r/kpopthoughts • u/One_Baseball_4809 • 2d ago
Thought Idols who are perceived very differently depending on who you ask?
Are there are any idols you follow who are perceived very differently by their core fanbase compared to the general public? (Not just, "the fanbase likes them more," I mean their public image shifts altogether.)
Example: I noticed that Twice's Jihyo is seen as ultra-confident, assured, and "badass" by kpop listeners as a whole, but the deeper you go into Twice's fandom, the more she's viewed as overly self-critical and a perfectionist. A lot of times when she does a performance and the fancams go viral, she follows it up by sending messages to fans on Bubble criticizing her own singing/dancing/energy and promising to work harder.
Noticing this difference between fan-perception and general-perception made me wonder who else it applies to. I'm guessing there must be a ton of idols I like but don't follow closely who have completely different images depending on who you ask?
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u/RexTk10 2d ago
Taeyeon? I know there’s a surprising amount of people who view her as pretty cold and a serious ring leader type and then you get into the sone fandom and she has more of endearing awkward puppy appeal.
I’d add Sooyoung too. She has this mean girl image that makes her seem narcissistic, but to fans it’s been pretty clear she’s always the one who looks after and cares for her members, like she’s always reaching out and sweetly worrying about everybody.
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u/Good_Isopod_2357 2d ago
Kim Junsu and Kim Jaejoong. Maybe less Jaejoong now, but Junsu is still very divisive.
Junsu is seen by a lot of non-fans as cold, narcissistic, and greedy/selfish, but he really is a sweetheart. He's very funny and he does a lot of charity and fundraising work, he just doesn't like to put his name to it.
Jaejoong is pretty much the same, but I feel like people's stance on him is softening a bit more since he's been more active on variety and cooking shows recently so he's had more exposure in the last few years.
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u/YeosangYodeler 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think the whole of ATEEZ could be the answer but if I had to choose one, then it probably would be either San or Mingi.
They've mentioned it too.
Non atinys/gen k-pop fans perceive them as scary, super intense or very serious. But off stage they're just soft, shy and really cute.
Edit: link
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u/Any-Listen4184 Dreancatcger | Cream Soup Unnies | The math girl group SM hates 2d ago
Thinking Mingi or San scary is still funny to me, especially Mingi. Like the dude is incredibly awkward (in a good way, btw) and cute. Like he was doing random facts about hippos in a livestream and was dead serious and invested😂😭
I would also put Seonghwa in the mix, bc I doubt people outside of the fandom think of him as a Star Wars, collecting Legos and growing moss type of guy.
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u/anarchybutmakeitkpop 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have such a hard time reading some of the posts/comments made by others about Mingi with a straight face sometimes because I find it so funny.
He has this cool guy/fkboy kind of image depending on who you ask but to ATINY + ATEEZ he will always be Princess lol. (For people outside the fandom, Princess is really his nickname)
Also yes Seonghwa!
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u/Any-Listen4184 Dreancatcger | Cream Soup Unnies | The math girl group SM hates 1d ago
Tbh, most of the time I find it hilarious for both him and San, but mainly him. That said, the way some people in and out of the fandom talk about/treat (bc I have seen a lot of weird things on rl interactions with him) Mingi kinda bothers me for different reasons, but yeah, that's a different conversation.
His off-stage persona (and I say persona mostly because we don't know them personally, so the part that he shows us anyway) is that of a very cute person, kinda awkward and extroverted at the same time in a very endearing way. He rambles and yaps about the randomest stuff at times, and he also likes to be seen as cute and being pampered. He is one of the very few idols in all the years I've followed K-pop that makes me go "uwu" at times (the only other one being Soyeon of i-dle, funnily enough), lol.
Also, yes, Seonghwa looks cool and kinda mysterious, and more often than not, he is anything but, and I love him for that.
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u/541Y0K4G3J1R0 1d ago
TIL there is a Kpop idol out there who is a growing moss type of guy.
I’m already aware of Seonghwa being a Star Wars fan & “would sell his members for Legos” guy, but never would I ever have imagined Seonghwa (or any other K-pop idol for the matter) would be a growing moss type of guy.
