K-pop Glossary

K-pop: Korean Pop (music)

Idols: The term for a Korean pop star or K-pop star.

Visual: The idol in the group with the best features and is also a main focus for their good looks. Think Jin from BTS or more recently in 2021 V, after 13 fancams reached over ten million views.

Trainee: Someone under a record label who is training to be an idol with others in an attempt to debut either on their own or typically with a group. This can include as little as a few months of dance training, singing with coaches from the label as they invest their money into you, or it can take years. Some people train for years and never debut. Think of it as a record label boot camp.

Maknae: Youngest of group.

Sasaeng: The fans who don't respect the idols' privacy—stalk them, put them in dangerous situations, and feel ownership over their idols' lives. Another one of the reasons idols don't date or are encouraged to hide dating is because of these "fans."

Netizens: Online commenters, keyboard warriors

Bias: Your crush.

Comeback: When an idol or musician releases new music and makes their "comeback" into the public eye with a new look, music video, tracks, mini album, or full album (collabs included)

Variety Show: Shows that idols perform on. It can be musical performances, acting, skits, an intro to them, competition, etc.

MV: Music Video

Showcase: Typically set for debut groups who don't have enough songs to do an entire concert, groups will pick up to five songs to perform. A newer group like VIXX might also do this if they've only been releasing mini-albums and not a full-length one yet. For a good example of a Showcase, check out newer groups like Enyphen, Aespa, Treasure.

Meet VIXX.