Do you like varied and evolving music? Self-produced idol groups carving their own path in an industry that rewards sameness? Do you like gay people?

Well do I have the group for you!

The Basics

Just B is a 6-member group under Bluedot Entertainment, who debuted on June 30th, 2021. I'm not sure how they came up with the name Just B, or if it has a deeper meaning (they all do, and they're all corny). The fans are called Only B, which is fine, as far as fandom names go.

Unlike most of my intros, I feel compelled to talk about Bluedot in depth here, not because they're a potential money laundering front, but because the Just B story has many twists and turns that are tied very specifically to their management. Bluedot was also founded in 2021 as a subsidiary of Kakao Entertainment (remember them?). While I have never been able to confirm this, it is likely that the initial management came over from another KKEnt subsidiary you may know and loathe - IST Entertainment, though at the time it was known as Plan M (pre-Cre.ker merger). I believe this is the case because several of the Just B boys, including leader Lim Jimin, were known as the Play M Boys, aka the next group of Play M trainees, and there seemed to be no issues in transferring trainees from company to company, which usually has the benefit of good relationships, not just an active parent company.

Yes, Just B were originally going to be Victon's little brothers. Yes, that does make me cry every time I think about it.

Anyway, this is important because while they seemed to be on a roll, with their second and third minis selling over 50k each, they took almost a year long break from traditional kpop releases, doing a single collab with the wonderful Kim Seri (then AleXa), losing momentum and posting solidly nugu numbers (21k) with their fourth mini, Nanugi, in late 2023.

Even so, in early 2024, they toured the US and Mexico, which is how I became a fan. However, watching the behinds from that tour, especially this one in Denver, it's obvious that they were hitting a wall, both in popularity and creativity. In fact, it was on that tour that they debuted their single Daddy's Girl, which was written by a good friend of Doyum's and was a marked turn towards pop punk, even though they'd favored a more rock-inspired sound for their last two comebacks ("Me=" and "Medusa"), and they discussed in that behind, whether rock, which Doyum and Geonu advocated for, was the path forward, because their fans had certain expectations of them as ~Kpop Idols~.

Summer 2024 hits and three things happen in quick succession.

1) Chu Jimin changes his name from Jimin to Siwoo, something he said he wanted to do for a while. In fandom spaces you will frequently see him referred to as Chusi now, as his old nickname was Chuji to differentiate him from Lim Jimin, or Limji.

2) Bluedot and IST announce that Just B and ATBO will be combining as TheCrewOne to compete in Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace, with a tease that they will release some music as a combined group. It is also obvious that, while this is a "collaboration", IST is the one who will be managing the combined group (as indicated by basically only ever using IST facilities, not to mention the size and experience disparity - remember that Cre.ker very successfully showcased The Boyz on the first RtK).

3) Literally a day or so after that announcement, Siwoo gets caught up in a "dating" "scandal" and put on hiatus.

The details of the dating scandal are sparse, and while I am very biased as a fan, frankly just looked made up.

With one big ALLEGEDLY to disclaim this section, here's what happened: A woman released screenshots of what was supposed to be a text conversation with Siwoo to prove they were dating and that they'd met through an online game. Fans responded as they usually do, though, again, my personal opinion is with good reason, by investigating who this person was and trying to discredit them. Multiple people came out to say they'd seen this woman acting inappropriately towards Siwoo during the US tour and that she was a sasaeng. All of the screenshots were incredibly tame, with no misogynistic or even sexual behavior to get mad at, and did literally nothing to prove they were dating. There were no photos, only texts.

None of any of this has ever been confirmed or denied.

While the official hiatus announcement came from Bluedot, and many fans blame them for putting Siwoo on haitus for what was ultimately fucking nothing, I do not. Because as I said, IST was obviously the one calling the shots at this point. And IST is very, very famously scandal adverse. (Ironically, Yang Donghwa, now of Polarix, who was originally part of the ATBO lineup and kicked out of the group for unsubstantiated bullying accusations from middle school days, is listed as the only other Bluedot artist.)