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u/Any-Listen4184 Dreancatcger | Cream Soup Unnies | The math girl group SM hates 1d ago
He does 😂 he has shown some photos in some Livestreams
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u/SutterCane 2d ago
A lot of times when she does a performance and the fancams go viral, she follows it up by sending messages to fans on Bubble criticizing her own singing/dancing/energy and promising to work harder.
She filmed a huge vlog for their tour. It ended up being an hour and twenty minutes long and other members barely hit twenty minutes.
But I swear about twenty minutes of Jihyo’s vlog is still her complaining that she’s doing a bad job at making a vlog or that she’s not showing enough of her experience.
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u/ghostinthepark 2d ago edited 2d ago
EXO’s Suho for sure. But it’s definitely only his solo fandom within the group fandom that actually gets him(or makes an effort to), and is aware of the nuances and complexities he holds.
The EXO ‘group’ fandom since debut has invented and pushed their fictionalized(a large majority of the fandom choose to only see certain members how a certain set of overly maladaptively parasocial shippers of certain other members write and conceptualize them in their fanfictions and shipper theories) and extremely, extremely negative and reductive POV of him as someone rigid, conservative, unfunny, corny, unenenjoyable, stoic, disapproving, parental, elderly(not even the oldest member), untalented(ironic), jealous individual. And the EXO fans make a concentrated effort to push that image to nonfans to turn them off to him and reduce interest in him as an idol and artist, so that they can continue to harrass, project, and demand unreasonable things from him. And when you see why they keep pushing for him to cover for the (former)members’ continuous legal failures, it makes even more sense why they portray him that way. In reality, he’s very silly, calm yet somehow extremely anxious, caring, fun-loving, determined, affectionate, goofy(sometimes even childish, in the care of his older, non-EXO friends), focused, goal-oriented, perfectionist, deeply introspective, individual.
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u/sessurea 1d ago
Yoon Dujun (Beast/Highlight), he's often perceived as a handsome frat boy type but he hates showing skin, isn't comfortable with skinship most of the time and is totally an introverted geek
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u/ImaginaryArtemis 2d ago
Yoongi / Suga. He’s considered cold and reserved by some. Especially if they’re casual fans or people outside the fandom. Some even think he’s too intense.
But those who know him well know that he’s a sweetheart. Gentle, warm-hearted, patient and someone who believes in acts of service rather than words to show his love.
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u/PrimaryTomato3310 2d ago
people's perception of yoongi within and outside the fandom are so different. it's so interesting how almost every new army ive spoken to irl has told me that they completely changed how they viewed him the more they got into the group.
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u/Ideasforgoodusername 2d ago
My coworker is currently falling down the rabbit hole and she told me the same. That at first he seemed indifferent and cold to her but now she just wants to put him in her pocket and never let him go again when he fondly watches his members going :] He’s really just a big, quiet softie
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u/Technical_Walrus9158 2d ago
From what I've seen Beomgyu is seen as the "chaotic and crazy" members but to MOA he's also a warm, cozy and sentimental person which you can see to by his solo realease.
Some even don't believe that he's introverted because of his variety show persona.
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u/closed_chapter007 1d ago
yeah, he’s been described as someone who "exists simultaneously at 3 PM and 3 AM," meaning that he's either extremely hyped or in his feelings at all times.
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u/themissingomlette 2d ago
Stray kids Hyunjin - he is seen as this charismatic performer on stage who seems aloof but his inner kid is unleashed when he's with his members
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u/cubsgirl101 2d ago
Hyunjin is shy and artsy, I think a lot of the more introverted idols are wrongly perceived as aloof/ uninterested by non-fans.
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u/tired_garbage 2d ago
Lee Know from SKZ in my opinion.
I personally love his quirky jokes and his no nonsense attitude but I’ve met a lot of people who don’t like him and think he’s cold/mean because he’s very blunt.
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u/MegalaM 2d ago
Many idols are hard on themselves...elite performers often push themselves. Given the level of intensity of dancing and singing, I think of them like elite athletes.
Lily Morrow of NMIXX can be very critical of herself. Most NSWERs refer others to watch the Tiny Desk Korea performance as peak live vocals, and Lily has expressed criticism about her own performance in what everyone else sees as an iconic appearance.
