Bingu, Choom, & K-Pop Tunes

Here we go again... that dreaded "ageism" topic is trending. But what if K-Pop fans aren't referring to ageism in the sense of "you're too old to listen to K-Pop" but rather, "your idols are too old to be idols." Wait—what? Don't worry, you actually did read that right. Some fans may be too young to realize the impact of their own words, but ageism and mental health often go hand-in-hand, and the fandom is feeding into the stigma—netizens complained Monsta X's Joohoney & Hyungwon were too old to be music show MCs, Ahn Jeongmin is apparently too old to debut, and double standards are running rampant—trainee Beomhan's honesty about his mental health is perceived as "oversharing" by some, and BTS Jimin received bullying over a recent encore stage.

Bingu asked, and the universe delivered... March was jam-packed with comebacks, almost more than Bingu & Choom could keep up with! Spring has sprung, and we see a mix of new and old faces in the monthly review. From Cravity, Kai, Jisoo, IVE and TAN to NMIXX, Xikers, and CRAXY—this is an episode you won't want to miss!

Segments:
(2:13) - Jisoo "Flower"

(8:36) - Cravity "Groovy"

(16:52) - NMIXX "Love Me Like This"

(25:41) - TAN "Fix You"

(32:44) - Kai "Rover"

(39:16) - CRAXY "Nugudom"

(45:37) - Xikers "Tricky House"

(56:42) - IVE "Kitsch"

In this episode, Bingu and Choom take a break from monthly comebacks to discuss some of the recent happenings in the K-Pop entertainment sphere. The girls touch on Bang Si-hyuk's most recent interview with CNN discussing the future of K-Pop and how, from a business perspective, the phenomenon appears to be in a crisis. But is that really the case? And how does the possible HYBE monopoly affect this outlook? From conspiracy theories in an attempt to keep K-Pop trending and relevant (like TWICE Chaeyoung's recent t-shirt "mishap") to the sheer amount of world tours that are happening... there's just no way K-Pop, as a music genre, can be dying.

Fangirl Mode: ON! While February was a fairly short month with a fairly short list of comebacks, the artists that made it to this review episode sure packed a punch. Between The Boyz, tripleS, Purple Kiss, and Key—this was a handful of comebacks to go crazy fangirling over. Bingu & Choom do just that in this episode, and make sure to break down their favorite things about each comeback in the process!

Segments:

There's only one word for January 2023 K-Pop comebacks: WHOA! The new year starts off packing quite a punch with these comebacks, and Bingu & Choom are quite literally blown out of the water! With both familiar faces like Monsta X, TXT, Moonbin & Sanha; the new favorites found in NewJeans; and some brand new faces to the mix found in Cignature and XG—there is so much to go around and be hyped about in January!

Segments: 

(4:21) - NewJeans "OMG" 

(14:26) - Monsta X "Beautiful Liar" 

(32:35) - Moonbin & Sanha "Madness" 

(41:16) - TXT "Sugar Rush Ride" 

(53:12) - Cignature "Aurora" 

(59:58) - XG "Shooting Star"

Revenge is a recurring theme in K-Dramas, and seems to be a now-current recurring theme with actress Shin Yeeun's filmography, too. From the drama "Revenge of Others" to Netflix's "The Glory," Choom's favorite up-and-coming actress is stunning everyone with her duality—including Choom herself! In each drama, Shin Yeeun leads prominent roles and proves herself versatile, acting as two characters who are extreme opposites of each other. In "Revenge of Others," Yeeun plays a strong female lead who stands up against bullying, while in "The Glory," she is a vicious bully who takes pleasure in the pain of her victims. In this episode, Choom breaks down the differences between Yeeun's roles and her acting, and gives a brief review of the completed series, "Revenge of Others."

Finally, the time has come! Bingu and Choom are rounding out the end of the year of 2022 with the December comeback review. There are many familiar faces this month, including The Boyz, RM from BTS, and ATEEZ! Also joining in on the comeback mix are WayV with their old-school SM boy group feel, and NewJeans—who bring plenty of music video theories to the table with their first-ever comeback. Tune in to find out what Bingu and Choom thought of it all!

Looking for a show that starts with a bang, ends with a whimper, and reels you back in for more for the finale? Look no further than Alchemy of Souls. Now that both seasons have aired and finished, Choom—who has shared her opinion on this drama a few times prior now—gives her thoughts on Alchemy of Souls and its partner, Alchemy of Souls: Light & Shadow. Delve one final time into the visually stunning world of mages and character development as Choom sends one of her favorite dramas, full of beloved characters, off with praise.

When it comes to Korean webdramas—sometimes, things can fall short. Either between acting, writing, or production, a limited budget for a small project often leads to sacrifices. Thankfully, this wasn't the case with popular webdrama Weak Hero Class 1, adapted from a webtoon of the same name. The drama isn't rated R for nothing, and the writing and production made no sacrifices to ensure that the point of the show was delivered—and with a cast who gave their absolute best performances, this could possibly be one of the best webdramas ever made. In this episode, Choom gives her final thoughts and opinions on the 8-episode series.

The year is almost over! But first, it's that time of the month that everyone is familiar with: Monthly review time! November was a month for 2nd Generation stans as well as girl group stans. Aside from some familiar faces, some much-loved females also made the monthly review this time, including KARA with their 15th Anniversary comeback, Bibi, ITZY, and newly-debuted girl group, Fifty Fifty!