17 Carat K-Pop

An overview of what the podcast 17 Carat K-Pop is all about, what topics have been covered so far, and what to expect on the show in 2021!

100 Japanese and Chinese music recommendations, ranging from music videos to singles to full albums!

An overview of what the podcast Enthusiasts (formerly called How to Stan) is all about and a preview of what fandoms will be explored in future episodes!

The 20 best K-pop albums of 2020, the 10 best English albums of 2020, and more music released this year that deserves a shoutout and more appreciation!

After a K-pop news roundup and K-pop awards show reactions, Hope gives shoutouts to the honorable mentions for “Best K-Pop Music Videos of 2020”!

A brief timeline explaining both how LEGO was invented and how LEGO became what it remains today: so much more than just a toy brand.

A countdown of the top 50 best K-pop music videos of 2020!

Hope revisits the predictions she made about the future of K-pop at the end of 2019, shares her Spotify Wrapped data and why people are so curious about one another’s playlists, and adds important context to the story of this show’s past, present, and future. Plus: news stories about BTS, LOONA, 88Rising, BLACKPINK, STRAY KIDS, and many more!

This latest installment in the “Betrayals” series of episodes tells the true stories of false identities. First, the story of Marla Olmstead, a painter and alleged child prodigy whose actual abilities were questioned after a 60 Minutes investigation. The second story is about how Timothy Barrus portrayed himself as a Navajo man named Nasdijj while writing his memoirs, and what happened when the tr...

In this episode, Hope shares her thoughts and theories about Kai’s debut solo EP, music video, and short film and explains his character’s place in the SM Entertainment Music Video Universe! Plus: the world’s longest music video, the latest uses of AI technology, and more news updates about both K-pop and the music industry as a whole.

This episode connects symbols and lyrics from Resonance Pt.2 to symbols and lyrics present throughout previous NCT releases. This episode also revisits and updates the music video theories laid out in previous NCT-dedicated episodes of the show and elaborates on the underlying messages in NCT’s storylines.

A track-by-track breakdown of the creation and meaning of each song on Be, an overview of easter eggs from the Be album teasers, a BTS news roundup, and an application of a Pixar movie to explain the mass appeal of BTS’s music!

This episode covers the history of karaoke, its particular cultural significance in Asia, and why promoting K-pop karaoke worldwide is an investment that can pay off on many levels. Plus: updates about BTS, Taemin, a new K-pop app, online concerts to look forward to, and more!

This first installment in a series of toy-themed episodes provides a timeline of Barbie’s and Mattel’s career highs and lows, unpacks the complicated legacy Barbie dolls have, and looks at the impacts of the “Barbie vs Bratz” feud on consumers. Plus: the true story of the feud between two people who both insisted on getting sole credit for the creation of Cabbage Patch Kids.

In this week’s roundup of K-pop and music industry news stories: the latest 2021 concert plans, LOONA’s quirky new marketing tactic, Psy and JY Park’s new show, BTS’s latest achievements, and MUCH more!

Unpacking the layers of meaning within Taemin’s new album and music video, explaining the philosophical theory that inspired the album, and proposing new theories about the Taemin Music Video Universe!

Hope talks with Zoe Fraade-Blanar, one of the authors of Superfandom, about the evolution of fandom studies, what distinguishes fans from consumers, sources of tension among fans, and ultimately what it means to be in a fandom.

From “All In” to “Love Killa,” this episode covers the MONSTA X music video universe’s storylines in chronological order. This recap addresses character arcs, symbols and theories about their meanings, and predictions about where their story goes from here!

A recap of the Hyundai mini-movie-meets-commercial and what it means for the future of music marketing, a discussion about the best K-pop releases of October, a mega roundup of the latest K-pop news, and much more!

A look back at three lip-synching scandals that became defining moments in pop culture history and what caused such different public reactions to each of those instances.

From the TXT members’ pre-debut intro videos to their newest album, this episode breaks down the layered meanings of and the multiple inspirations behind each addition to the TXT music video storyline, in chronological order! Plus: parallels between TXT and BTS videos, what details to look for in future TXT videos, and a theory about the ACTUAL literary work that serves as TXT’s ultimate inspirati...

Each episode in the “Betrayals” series tells a story about a time when fans felt lied to and betrayed. From lip-syncing scandals to memoirs that turned out to be fiction to ordinary children made out to be child prodigies by their parents, each story breaks down a time fans felt disillusioned and why they did or did not remain a fan of the pop culture source of their sense of betrayal. Episode one...

Hope revisits her predictions about what the latest LOONA comeback would entail, predicts where the LOONAverse storyline goes from here, and clarifies which aspects of the LOONAverse are confirmed to be more than just fan theories.

This latest SEVENTEEN-dedicated episode of the show includes a track-by-track recap of SEVENTEEN’s newest album, theories about how their new songs and music video are connected to their previous releases, a list of seventeen things to keep an eye out for in both the current and future SEVENTEEN comebacks, and much more!

From George R. R. Martin to Stephenie Meyer, this episode breaks down authors’ arguments both for and against writing fan fiction, demonstrated through stories about when fan fiction led to positive outcomes and about when it caused extreme distress among fans and authors alike.