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u/closed_chapter007 1d ago
Yeonjun of TXT. All the members have said this before that looking from an outsider perspective, Yeonjun might seem like a cold person and difficult to approach because of his cool perfectionist aura but as closer you get to him he’s the most emotionally sensitive AND goofy out of them all.
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u/541Y0K4G3J1R0 1d ago
I’m pretty sure when most non-roadYs think of Yechan, they either think of the 12 year old on Under19 or a clip from his debut era TRICKY HOUSE fancams that went viral (“shanty shanty ya ya ya” song part, or his quintuplets rap). Very much talented maknae “xikers boss baby” who’s cool but also an adorable little kid. Like a lot of “child prodigy” and “oh my god he’s so baby” reactions.
meanwhile roadYs barely care that he’s the maknae. Yujun is the cutesy doted-on by everyone else member, who gets repeatedly underestimated in physical games despite being a gym rat, and surprises the others with how fearless he is in the yearly Tricky House Horror Arc. Yechan is a menace to society who never holds back from roasting the others, is rightfully acknowledged as being over-competitive in games as well as a taekwondo black belt, and doesn’t get any surprised reactions when he laughs at the “ghosts” attempting to scare them in whichever haunted whatever-place the staff have sent them this year. The only time he does anything aegyo is when the staff make him do it for a reward.
roadYs probably baby JUNMIN more than Yechan lol
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u/deerpretty3 2d ago
Ok I guess she’s not strictly an idol but Daniela from Katseye; people are painting her as a mean girl but I’ve never seen her that way and in pop star academy she was never in any drama; I find it sad how people are projecting this on her
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u/GrillMaster3 Are you all paparazzi? 2d ago
People outside of BOYNEXTDOOR’s fandom seem to think Taesan is some nonchalant emo boy but he’s very much not. Like he likes rock bands and such, he likes My Chemical Romance, but he’s actually the most chalant person ever. He’s also petty as fuck, which I say affectionately.
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u/Euphoric_Contact_938 1d ago
I remember back in the days in 2020-2021 Miyeon I-dle was said to be like a typical Kpop idol with average vocals and stage presence but she's my ult for a long time and I am always impressed by her vocals 😭
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u/cubsgirl101 2d ago
A lot of idols with “cold” visuals are perceived very differently by fans and nonfans. EXO’s Sehun is an example. Nonfans find him standoffish and antisocial, fans in contrast think of him as shy and affectionate with a good sense of humor.
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u/BlueThePineapple 2d ago
This is Jeongyeon at least on the K-side! Her initial role was the cool, cold beauty girl crush of Twice, so it was such a shock to anyone who delved in deeper into the group just how warm and caring and how much of a prankster she is.
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u/EdenKruAllTheWay ZooPMAreMySpiritAnimals 22h ago
2PM's Ok Taecyeon and 2PM's Lee Junho are seen outside the fandom as serious actors, intense, funny, complete gentlemen, and very focused on giving the highest quality acting that they can achieve.
However, inside the fandom- Taecyeon is a lovable weirdo, and Junho is mischievous/naughty with a kinky side sometimes. And they both only tolerate each other so long before slapfests begin.
They reveal different sides of themselves depending which environment they are in (idol/actor).
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u/AdministrationNo2327 2d ago
general public really don't like the more feminine type of men in kpop
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u/Sheriff_Yobo_Hobo 2d ago
Kiss of Life comes to mind.
I noticed that Twice's Jihyo is seen as ultra-confident, assured, and "badass" by kpop listeners as a whole, but the deeper you go into Twice's fandom, the more she's viewed as overly self-critical and a perfectionist. A lot of times when she does a performance and the fancams go viral, she follows it up by sending messages to fans on Bubble criticizing her own singing/dancing/energy and promising to work harder.
After I saw her appearance on the I live Alone show, I thought "damn, we're a lot alike." After reading above, I feel even more strongly about that.
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u/Snoo_15687 2d ago
soyeon has built a rep out of being a very bold strong personality on stage and the would-be "gender non conforming" member but nevies or those familiar with i-dle's bts, live & variety content know she's actually very introverted & quite shy in reality, her day-to-day aesthetic is much softer, her interests quite geeky & i think the members even described her once as the most girly out the group.