During the Road to Kingdom run, it was revealed by one of the show's PDs that IST and Bluedot had considered disbanding both groups and instead tried to merge them into on big dance crew, probably to mimic The Boyz's RtK success as a last ditch effort for popularity.

It did not work. TheCrewOne took a disappointing 5th place (out of 8) and the musical collaboration that was teased never came to fruition.

Here is where I admit some haterism: I don't like ATBO's music and adore Just B's, so I was very selfishly glad not to see my boys take steps backwards, even if it did mean extreme uncertainty in their future. It was also obvious during the TCO era that the Just B boys were very unhappy. Not with their friendship with ATBO, to whom they still act like supportive big brothers, but just with the whole situation.

The break up of TCO also deepened my conviction that the decision to place Siwoo on hiatus was IST's. Not even a week after the project end was announced, Bluedot - and Lim Jimin, the leader, himself - mentioned very emphatically that Just B would always be six and then a few days after that, Siwoo made his triumphant return to idoldom.

Which brings us to another thing that has not been officially confirmed, but all the evidence points this way: At some point post-TCO, Bluedot broke away from papa Kakao.

Now, if you are insane like me and find the corporate machinations of the kpop world fascinating, you would know that since the whole SM takeover debacle, Kakao Entertainment (and even big daddy parent-company Kakao) have been in the shit with the Korean government. So much so that the CEO literally went to jail on charges of stock fraud (which he totally did, btw). Anyway, this eventually led to the very real and confirmed selling off of several KKEnt properties, including fuck-ass IST, and very very speculatively, Bluedot.

Further evidence to support my claim is that Kakao no longer owns the distribution rights to Just B's music, which is huge, as Kakao is the biggest distributor of music in Korea, and absolutely distribute all of the music of the properties that they own.

Knowing Bluedot is basically an indie outfit is important because it quickly became evident with their 2025 releases, starting with "Still I Love You", a digital single, that Bluedot had zero money and like, three employees. This is cool because it means the members have a lot of creative input now, with Doyum as their main producer, to which Geonu and Sangwoo frequently contribute, and Bain does a lot of the creative direction for things such as styling, makeup, and graphics. Geonu also choreographed all their new songs.

However, with no budget and few industry connections now, fans will need to adjust their expectations accordingly.

In the end, really, all this means is that Just B have a chance most kpop groups never will. They get to control their own destiny.

So! That was a very long intro and didn't cover some of the usual things I get into, but I think that story is far more compelling than the boygroup-in-dystopia-saves-the-world-through-music lore they had going in the Damage/Tick-Tock/Re=Load trilogy.

As of May 23, 2025, they have 5 EPs and 6 singles, and are in the middle of their Just Odd tour, having wrapped the US leg, and are spending a delightful month promoting in Mexico.

The Music

( A selection from their discography )

Meet Just B

( Mom, I love them )

Boy Content

( There's so much content )

The Ships

( What the People Want )


In conclusion: Just B! They're great! I'm excited to see what comes next!!

With everything going on in the world, I'm seeing more and more people feeling genuinely hopeless, and that leading to a grimy miasma of helplessness.

It's easy to say "You are an adult*, you have agency, you are not helpless, even when confronted by overwhelming odds" but those odds are specifically designed to counter that message. To make you feel helpless. So saying it isn't enough. We need doing.

But doing is hard. I know that just as well as anyone. So what I have compiled here is a list of small things I have done that have worked for me, personally, as agents to simply keep hope alive. To keep me going. Because I do believe in momentum.

If I can do a little thing, and it works, then maybe I can do a slightly bigger thing, and then bigger, and then bigger.

I also firmly believe it is hard to help others when you have lost your own reasons for keeping going. So a lot of this list is not directly about our current political/social/economic situation but instead about getting yourself into a better mental place.

And it's small things. None of this is going to "fix" you. I fully admit the two biggest things I've ever done for my mental health are a) find a new job that made me financially stable without taking gross advantage of me b) go to some pretty intense therapy.

