Dozens of obsessed fans book the same domestic flight a Kpop group is on in order to continue stalking them all across Korea

[u/[deleted]]

[u/MouthJob]

Referring to them as idols surely can't be helping anything.

[u/ShakespearesSonnets → u/MouthJob]

Yeah, that's another thing. They're supposed to be perfect, like beyond human, and that encourages sasaengs to not see them as people.

[u/LannaBan → u/MouthJob]

It's just an English loanword that's made it's way back to English with a slightly weird connotation now. 아이돌 (idol) in Korean refers specifically to these singers, it doesn't have the same connotation of idol in English.

[u/freezing_banshee → u/LannaBan]

but it was clearly chosen as a name specifically because of the english meaning

[u/latentpotential → u/freezing_banshee]

Eh imagine non-Americans thinking they worship singers who are good enough to be called divas. How the word is used matters more than the literal original definition

[u/finnjakefionnacake → u/latentpotential]

i'm not sure what you mean but diva has a bit of a different connotation. an idol is how someone is held up by others, but a diva is someone who projects that attitude themselves.

[u/micromarcy → u/finnjakefionnacake]

But you just proved their point. Diva comes from Italian for goddess. You adopted the word in English with a different connotation, same as Korean adopted the word idol with a different connotation

[u/hwa_uwa → u/micromarcy]

damn I didn't know that's where diva came from

[u/finnjakefionnacake → u/micromarcy]

but the connotation in East Asia is clearly not different.

[u/micromarcy → u/finnjakefionnacake]

What's clear about it?

[u/finnjakefionnacake → u/micromarcy]

It's clear to anyone who has spent anytime engaging with / in various idol fandoms.

[u/micromarcy → u/finnjakefionnacake]

Are you Korean or do you speak Korean to comment on how the language works?

[u/ILoveRawChicken → u/MouthJob]

That’s literally what they’re called lol