Is LOONA 3rd or 4th Gen?

[GetRapper]

Watching some Queendom 2 clips on Youtube and their interactions with both WJSN and Kep1er had me wondering: because of their long pre-debut period and the current trends in Kpop, is LOONA 3rd or 4th Gen? They can be either/or IMO.

[Belkiss]

3rd  

[Mrs. Morale]

4th? They debut after SKZ & Idle who are considered to be 4th Gen

[Belkiss]

15 minutes ago, loveablejoy said:

4th? They debut after SKZ & Idle who are considered to be 4th Gen

Yes they are 4rth exactly like nct 

[WujuLike]

i consider 2018 is the last year of 3rd gen and 2019 is the start of 4th gen

[GetRapper]

43 minutes ago, WujuLike said:

i consider 2018 is the last year of 3rd gen and 2019 is the start of 4th gen

They're definitely right at the cutoff then because they debuted late in 2018 as a full group.

[solis]

i consider them as debuting at the very end of 3rd gen (with 2019 as the start of 4th gen)

[RussianRoulette]

2 hours ago, Belkiss said:

Yes they are 4rth exactly like nct 

Isn’t NCT 3rd gen though? They debuted in 2016.

[12 Byou]

3rd gen. I think groups that debuted in 2019 are 4th gen.

[UMJI MOODS]

Still 3rd.

[ilove2eatsand]

What marks the start of the fourth gen?

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, onlymyrailgun said:

What marks the start of the fourth gen?

This is actually something I've been wondering as well. I've seen people go as far back as 2017 for the start of the 4th gen, to as recent as 2020 with the debut of aespa. I've even seen people say we're not in the 4th gen but in gen 3.5. Personally I think what would mark the start of a generation is some kind of major change in the industry, which was more obvious with the previous generations - 1st gen: formation of kpop as an industry, introduction of the trainee system, music and dress style was largely ripped wholesale from western groups and Japan. Characterized by groups like H.O.T, Sechkies, Finkl, S.E.S, etc. 2nd gen: the hallyu wave generation, kpop and korean culture expands across East and Southeast Asia, music often has a easy hook to create viral dance crazes. Characterized by groups like TVXQ, SNSD, Super Junior, KARA, Big Bang, Wonder Girls, etc. 3rd gen: kpop begins expanding into the west, the physical CD industry gets revitalized, survival show craze. Characterized by groups like EXO, BTS, Twice, I.O.I, Wanna One, BlackPink, etc. So what characterizes the 4th gen?

I do think things are different in that we are living in a world where kpop is massively successful in the West that was the work of the 3rd gen, and we are seeing groups whose incomes are enormously supported by export sales rather than domestic ones. I think this is why people often pick late 2017/2018 as the start point of the 4th gen because that's when BTS basically blew the door open in the West on a scale not seen before - but did that create a new generation or just change the current one? Who are the groups leading the 4th gen, since as we've seen in previous generations, we can clearly point to certain groups as having been influential in shaping their time in the industry. This is just one long ramble to say that I think it's very murky and perhaps with more time we will see how this generation is different from previous ones, especially in terms of the generational shapers.

Edited April 7, 2022 by elseelseelse2

[LostChild]

16 hours ago, RussianRoulette said:

Isn’t NCT 3rd gen though? They debuted in 2016.

I think they're being ironic. NCT is definitely 3rd gen.

 

Without even considering their predebut solos and subunits, Loona is bottom end of 3rd gen for me. Same for other groups who debuted in 2017-2018 like The Boyz, Izone, Stray Kids, Gidle, etc. I always thought that 4th gen started with the debuts of Itzy and TXT in 2019. But that's just my personal opinion.

[Lee]

I could be wrong but I think the Korean media thinks of LOONA as being a 4th generation girl group. I did a quick search on Naver and they tend to name them alongside groups like TXT and Itzy. Here's an example of an article that makes reference to it.

But if Blockberry Creative had stuck to their plan by revealing all the members for the group before the end of 2017 — and they debuted as a full group that same year — then it would be hard to argue otherwise since other groups who debuted that same year like Dreamcatcher, Elris and Weki Meki are being named as 3rd generation girl groups.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Lee

[ray20220826]

The official Twitter blog considers The Boyz 4th Gen. They debuted on December 6, 2017. 

Quote

The fourth generation - THE BOYZ (@Creker_THEBOYZ), Stray Kids (@Stray_Kids), GIDLE (@G_I_DLE), ATEEZ (@ATEEZofficial), ITZY (@ITZYofficial), TOMORROW X TOGETHER (@TXT_BigHit), TREASURE (@TreasureMembers), aespa (@aespa_official), ENHYPEN (@ENHYPEN_members) etc.