Here's Why Some KPOP Idols PRETEND To Be Rich! 

You know something's wrong when a 14 yr old becomes a luxury fashion house's brand ambassador.

Luxury brands actually cater to low income to middle class people, not the rich. They sell to people who want to appear rich. You look at CEOs and known billionaires, they often wear plain shirts and unbranded clothes.

This is why I like Tzuyu coz she wore a local taiwanese bag to the airport and often wears their products (without any brand endorsement with the company, and her mom says she didn’t take any discount) and the brand sold out in a few hours. It’s cooler if idols promote more simpler companies and brands. I also liked when Lisa was promoting for penshoppe

at this point i feel like the k pop industry is giving more importance to fashion and luxury brands instead of their music

Omg finally someone else realizes this. The Kpop industry (and music industry as a whole) is insanely exploitative. All that money goes to the company and idols walking around in luxury brands 90% of the time, didn’t buy it with their own money. The brands most likely give it to them as a form of advertising (and sometimes they pay them) which is really decided by their companies, not the artists. And all the flexing in MV’s is just for show, it’s not a reflection of the artist’s stability. The same applies to western rap artists where flex culture is everywhere. Most of these artists are broke…

This also applies to kpop merch too. I have seen many fans guilt trip other fans who can't afford them by saying they are not real fans?! How does that even makes sense? When it comes supporting your fave idols you can do that by listening to their songs and many other not expensive ways. You cannot categorize fake fans and true fans using this parameter. Everyone comes from a different financial background

Does everyone understand that idols DO NOT OWN 99.9% of the clothes they wear?? The clothes are all borrowed, worn, and returned - the same as checking out a book from a library. Fans want to purchase the items idols wear/promote, and don’t even understand that the idols don’t even have these clothes in their closets at home. That’s why the brands benefit so much because everyone wants to wear what the idols wear

Kpop no longer seems like Kpop anymore it's more like brand ambassador thingy cuz most idols debuting these days just become brand ambassadors and it's sad to see

The only thing I don’t like about idols these days is that it seems like most of them were just rich kids whose parents bought their opportunities in kpop - which is why singing live should be mandatory

To anyone feeling that they need to spend more money to look "luxurious", you don't. Spend what you could afford, and feel comfy with what you have. The marketing that the companies and brands do is really a leeching poison that primarily targets low-middle income people, so please don't spend too much on clothes and your fashion, you can pull off being fashionable without having to spend 10x your usual earnings.

Kpop culture us toxic af. As if the beauty standards in Kpop are not bad enough, the stans, the mistreatment of companies and also the superficiality of the overall image just to look good to other people. Sad.

What is sad is a lot of the kids not knowing that their idols aren’t rich! They have so much debt and don’t get paid. Their families are still giving them money just for food!

Many pretend to have $$. Not just idols. I often see persons with designer bags and I know they have minimum wage jobs...

Anyone remember Gen 2 idols era where they literally speak up to the camera how they grew up from province and poor and would help their parents etc and sneak out to audition in Seoul.

Recently i saw a video made by a korean, he said korean obsession with luxury brand is just ridiculously high, like literal 'what you wear is what you worth'. you wore non branded clothes means you're a failure of society and broke af. Wearing luxury brand almost like a bare minimum to not get looked down upon in society (body and face wise). Its so sad when this trend start to permeating into idol industry. As we know idol comsumer mostly are teenager. Its no different as shifting 'korean adult worker' live standart (that obviously very toxic) into teenager with little to no income. I think korean society is one of the most toxic society, but this just got worse. In recent year, korean birth rate was very low, and i think it wont get any better with their ridiculous live outlook.

BTS and BP have their own black cards so they definitely can afford every single luxury items they want. I just feel sorry to the parents’ and younger generations who are acting impulsively bcoz their idols wear this and that.

