For fans like 21-year-old university student Lee Ye-jin, that shift hits every time she turns on the radio or scrolls through new releases on her phone.
Lee has been a member of “Light” – the official fan club of popular boy band Highlight – since 2016. Formerly known as Beast, the chart-topping four-member group was part of K-pop’s so-called second generation, sharing the spotlight with icons such as Big Bang, Girls’ Generation and Wonder Girls: all products of the 2000s golden era.
While countless new acts have debuted since, Lee says she has yet to discover any worthy of her adulation.
“It’s a bit tricky to still call these groups K-pop,” she told This Week in Asia. “If you listen to their lyrics or look at their names, it’s all in English now.”
