K-pop labels love to spoil fans with content, and truth be told, who are we to complain? Besides concerts, album drops, interviews and live streams, many K-pop groups have their own variety shows that enable fans to get to know the relaxed, fun side of their favourite idols. It also allows newer fans to get to know the group better. If nothing, it’s a great stress buster.
As a long-time multi-stan, idol variety shows are often my starting point to fandoms, so there’s quite a bunch of shows I’ve watched till now. Below, I list some of my all-time favourites.
Going Seventeen – Seventeen
Imagine being such an iconic show that your fandom has a separate name apart from that of the group’s official fandom. Only Seventeen’s Going Seventeen could relate. I personally know many fans who started as Cubics (that’s what Going Seventeen fans are called) and then moved on to listening to Seventeen’s music and became Carats. And I wouldn’t blame them. This is easily one of the most hilarious idol variety shows I’ve ever watched.
Run BTS! – BTS
It’s been two years since the last episode of this show aired, but Run BTS will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first variety show I watched after all. But biases aside, the episodes are pure laugh-out-loud entertainment, and the members betraying each other for a nail’s worth of what they make in a day will never not be funny.
Time To Twice – Twice
I wasn’t even a Once when I started watching TTT, but the way the makers explored different concepts in Time To Twice’s different seasons made it one of my all-time favourites. Case in point, TTT Soulmate where they play characters in a dating show, or a Death Note-inspired season where members must find hidden pens in a library and write each other’s names in a notebook to eliminate them.
Hard Carry – GOT7
With GOT7 as a group itself being so chaotic and hilarious all the time, you would expect nothing less from their variety show. With lots of inside jokes, backstabbing and legendary moments that made for some hilarious memes, this is a show you shouldn’t miss at all.
SKZ Code – Stray Kids
Leave the Stray Kids members in a single room and they’ll start bickering and teasing each other by the time you return. Even though their show has a more wholesome feeling to it at times, the members’ funny side is bound to come out. I especially love the horror episodes and have lost count of the number of times I have rewatched it for a quick dose of laughter.
Wanteez – Ateez
Another show that I started watching before I became an Atiny, Wanteez can easily give many idol variety shows a run for their money in terms of how outright funny it is. There are so many moments in the show that live rent-free in my head that it’s a crime they don’t have more episodes (it’s still an ongoing show though, so we’ll get more).
Leniverse – Le Sserafim
If you’re looking for some quality idol variety show content, look no further than Leniverse Sserafim’s Leniverse. So many creative games and concepts bring out the funny side of these girls that I can’t wait for more episodes.
Also read: K-Pop To K-Dramas: The Unstoppable Wave Of Korean Culture Through These 8 Timelines