But those are big tasks. Really fucking hard tasks. We all know the Big Things we need to work on in our lives, yet without little victories, those seem impossible.

As with all mental health stuff, your mileage may vary. To my * above, some of these suggestions are specifically for adults -- teenagers and kids have very different abilities to navigate the world, though there will be some crossover. And once again, these are things that have worked for me. My definition of "effort" and "cost" may be different from yours. That's okay! They're just suggestions; I will not be upset if you don't follow them. I am, however, uninterested in debating their utility.

Disclaimers out of the way, here's what I've come up with.

( Low Cost / Low Effort Hope Builders )

That's all my little suggestions. I have a whole list of medium suggestions too, but as this entry is already hella long, I'll wrap this up now and post that separately. I hope it helps somebody.

Remember: making you feel hopeless is part of the plan to keep you apathetic. Look for the lights in your life and hold onto them with both hands.

Do you like unbelievable underdog stories and men who kiss each other? What about unprompted role play? Boy, do I have the group for you!


 

The Basics

 
Vanner debuted on February 14th, 2019 under a company no one has ever heard of called VT Entertainment. The name Vanner is a combination of "victory" and "banner" and as such have had some very flag-themed comebacks. The fandom name is VVS - yes, the diamond term - chosen by Gon, because their fans are precious diamonds. More colloquially, the fans are often called "ppippis" because when you sound out V-V, it kind of sounds like ppi-ppi in Korean. For once, I don't hate it.

The most important thing to know about Vanner's early days is that they were wildly unsuccessful. Just absolutely ignored, lost, forgotten. As a nugufan, I like looking at album sales numbers to see if my groups are trending towards growth, and the Vanner numbers pre-2023 are just fucking depressing. Don't worry, this story has a happy ending.

It is extremely unlikely that VT Entertainment was a money laundering front, simply because no actual money appeared to pass through the company at all. Remember how the 50/50 CEO was like "I sold my car to pay for them!" well the VT CEO worked as a delivery driver.

By the time 2023 rolled around, Vanner only had the debut full-length album, and three single album comebacks.

Every member was working at least one part time job. When they first went on tour, they couldn't pay for many staff, so Gon was in charge of styling, Taehwan makeup, and so on and so on. Taehwan, the leader, ran all of the Vanner social media, up to and including filming, editing, and subtitling their YouTube content. I'll get more into their part time jobs in the individual section.

What changed?

Vanner applied for a strange new reality show called Peak Time. And they dominated.

During their Peak Time run, Vanner trended on Korean social sites because of their incredible live performances. After their win, they signed a 3-year contract with KLAP Entertainment, which should take them up until the '96s have to enlist.

KLAP is an interesting company; they're brand new, with Vanner as their first-ever signees, though at the end of 2023 they added Sistar19 to the roster. Very exciting! KLAP was originally formed in 2020 as a subsidiary of NCSoft, the developers of the "Universe" fan/idol platform (like bubble - iirc, it was mainly used by Cube artists and a few others). However, NCSoft decided to get out of the idol business and the subsidiary was divested. The new owners had worked with KLAP under NCSoft and also brought in some outside C-Suite leadership from industry giant CJ ENM (owns MNet, Wake One, 143 Ent. and more).

From what I can tell, KLAP is actually really well run, and the staff and company seem incredibly invested in Vanner's success. I don't agree with their decision to feature Taehwan on the upcoming MNet "Build Up" show, but really that's not super unusual in the grand scheme of kpop company shenanigans. The big thing is that they're willing to spend to keep these boys in the spotlight.

And their efforts are paying off. Their first comeback post-Peak Time sold over 140,000 albums and landed in the top 100 bestselling kpop albums of 2023.

Vanner don't have an overall concept, except as I mentioned earlier, they're big on flags. And making life better. Which they do so well!

As far as I know, they have never been involved in any scandals, which shouldn't be surprising because who really gives a shit about an idol who sells 2,000 albums.

