K-pop dictionary for beginners: bias, maknae, comeback and more
Photo: K-POPIT 케이팝잇, CC BY 4.0. Adapted for the web.
K-pop has its own language. These are the words you will come across first.
About the artists
- Idol: an artist trained by an agency to sing, dance and perform.
- Trainee: a hopeful who trains at an agency before debuting.
- Debut: a group’s first official release.
- Leader, main vocal, main dancer, rapper: each member’s role.
- Maknae: the youngest member.
- Visual: the member seen as the group’s most representative image.
About being a fan
- Bias: your favourite member of a group.
- Bias wrecker: the member who makes you doubt your bias.
- Ult: your favourite across all groups.
- Fandom: a group’s community of fans. Nearly all have their own name: ARMY, BLINK, ONCE, STAY…
- Sasaeng: a fan who invades an artist’s private life. Not a compliment.
About the music
- Comeback: when a group returns with new music, even if they never went away.
- Era: the period and aesthetic of a release.
- Title track: an album’s main song.
- B-side: the other songs.
- Fanchant: what the crowd shouts during each song.
- Daesang: the grand prize at South Korean award shows.
About the objects
- Photocard: a card with a member’s photo found inside albums, usually at random.
- Lightstick: the group’s official concert light.
- Binder: the album where you keep your photocards.
That covers the basics. To find out where it all comes from, continue with the generations of K-pop, or pick a group to start with.