Lets just say I stumbled upon an interesting piece of Korean pop culture this week and I saw it actually on Twitter(X) and it is about the viral wave surrounding ATEEZ’s San and the choreography from the group’s song “BAD.” The particular chest-popping move performed by San spread across TikTok, Instagram Reels, X and YouTube Shorts, with countless recreations, reactions and memes appearing online. To be honest when I first saw it, I was not particularly impressed, im so sorry to say but the memes and all did not make it any better.
What makes the trend particularly interesting to me is how differently people seem to react to it depending on where they are coming from. In Korea, it feels much more like a genuine pop culture wave. The choreography has appeared in different contexts, including sports and entertainment, and even celebrities have joined in on the dance. The memes are probably one of the funniest parts of the whole thing. People have taken the original move and recreated it in increasingly ridiculous ways, from children attempting the choreography to edited versions involving completely unexpected characters.
But there is an interesting cultural divide in the reaction. While many Korean viewers and K-pop fans see the dance as funny, impressive or simply entertaining, some international viewers, especially after San did the dance in the Athletico madrid stadium, people who are not familiar with K-pop culture have found the whole thing rather awkward or “cringe.” Some football focused accounts mocked the performance because they were encountering the dance without the K-pop context that made it popular in the first place.
Personally, I think the funniest part is that both sides are reacting to the same thing but seeing completely different stories. To someone already immersed in Korean entertainment culture, San's performance is part of a huge viral moment, complete with challenges, celebrity participation and memes. To someone who has never watched K-pop, suddenly seeing a man doing an exaggerated chest-pop dance at a football stadium can understandably look completely bizarre.