As of January 7th, 2024, they have 1 full length album, 3 single albums, and 1 EP. They just announced a comeback on January 30th, 2024 with the EP "Capture the Flag", which is why I'm finally writing this primer.

V (Feb 2019) with the title track "Better Do Better"




( Click here for More Music )
 

Let's talk about Peak Time

 
( There is one good survival show, and it is Peak Time )
 

Meet Vanner

 
This is arranged in age order, as usual, but as there's only five of them, I've added more thoughts than I have in other primers. Also I have a lot of feelings.

( Meet Taehwan, Gon, Hyesung, Sungkook, and Yeongkwang )

Boy Content

 
Boy are we blessed for content. The new company has really gone above and beyond, and unlike some other nugus who will remain unnamed, they subtitle everything in English, Chinese, and Japanese.

Obviously, I recommend watching Peak Time, which can be seen on Viki in the US (and I believe the UK).

They also have a post-Peak Time show called Picnic Time. You can start here at episode 1, however if there is just one episode you watch, make it Ep. 3, "Upset Staircase".

In non-PT content, Vanner started their own variety series, Vanner Has a Dream, which is a fucking riot. Again, you can start at the beginning, but if there is ONE episode you have to watch, it's the one with gay-on-gay crime. And punishment!

I also find HwanTV to be generally hilarious. Taehwan does all the editing himself, so it's interesting to see what he leaves in.

This is from their pre-Peak Time era, and is a great example of how Vanner can take the most heteronormative concept ever and turn it into a gay dance party.

This Funny Moments clip video and the sequel funny moments video are pretty foundational.

 

The Ships

 
( Friends, I'm not normal about this. )


This primer clearly can't cover everything. And I'm sure I'm leaving out things that even I think are important because frankly, my memory is not as good as it used to be. Feel free to ask me questions in the comments or over on my twitter BoulevardDouble.

Do you like vocals? Do you like girl groups that are chaos personified? Do you like cute but creepy?

Boy do I have the group for you!

Okay, first the basics:

Purple Kiss debuted in March of 2021, though they had dropped two "pre-debut" singles prior. They are Rainbow Bridge World's second-ever girl group, and as such were highly anticipated as Mamamoo's "little sisters". They chose the name Purple Kiss because purple is a color that is made from several others, much like the colors of their voices. I forget where the Kiss comes from. It's probably not that important. I'm a marketer, this is all bullshit anyway.

Originally, PK had seven members, however Park Jieun left the group in November of 2022 due to health reasons. She still frequently posts on the fan cafe, though, to let fans know she's doing well. She's a sweetie and we wish her all the best.

Purple Kiss was intended to be a "conceptless" group, however their debut "Ponzona" had a dark concept, and for the last several comebacks they've been playing on this idea that they're witches. The witch concept started in this Story Film prior to their MemeM album release that is the perfect combination of Wes Andersen and KPop and I adore it.

The fandom name is Plory, and the girls often refer to themselves as Purki.

Unlike my other nugus, PK is from a well-known company in RBW that, while it has its problems, is at least aware they need to spend money on things like MVs, stage costumes, promotion, etc. They have also done a good job getting PK onto various variety shows.

You can even make an argument that PK isn't nugu and I would generally agree with that. If you follow kpop closely, you probably would have heard of them at some point. However, compared to several of their peers, PK is lesser known, and seems to have more international fans than Korean ones based on my very scientific method of comparing the ratios of comments in Korean on YouTube to the ratios of popular groups in Korea.

This could be because they have leaned into the dark concept, and also probably has to do with debuting during a pandemic and competing against such 'instant hit' girl groups as IVE and New Jeans.

Fortunately, Purple Kiss has only one minor scandal to note. During their first ever season's greetings, which was air force themed (which... what?), one of the members had a patch with the Nazi swastika on it. RBW admitted it was their fault for not doing enough to double check the styling, they issued new photocards to replace the ones where it was seen, and that was that.