I’ve worked with Koreans and noticed that most of them put much importance on beauty and socioeconomic status. The women I spoke to preferred good-looking and rich men as their ideal partner. When asked about personality, they’d say that comes last.

when fans are so over proud about idols having luxury brand offers and making fun of other groups for not having luxury brand deals it's obvious idols want to wear luxury things so people won't look down on them

I mean it's sad that for some people to feel validated in this world they have to buy luxury products and it is really sad when you think about it. I feel like it shouldn't matter like I feel like the only thing that matters is the talent and stuff like that

I love how JYPE artist working with affordable brands. Itzy with charles & keith, got7(former) with adidas and then continued by itzy, twice for bench and then continue by skz, skz with mahagrid. Even cosmetic brands, they're affordable. JYPE really prioritize the fandom loyalty. They made sure the brands that work with their artists are affordable enough for the fandom to support.

at the end of the day, it's about all of us. we need to filter everything that we consume from the internet. so many marketing strategy wrapped up in a trend or something. if you don't have enough money to buy kpop albums or luxury goods that you faves are wearing, then don't buy! your faves won't be homeless just because you skip to buy their albums.

I can’t be the only one a little heart broken that BTS were the ones who wrote a song about materialism and are now the actual largest money makers for these luxury brands that prey on the common wealth. I really wish that fans wouldn’t give power to these luxury brands that don’t even make their clothes ethically. We can support our fav artists in more meaningful ways than buying into these hollow, materialistic advertisements.

One item of clothing out of these artists’ luxury items would probably cost more than my fully thrifted wardrobe 😭

Priorities. If people want to get into debt just to impress strangers that’s their problem. This mentality won’t change.

I dare say it's because of blackpink that many brands dare to invest and have kpop artists represented. The luxury brand annual report that BP represents is at least $500 million annually that luxury brands sell using BP's reputation. (Thanks for the information from Vogue.)

A lot of idols really don’t own most of the clothes they wear in public, hence why we see multiple idols wear the same tops or other clothing pieces. There is a video in which a day in the life of an idol stylist is shown and she goes to a place where stylists usually rent clothes from (and even designer ones), for idols. It’s pretty interesting

Said the same thing about idols and almost got chewed out. African artists buy private jets and homes with cash with less streams and sales but tonnes of shows paid for by promoters in the UK and US. These idols are being largely cheated IMO. Their homes are like every regular homes in Lekki, Lagos. Thank you for being honest about'brand exposure'

LOL new jeans being ambassadors of those luxurious brands with few years or months of debuting , seems like hybe really payed to get attention for their new gg.

I miss the 3rd gen idols when in their rookie days they used to dress up like losers nowdays minors and people with no impact are becoming brand ambassador

This has long been a trait in Korea. There used to be a word (which I can’t remember) to describe girls who ate ramen for meals so that they could buy luxury handbags. It doesn’t seem prevalent in 2nd & 3rd Gen Korean-Americans, but I still see it in 1st Gen Korean-Americans. There’s a bit of the “keeping up with the Joneses” attitude. My mom is immune to it, but my dad has a bit of that bug. He recently bought a $2000 golf driver because his Korean friends all had them and were bragging about it

These luxury brands could care less about the idols themselves but they surely care about the profit.

ever since blackpink became brand ambassadors many other brands saw that kpop has a huge influence and started having idols as brand ambassadors this inturn is affecting fans and they are spending thousands of dollars on these products they are endorsing

That’s why I rather listen to the songs and not look up who’s the artist. It’s better that way

I'd actually love it if an idol wore affordable clothes. It'd be refreshing, and imagine how popular it would be if they wore something most of their fans can actually afford.

9:05 Yes, us older Kpop fans realize this is a marketing strategy but we're equally upset at watching kids become walking ads for luxury brands that are overrated anyways. These brands were a thing 20 years ago and dying since then, and now they found Kpop to leech off from, ugh.

Dear youngsters who look up so much to kpop, save up for your education. That will last, your idols probably just be there for like 5 years, they don't even venture for investment which makes them broke once they are off from the lime light. Don't be carried away by awful fashion items, they wont last too.

I can't even afford to buy albums nor attend the concerts of the K-pop groups that I like but I'm content enough to just listen to their musics. I'm broke so............ but doesn't mean that I would look good in those goods even if I do have the money to buy. People really need to stop caring about high fashion so much and start to look at the idol's talents instead. Their beautiful voices will be gone to waste at this rate if all we care about are their fashions.

i love kpop , i love their music, but sometimes things are a little extra..

