One of the most beloved music industries in the world right now is the Korean music industry. As we speak, BTS made history as the first K-Pop group to win the coveted “Artist of the Year” award at the 2021 AMAs. With recognition on a global scale, the K-Pop world is facilitating a reverse globalization of the East to the West. This is not only culturally significant, but also a historical phenomenon.
ARMY! 🚨 You did it! you voted and @BTS_twt and the #AMAs Artist of the Year! Congratulations! 🎉 #BTSxAMAs pic.twitter.com/wJ6NDQgHbo
— American Music Awards (@AMAs) November 22, 2021
If you’re just starting to delve into the wonderful world of K-Music and are confused about certain jargon, whether official or fan-made, we’ve got the perfect guide for you.
Today’s topic is FOTG or “group guy“.
You may have heard this term in Korean variety shows, interviews, showcases, press conferences, promotions, and more. It is usually directed at a specific member of a K-Pop group/band/duo who is considered the group representative. However, this position is very different from “Leader”. Likewise, the term “Group Guy” might lead you to think that the member with the most impressive looks gets this role. However, the “Look” of the group and the “Face of the Group” are very different positions. In fact, these positions may overlap, but they are not mutually related. In other words, the Leader of a group can also be the Face of the group, but this does not imply that all Leaders are the Face of their group.
It is also important to note that “Face of the Group” is generally not an officially assigned position. While positions such as Leader, Visual, Main Vocalist, Main Rapper, Main Dancer, Sub-vocalist, Sub-rapper, Sub-dancer, Producer and so on are official positions, “Group Guy” is a position that, in most cases, , is implied rather than assigned. It is very similar to the “Center” of the group, but again, the “Center” position is almost always assigned by the group’s agency.
EXO’s Twitter
You might be wondering if a K-Pop group might not have an official “Face”, how is the “Face” decided? Generally, the “Face” is the member who is invited to events such as variety shows, panels, and so on, as a representative of their K-Pop group. For example, (G)I-DLE’s SoYeon, BTS’s RM, EXID’s Hani, Red Velvet’s Joy, EXO’s Kai, Super Junior’s Heechul, LOONA’s Chuu, BIGBANG’s G-Dragon, ASTRO’s Cha EunWoo and so on onwards are often considered the “Face” of their group by netizens because of this reason. It is not necessarily determined by the member’s popularity, but rather by their ability to express the group’s worldview concisely.
TWICE’s Twitter
In some cases, all members of a group are considered the “face” of the group, and as such, there is no particular member who fills the role alone. Some examples of this are BLACKPINK and TXT. Likewise, there can be two or more members in a group who are considered the “face” of the group, like in TWICE. Members Sana, Momo, and NaYeon are considered the “face” of TWICE. Also, for some groups, the “face” of the group keeps changing.
In all cases, however, there isn’t a solid unanimous choice when it comes to “Face”. The industry may consider a member like Face, while the fandom may look for another member for the same. Anyway, rather than being a position of privilege, it’s more one of responsibility.
Who do you think is the face of your favorite K-Pop group? Share your thoughts on Kpopmap in the comments section below, and let us know what you’d like us to explain next!
