated they are but I wouldn't want to appear hipster and alienate everyone who hasn't heard of this shockingly underrated group...
...with all their weird songs nobody listens to...
WELL THEY CAN'T DO A VIDEO AND PROMOTIONS FOR EVERY FUCKING SONG THEY HAVE, YOU DUMBASS.
Anyway, you get the idea. If the few people at the very top of the k-pop tree earning millions can be underrated, then so can anybody. Actually I think my blogging is underrated, after all at the start of 2013 I broke out my motherfuckin' crystal ball and called out Crayon Pop as the most underrated group in k-pop before BarBarBar hit, so I think you should all show me more love, preferably in monetary form. I think that prediction is worth $3. If everybody reading this donated $3, I would be less underrated within an hour.
Of course, don't give me too much money, or I might become "overrated", like... you know, the members of SNSD:
...and don't forget BigBang:
Overrated/underrated by WHO, anyway? Is there some kind of official "ratings body" that is rating all these people? How are they being rated? Does someone keep track of all this? Or is it possible that they're both overrated and underrated at the same time, by the same people?
THANKS FOR FUCKING UP ALL THESE "RATINGS" I WAS TRYING TO KEEP TRACK OF. It's all too fucking confusing for me. Why not just say "I like this" or "I think this is shit" instead or worrying about "ratings" that don't even fucking exist and that nobody except you cares about.
2. FLOP
What the word actually means:
How k-pop fans use it: to describe any fucking thing at all that they just don't happen to like.
Really?
I hope my music career starts flopping this hard. Why not just say "I don't like [insert group here]" instead? It's okay, you're allowed to not like a group for whatever petty reason you think is important.
3. CHEAP
What the word actually means:
How k-pop fans use it: any old which-way.
And what was that budget?
To put this in perspective, the average very high-budget music video for a major label western artist might cost about $300 thousand if the shoot goes over multiple days, however most companies shoot the whole damn thing in one day where everybody stays up 24 hours until it's done, and this is standard practice both east and west. While exceptionally high-budget videos do exist, they're the exception rather than the rule - $50-$150 thousand is a more normal expenditure for a decent professional-looking video funded by a major label.
Of course there's also "cheap" in the sense of "looking like a $2 stripper" but then I don't understand how that's a bad thing in these sexually enlightened times. Some people like "cheap whore sexy" like just some others like "classy sexy" and there's nothing wrong with that because everyone has different sexual tastes. I'm sure forward-thinking k-pop fans would agree that one isn't intrinsically better than the other and to say otherwise is judging people based on sexual preference and is therefore wrong and bad. Isn't that right?
4. RELEVANT/IRRELEVANT
What the word actually means:
Anyone with a brain can already see a problem here. Who gets to decide what "the matter at hand" is? Obviously Group A is relevant if you're a fan of Group A because Group A is the "matter at hand", whereas if you're a fan of Group B, Group A is suddenly "irrelevant".
Therefore the biggest group in the world can easily be "irrelevant" if you not a fan of them:
Not to mention the entire genre as a whole, if you're also not a fan:
But if you ARE a fan, or if you have some kind of bizarre tinfoil-hat agenda to push, then even the most minor groups gain relevance - obviously.
The word "relevant" however doesn't mean anything on its own. Something can only be relevant TO something else, it can't be "relevant" in and of itself. A banana is relevant if you're hungry. It's also potentially relevant if there isn't a dildo handy nearby, or you ran out of weed and want to try something new. However a banana is not universally relevant because relevance is not a property that can be universally bestowed, but requires context.
For example if you're not into girls you may not find the above picture relevant.
5. USELESS/USEFUL
What the word actually means:
K-pop fans use it to talk about members in groups:
Everyone has a use in k-pop as the reply deftly demonstrates, although he evaded talking about Hwayoung because he didn't want to be rude and just say "she's good for her rack and nothing else whatsoever"...
...BUT THAT'S STILL A "USE", ANYWAY. Please debut in acting soon, Hwayoung, my fap folder with your name on it hasn't been updated in a while.
6. DELUSIONAL
What the word actually means:
How k-pop fans use it - to refer to anything they disagree with.
Of course there IS a lot of well-documented delusion going on with many k-pop fans. Anyone who follows Anti Kpop-Fangirl should surely know this. However the word "delusional" has sadly been co-opted by the delusional to refer to anything which doesn't match their delusions, and thus has lost almost all of its usefulness and relevancy, this extremely cheap usage of this overrated flop word has made it irrelevant.
Just like this picture.
And this one.
This one too.
Your education is now complete.