Finally it time, I have been wondering why a lot of K-pop celebrity are now brand ambassador for luxury brands although I loved it at first, I soon realized that it what a scheme to get fans to buy their items which is now getting out of hand.

ive heard this saying recently, really rich people know have to save money and wear average clothing, but people who are poor will do a lot to show off and save up for luxury t things

Luxury brands in Korea are targeting low and middle class people that is the reason why they use K-pop idols to be their ambassadors. Also, they know that these people are willing to spend millions of dollars just for the sake of validation. Hate to break it to you but most upper class people don’t listen to kpop.

If I was a kpop idol I would much rather advertise the things I like, like manga that isn't very well known and stuff like that not brands like Gucci etc and it's honestly sad that because of kpop idols young middle schoolers want the same brands they have it's honestly disgusting

It's such a shame their wasting all that money on such ugly clothing too. Most luxury fashion items are just gross looking.

Super rich people usually don't show it. Show offs walk around with luxury brands.

It's starting to become annoying to see idols only uploading photos to advertise something expensive to the fans. In my opinion it is borderline predatory as we are now talking about teenagers demanding stuff that's worth thousands of dollars. I hope their parents tell them it's not about the luxury goods you own in life.. (then again if this is the accepted social norm.. I don't know what to say)

Luxury brand are the biggest scam

The fact that Hybe paid for Newjeans to make them so called "ambassadors" of the same brands as Blackpink to compete with them💀💀💀. How do people even think that minors can become brand ambassadors of such luxury brands like Hybe literally paid for them💀💀💀💀👆👆👆

living in SK is so haaarrdd. I have a dream to visit SK, but only for a vacation, not for living since I knew I may never able to catch up their lifestyle. You always need to looks perfect in body and beauty, and also using high end or designer brand for the fashion. just thinking about it, I feel depressed :( if you are pretty and rich, I think you are able to live comfortably in SK. but if you are an ordinary person, I think you will struggle a lot.

I appreciate idols like taehyung and jungkook, you'll see them wearing the outfits often like that floral shirt and black sweat shirts lol. They seem like very real and I me relate to them. It's not an offence to other kpop idols but like you mentioned older kpop fans understand it as a marketing strategy but it might affect younger kpop stans mentally, they might feel insecure or think they're judged on the basis of the branded items they own. And there's a wave of fanwars on twitter where fans of certain group act like they are the ambassadors of these luxury brands. It's just 'who's got the bigger brand' and delusion of fans combined making the whole kpop fan culture all the more toxic. When i hear about kpop idols it's usually about Paris fashion week not their music.

No offense but gen 4 kpop idols looks more like models especially girl groups rather than musicians. That's why my interest in K-pop has been kind of decreasing lately. And I am not targeting the idols I am talking about the labels.

There was a time kpop idols used to come from extreme poverty, and we rooted for them to make it big. Idols like IU, Yunho ans Jaejoong from TVXQ, members of Big Bang and many other brands were all self-made. We followed their journey and their music reflected their life. Even some of the BTS members went through extreme hardships. Their income and net value didn't matter to us fans because we wanted to make them successful. Their humbleness won us over. Now, every kpop idol seems to be born rich. It's all glitz and gold. I don't find good music anymore. It's hard to root for them because their music doesn't reflect passion and hardships anymore. Some make great music, but it's nowhere near what the second and a few third generation idols were.

As someone who grew up pretty comfortable, luxury items are a scam unless the resell value is good. K-pop fans/ people trying to look rich should invest their money and become rich for real

When the society needs to own luxury things just to show that they have made it, it is a clear sign of inferiority complex within them.

Groups who are very popular like BP or BTS don't actually fake their luxury, Twice doesn't spend that much but is it very popular. Newjeans actually overlooks themselves so does IVE. Please Bunnies don't accuse me of this, it is actually true and they shouldnt spend the money they make.

I am so disappointed in all these Kpop idols saying yes to these contracts and these kids wanting these things and getting bullied for not having the expensive things. Kpop is becoming about image more and more and not so much about the amazing music, I remember when luxury was only a backseat to Kpop in 2018 and most idols had custom outfits made by stylist or pieces from stores like h&m, still not a good brand, but didn't promote luxury ideals that are even worse for the world.

