#baabin

less about the romantic entanglements of these characters, what gelboys have stunned me so far is the authencity in which they display genz, more specifically the portrayal of genz who are fans of tpop/kpop. here are some of my favorite tidbits of episode 4 where i thought the representation of a kpop stan culture is IMMACULATE

1. Asking a fortune teller on the most (seemingly) trivial thing like which ticket price, zone for a concert, whether the idol is gonna look in your direction

K-pop concerts in Thailand are some of the GRUESOME ticketing wars, there are proxy services who offer to buy tickets for you (they'd be charging 40-60% of your ticket price too but they're not scalpers (kind of actually, but that's a whole can of worms for another day)). So if you're pressing to grab the ticket yourself, it's brutal. Baabin ticketing with another friend Fourmod does increase a little bit of his chances, but not by much. Luck has to be on their side.

If there is even a chance that choosing the less competitive ticketing zone, ticketing price can get you that ticket, it's definitely good shot to make. And this is just one of the realest portrayals of this phenomenon I've ever seen in TV.

It may not seem a big deal to non kpop concert goers but to be able to record a fancam where the idol looks and smiles in your direction is a huge deal. I know it seems kind of silly, sometimes kpop stans would fill up their whole album with fancams, perhaps of the entire concert, and not even upload anything afterwards, or just uploading a tiny clip of that moment where the idol turns in their direction to their 24 hour IG story. But that's literally us, in all its authenticity. Even if the idol truly can't see us fans from their stage where the lights are blinding them, that one look can bring immeasurable and unexplainable happiness to a kpop stan.

2. Buying/trading concert tickets on Twitter/X

This is no new phenomenon. But as "girl who booked all her flights/accomodation to thailand for a kpop concert, failed the ticketing war, had to go on twitter to find reseller of ticket for another concert so she wouldn't feel like she had wasted her trip', yeah this hits a little bit close to home through the buying/reselling concert tickets at match price on Twitter representation.

3. Personalize your every item to match your favorite kpop group's aesthetic

aka your room looking like a shrine of your k-pop idol. so this is pretty much self explanatory. nothing like owning kpop albums and having so much posters from those albums that you plaster them on your walls, have photocards of your favorite idol attached to your bag, color-themed all of your personal items like guitar case, headphones, clothes, carry your lightstick everywhere with you (especially for mv premiere/streaming day)

4. Relying on your favorite kpop idol for emotional support

Now THIS is real representation. I don't think it's ever highly talked enough about how emotionally dependent on kpop idols, fans are. And no, not in the sense of delusional y/n fangirl/fanboy an idol, but rather in the sense that they're a comfort presence, a y/n bestie perhaps. Albeit, this may be just a fraction of us who stans kpop more fanatically than your average kpop listeners. But I felt extremely seen in this moment where in his happiness moment, Baabin went to his favorite kpop album jumping for joy and when he's at his lowest, he also went to the same shop, to his Lisa, his safezone.

We take photocards of our idols and share our meals with them, their music is there for us in our every moment, social media has made it closer than ever for fans to feel connected with our idols be it through Bubble, Weverse DM, IG Broadcasts... even if it's more a one-way communication service from idols to fans. Nonetheless, these idols bear huge presence in many fans' lives, sometimes to the point where they become an emotional and moral support pillar for many.

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