One of the coolest things about Purple Kiss is that they are partially self produced! Chaein composed and wrote lyrics for several tracks, Yuki wrote like 95% (not an exaggeration really) of her own raps, and other members participated in lyric writing as well. Swan even wrote the lyrics for their debut song, Ponzona!

As of March 21, 2023, they have released five EPs and one holiday single. Individual members have also participated in OSTs.

Into Violet (March 2021) with the title track "Ponzona"

( Click for more music )

Meet Purki!

This is arranged by age order

( Meet Goeun, Dosie, Ireh, Yuki, Chaein, and Swan )

Okay but LISTEN

So I asked a friend, "As a casual PK fan, what drew you to them?" and they responded, "While their choreo is fun, it's that their music fucks." And I have to agree. First, I hate ballads. I find them boring and skippable, no matter who is singing (yes, even Victon's Seungsik). But Purple Kiss has BALLAD RIGHTS. They're SO GOOD. Also their B-Sides are fucking AMAZING. Like. You ALWAYS have to listen to the full album. ( A few of my b-side faves )

Girl Content

Like I mentioned up top, Purple Kiss is one of the wildest girl groups I've seen, especially as Rookies. They always have a good time on variety shows, and especially when it's just themselves. If you watch just one piece of content, let it be their version of the Zombie Game.



They also belong in the competitive karaoke hall of fame.

There are also several FANTASTIC Youtube clip compilations. Like this one. Or perhaps this one.

Listen, they just have the personality of a 12 member group packed into one half the size.

Ships

As of writing this, there are 83!!! Purple Kiss fics on Ao3, 73 if you filter out crossovers.

( Potential Pairings )

ANYWAY, I hope this primer was at least a little bit helpful! Love Purple Kiss, you won't be disappointed.

And if there is anything you'd like to see added to future primers, let me know. Next up will probably be either Nine.i or T.A.N.

Well, we're in good news, bad news land right now. In bad news, there has been lots of back and forth and most of it is confusing for the average kpop fan. In good news, it basically doesn't mean anything.

I'm making this update right now not because there have been major developments, but because if I don't I will absolutely forget something and then people will be like "what does THIS mean" and I'll be like "that was two days ago, keep up" but then I won't have helped them keep up and it'll be a whole mess on top of this mess.

Big shouts to TMIKpop on twitter.

Usual disclaimer: Not a finance professional. Not a lawyer. Not Korean. Much of this content I read using google translate. Personal speculation is in bold.

Parts 1-3 (the backstory)
Part 4 (the Hybe acquisition)
Part 5 (the mudslinging)

( Part 6: The court and public opinion. All rise! )

And that's all the updates through Wednesday February 22, at 4pm MST.

UPDATE: Part 7: The SM Stock Multiverse. Madness!

Holy shit y'all.

The last two days have been bananapants.

Okay, so if you haven't read part 1-3, you absolutely do need to.

All the background you could ever want.

Let's recap very quickly: Lee Soo Man (LSM), founder, former CEO, and father of Noise Music, has been roundly beaten in the game of business by a Private Equity investment firm, Align Partners (AP), who have convinced the current Board of Directors to adopt their 12-point proposal for raising SM Entertainment's (SM) profitability.

Step 1 was dissolving the relationship between SM and LSM's production company Like Planning.

Step 2 saw AP being granted a spot on the new, larger Board of Directors.

And Step 3, which was a step too far apparently, was convincing the current board (including co-CEO Lee Sung Soo, LSM's nephew) further diluting LSM's power as majority shareholder by selling ~9% of SM's shares to Kakao.

The same disclaimers apply to this post. I'm not an expert in finance. I'm not an expert in law. I'm definitely not an expert on Korean law. Once again, I will add my own speculation in bold.

( Part 4: The deal with the devil. Hell! )

And whew. That is all the updates as of 9am MST on February 10th. Again, I will continue to update as we learn more.

Part 5: Let the mudslinging begin. Messy!

So friends, what programs are we using to make icons these days? 

I uhhh, fully cropped this one in paint just to have *something* but it would be nice to get back into making something slightly more aesthetic.