It's always been like this. All parents has to darn head strong and say to the kids that if you want it work for it youreself to earn it and learn to value it. Parents are doing wrong when they just give.

Meanwhile, I was watching a behind the scenes Vlog for a kpop group touring the US, and the artist was all excited about the three tshirts he had just gotten from WalMart. There are lots of very down to earth artists in kpop too. One think I find endearing about my ults is that some of them have favorite shirts/hats/etc., and you can see those items popping up on lives and behind the scenes videos for years. So, yes, Kpop is very visually oriented, so dressing fashionably will be a thing, especially for more popular groups (they have more visibility and more money), but mileage will vary.

I'm so glad I live in Europe, we wear whatever we want and live happy without any rat races.

*I remember the old days were fashion is just fancy outfit*

My friends and I brag on how cheap we got our stuff 🤣

The Luxury brands trend is so dumb Some people in school Bullied me in school cause i was wearing normal shoes and not Brand shoes And asked me if i found my Shoes in a trash can I really cant get people who buy things just because they are a trend or Extremly expensive What is the matter at the price of something

Seriously!!!! Finally someone speaking about it . After seeing some kdramas and videos I always wondered why can't they live in a spacious house with normal items instead of living in a congested house with luxurious clothing and makeup and bags and so on .... the one thing I would like to say to the younger generations is pls don't get influenced by these . We must be happy with what we have . As long as u have CLOTHES it doesn't matter . Doesn't matter if it is a $20 jeans or $2000 jeans IT IS STILL A JEANS WHICH WE WEAR . As long as u have a bag for keeping your stuff it doesnt matter , as long as u have makeup and skincare which is suitable for your skin it doesnt matter .our parents work really hard and we work really hard to earn a living and if u r student u must work on your career . U might buy 2 or 3 or these luxurious products for your satisfaction but if it is to show off pls don't.if it is your parents money then definitely don't. Bro seriously some of the dresses these idols wear r expensive than my annual house rent . THE DECISION U TAKE DEPENDS ON YOUR MINDSET !!!! If u look at me I have been a kpop fan for years and I have watched tons of kdramas .. but I never bought any merch or luxurious clothing of any kpop group or brand . U need to understand that idols mostly do not own 90% of the luxurious clothing they wear . It is just companies which use idols as an advertisement tool . We have no idea what is happening behind the camera . The dresses and jewelery worn by them r returned . It is all the kpop companies who do these . A lot of idols dint even receive their salaries and even if they did it is very low . It is all business. Luxurious brands use idols to sell their products and companies use idols to earn money . There is no guarantee or proof that idols own all they wear!!!

Luxury brands are just trollers of poor and middle class people. Since kpop gained popularity they're going all out now imagine seeing 14year olds as house ambassador what effect it'll have on ordinary teens

Thank you for this eye opening topic about the kpop+luxurious brand collaboration. Specially to those teenagers aiming to be their kpop idols, aiming to buy luxurious products and flex. I hope more content creator will post lots of this issue and give lessons to this younger generation losing the simple path way of life.

Should be fixed, Minji not becoming a global ambassador for Chanel. She's for Chanel Korea.

Remember when Won Young showcased the MiuMiu shoes? That was one item that I really wanted to buy when she wore it, it was so beautiful. The strategy to use idols as brand endorsers, brand ambassadors and brand partners is a real quick way to sell products fast.

Age doesn't bother me, since all of us from the time we are babies must dress up and follow fashions, whether luxury or not. What should matter is if the idol is focused on his music or just on modeling, since the main meaning is lost. I am grateful that BTS, after a successful first chapter that lasted 10 years, now gave themselves the opportunity to work with brands that represent them as individuals. The vast majority of fans are adults and more than one will be able to afford to buy clothes

But Korea (like many other countries) worships good looks. In clothes, accessories and even places. When I was there, it was very interesting to see the clash between this "pretty" oriented society and the more realistic, authentic, older, not as pretty side of the country. This also happens in the idol industry, obviously. One thing I've realized is that idols don't share their dorms as much as before (i got into kpop in 2012), and many groups showcased their living spaces which were, mostly, so small, full of stuff and somewhat claustrophobic in my opinion. It was so interesting to see that they returned there after their schedules, but people tend to forget that being an idol is not luxurious at all: they don't sleep much, don't have much time for anything else than practice and work and many of them don't see much money at the beginning of their careers (this could take years). But the industry is for the fans, to sell a type of life, youth and beautiful people, and also luxury. But that's just work, not reality.

