BLACKPINK's new single 'Jump' tops iTunes charts in 47 countries
The song released Friday marks the group's first release in two years and 10 months since its second full-length album, "Born Pink," in September 2022, excluding "The Girls" from the soundtrack of a video game.
"Jump," with an addictive chorus, marks a transformation from the K-pop quartet's previous charismatic musical style. It "captivates listeners with guitar riffs reminiscent of a Western film, layered with the members' distinctive vocals," according to the agency.
Music producers Teddy and 24, who have crafted BLACKPINK's hit songs, collaborated on the track with international lyricists and composers. The song's music video was helmed by award-winning director Dave Meyers.
BLACKPINK performed the song for the first time during its "Deadline" world tour at Goyang Sports Complex Main Stadium in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, last weekend.
The tour will then take the group to 15 other cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Paris, Milan, London and Bangkok. (Yonhap)
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Korea Herald
7 hours ago
- Korea Herald
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Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
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Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
‘Teto' or ‘egen'? Young Koreans turn to hormone-inspired identity tests
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Online content now covers dating, marriage, fashion, beauty and workplace behavior based on these archetypes. One beauty YouTuber posted a makeup tutorial titled 'Makeup for egen women,' featuring a clean and neat look. There are also countless videos on topics like 'The ideal woman for an egen man,' 'How teto women talk to teto men' and 'How teto women date egen men.' History of typing the self Self-categorization trends are nothing new. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, blood types were a popular personality metric in Korea and Japan. Statements like 'type A people are timid' and 'type B people are selfish' were commonly accepted, even though they originated in racially motivated studies by a Japanese eugenicist that have since been rejected by scientists. Later, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI, became the most popular personality clasification tool, dividing people into 16 types. People began using MBTI types to explain themselves in conversations and check compatibility on first dates. It even found its way into career planning and hiring processes. Professor Lim Myung-ho of Dankook University's Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy explains the popularity of such trends as rooted in a desire for self-discovery and understanding. 'The trend reflects the MZ generation's effort to understand themselves and build positive relationships with others,' he said. Curiosity or confinement In a nationwide survey by Embrain Trend Monitor involving 1,000 Koreans aged 19 to 59, 76 percent of respondents in their 20s and 71.6 percent in their 30s said they 'want to understand themselves accurately.' The 86 percent of those in their 20s and 87.6 percent of those in their 30s said they were 'curious about who they are,' yet only 22.4 percent and 36.8 percent, respectively, felt they had truly learned about themselves through experience. The results highlight a growing reliance on type-based classifications to explore identity and match behavior to social expectations. In essence, these tests are light-hearted forms of entertainment, but they also serve as tools for introspection, self-expression and social communication. 'In an anxious society, it reflects a desire to feel a sense of belonging and create intimacy in relationships,' said Lim. 'As long as the intense competition among young people continues, these types of classification trends will persist.' However, some experts caution that such identity tests risk reinforcing oversimplified binaries. Framing behavior and traits in terms of gendered hormones can make stereotypes further entreched. 'Humans are wired to categorize and group things. Just like with MBTI or blood types, categorizing people into 'teto men' or 'egen men' is another attempt to simplify complex human nature,' said Kwak Geum-joo, a professor of psychology at Seoul National University. She warned that while such classifications begin as curiosity, they can become self-restrictive if taken too seriously. Professor Lim echoed the concern, 'Blindly believing in these tests can lead to overgeneralization and binary thinking. Identity tests should be treated lightly and used for reference only,' he said.
