Hello K-Pop Archetypes, Meet C-Pop Clones!

K-pop idols have dream lives, dream talents, and dream hearts aglow a dreamy spine. They thrive on phantasmagoric scopes of intricate choreography, synthetic voices, and eccentric stage fashion, but ultimately, their modus operandi to achieving elusive popularity is archetyping: K-pop idols must share personality traits of a fan’s ideal self-image to sell a self-inserting fantasy.

Interestingly enough, this entire construct of fresh and whimsical manufacturing, packaging, and marketing of archetypes also appears in Beijing. Here, it shows up on TikTok, Instagram, and WeChat Moments, which teenagers browse daily, hourly, and with crackling candor, minutely. To fully grasp this mushroom garden of Chinese archetypes, blooming after the summer pour of Korean pioneers, we shall compare some examples.

The Queen Bee

Did Elizabeth want to be the queen of England? No, she was born to be. BLACKPINK member Jennie Kim fits this Queen Bee archetype: A natural leader; a crowning debutante. She’s all about European vacations and luxury fashion.

The Chinese version is strangely skewed, namely the ABG (Asian Born Gangsters, an awful, awful name!), which entails a confident socialite who’s typically bold, chaotic, and wields marvelous make-up. Whilst the Korean prototype portrays conservative chic, the Chinese doppelganger involves some materialistic lust in the stylings of American pop culture, such as carousing and modeling. This certainly appeals to an exclusive milieu of young, audacious, international teenagers.

The Nymphet

Another idol archetype is for “maknaes” (a Korean term for the youngest in a group), also called the “Nymphet”, derived from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel “Lolita”. Think American Sweethearts, Lana Del Rey, red lollipops, red lipstick, hair ribbons, and baby doll dresses.

But wait, there's more! This article comes from our sister magazine, Jingkids International.

Click here to continue reading

Read:Beijing Pops: Chinese Billionaire's Son, Wang Sicong, Embroiled in New Scandal

Images: Red Velvet Album Cover, Jennie Kim, Dominique Swain, Jang Won Young