The whole k-pop is now fashion deals and Spotify

We went from buying Albums to convincing kpopfans to buy other stuffs marketing department is working hard lol

Why even worship the rich people? I mean being rich doesn't mean you're a good person

I just finished watching a k drama out of boredom and their blatantly obvious obsession with brand names is just so comically tacky

Brands give you dresses to wear and advertise but later on take it back. I thought this was common sense 🤨🤨

It may just be my personal taste, but I don't understand the hype around clothes and accessories that have giant brand logos. When I see clothings that have brand logos on them, it's not attractive to me. Then I watched this tiktok about how luxury brands have tiers. They have the "commoner tier", the products have brand logos in them. And then they have "elite tier" that's apparently saved for the old money people. I'm over here liking the "elite tier" and I don't even have the money for the "commoner tier"

I am an army and a blink I Am proud to say that I have never even once brought anything they wore or promoted and not even their albums photo cards nothing I do support them but not in a financial way but more of supporting their passion Would I reject if someone gave me those things for free? NO of course I'll take it

kpop idols started to become walking advertisements. All airport looks are plastered with chanel, dior, gucci, etc. People are spending less and less bc of inflation and seeing all of these advertisements online on every 3rd post of these idols just makes me angry. Fans just have to stop consuming so much in general. Consuming culture is toxic esp. when it comes to luxury goods. These brands make millions, dont give them more by getting broke yourself - be clever ! Most of these brands arent even that environmental friendlier than other less pricey brands, its just obvious trolling these brands do at this point.

South Korea is nr 1 in the highest household debt. That means, South Koreans are spending money that they don't have (loans, credit cards).

People do realize that 90% of the items the idols are wearing are not theirs right? A stylist just throws it on them for their walk to the TV station and then literally takes it off them the moment they get behind closed doors so the items can be taken back to the vendor.

You know spending like that is fine if you can afford it but just remember that when you die you can't take that stuff with you maybe a few things here and there but to go overboard with luxury items it's just not necessary.

Thank God the group I stan wears and represents (and songs flex) ulta luxury but also appear in the most “i just woke up and i didnt have time to get ready” look. It gives the human connection.

just a small correction: jia had only few things that were knock-offs and they were proved which ones were. she is indeed a very hard working influencer.

i'm happy the new jeans girls are getting endorsements (and probably earning lots of money from them) at an early age but i wish they'd dress them in something age-appropriate. those children look like they raided their moms' closets sometimes and are wearing clothes that are too big for them, and i don't mean the size of the clothes. i wish they're also given time to develop their sense of style first because they don't look confident in them and they're effectively just dolls for people to play dress up

more of the new gen groups probably not even that rich yet but older gen group such as blackpink or bts they are really rich and could afford these brand and deals and no matter what the brands won't let them go because old is gold but their influence is just too big for newer gen groups to surpass.

It’s kinda sad that people prioritise such meaningless luxury items instead of things that matters. Yes they may be nice (sometimes), I do own some luxury items that I got when I was younger, but now as I’ve grown older, i find myself leaning towards unique novelty items because they’re just more fun but to each of their own

i see so many comments that it can make me cry that people talk about groups, it’s ok to be an ambassador for a brand the brand are already well known and also the kpop idols, the real matter is obsession, you can see how people obsessed with idols and groups even this is not good in real life and all things start from this , and this made the process more quick , why other countries aren’t like that even they are also fans,!? some are highly obsessed and some low ….. and some are mature more , and also you can see 4 th gen fans especially , for example blackpink in 2019 were luxury brands ambassador but some people hate it and talk about it but now it’s really normal in 4 th gen even they are comparing to blackpink and say they will end …… this was one of the comments i read , and now i see some people in the comments said it’s because of blackpink or something or earnings money,, just open your eyes and mind , why other companies doing it !? there were also befor them ,! companies like hybe , sm , jyp , starship.,,… and being brand ambassador wasn’t like that before it was quite normal…. but people’s obsession over kpop groups made this situation it’s ok to be a fan you can be but an obsessed fan outside music world is a problem, 3 rd gen have more mature fans but 4 th gen i see fans that say iam 11 or 10 or 12 !! …first people should understand if you are a fan just be a fan of music…… and it’s ok to like and love an idol but not obsessed with them support them but you don’t have to buy anything from this group, when i see records about album sales or other things i feel so sad because it’s not a real data of having a lot of fan ….. this is just one who can afford it and also not number of real music lover but also a part from it there are numbers of obsessed fans who may stand the group because of visual, company , style or anything…… and we can see how companies will benefit from people who obsessed with thier idols , it’s not the idol’s decision but companies, and some companies will do it for showing strong image, some for competition, some for making money, we have all kind of course the brand will do it for knowing more and selling more , and thier ranking …….. but it’s not the kpop idol’s decision as for example a company said that yg didn’t let lisa to renew thier contract with lisa ….. even if they earn money….. and the real problem is fans highly obsession over kpop idols and this should solve because it’s not wrong to be an ambassadors or any groups fault people should be aware more , and also companies should be aware more with 4 th gen groups because they have a lot of under 18 age fans this could affect them alot … especially when it goes like that they should have rules i said that before, kpop must have new rules about idols age , management , and also brands … kpop is about music not other things…..

I was so sad when Kai's Gucci collection dropped and I couldn't afford it ㅠㅠ

I hate when ppl post the pics of idols in airport and other events , mentioning the price of each item they werw.. Specially blinks.. It's like all they have and wear is luxury clothes.. Nothing normal.... Its just not normal

Ouch. 😅 I used to watch this S. Korean vlogger who started with simple vlogs talking about South Korea and its culture while walking round the city. Then, she started vlogging at home and I noticed how small and "clumped together" her home was with her parents and yet she often shows her luxury goods onscreen. 😅

This is prevalent in areas where we live. We see many Koreans who live in apartments and lease a nice car to show off. I guess it’s a culture thing.

There is this woman who used to brag about her luxury lifestyle and items...couple of decades later her rent is due for half a million euros... Even if you can afford it now, you will always be in a chace to keep up.

i find it so weird to prefer spending so much money on luxury fashion instead of traveling or buying a home...

where I live (Hawaii) people on welfare carry around luxury bags like it's a flex, but we (middle class) all know they got that at a secondhand shop. i think people just buy luxury labels to feel less poor. while the actual rich people wear plain shirt, jeans and slippers here.

I watched someone's video on this phenomena, and in east asia, people put a lot of care in how they look, abd how people perceive them. Most of them buy luxury just to have others look at them and think they are high class, earn well and be appreciated. They want to be like the others so they aren't bullied or left on outside their group at work/ friend group etc

Back in my days I was just happy to see my favs do a commercial for baskin robbins or a music video for a new phone😆

Kpop fandom used to be just fun and simple. I stopped being fan because the over flexing culture became too much and very toxic. I dont get why young fans tend to just buy everything and flex everything. I dont get why they make expensive photocards as a keychain and then cries for a week if it got damaged. Over flexing culture is just nonsense but a toxic deed inside the fandom that teaches young people to even fool their parents just to buy kpop merchandises. Its just to much nowadays

And then there is EXO who every member is a millionaire and they still stay lowkey and being humble.

watching "the glory", seems like koreans are a bit too much in love with money.

*We can buy dresses which are affordable and comfy.* I am teenager and also an Army, but I don't wish to buy those*!! People spend so much money on non materialist things, rather try helping someone with their education, health. Being teenager, even I understand how can people who are above 20 yrs won't. *Showing off what you got won't give you happiness rather try helping someone*

The Louis Vuitton ambassador lady at 8:35 - 8:39 (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) How is that face ambassador fr?!

It's not because of kpop. Koreans have always been like this. Probably centuries. Showing off status has been around probably as long as the country existed. Yes I'm korean. In the 70s when my dad brought American chocolate, m&m, it was a big deal. Anything American was considered luxury.