Human Wave Tactics - Large Groups (I)

Apeace - Debuted in 2011 with 21 members, was the largest K-Pop male group

“Why there’s always a bunch of people in one group?” – This is my first impression toward K-Pop, and I bet that many of you will hands up with the same feeling as me.

Girls' Generation - Debuted in 2007 with 9 members

Large group is a feature of K-Pop, and is also one of their keys to success. For those who are unfamiliar with K-Pop, they might wonder: how come this strategy works so well while I couldn’t even tell one member from another? Well, there are lots of reasons for sure, but I believe here’s the main one: Abundant visual and auditory entertainment.

Super Junior - Debuted in 2005 with 12 members

"As fans' taste and preferences are diverse, the   more a group has members, the better it can serve the fans' tastes," said Dr. Shin Dong Kim, a professor at Hallym University in South Korea, according to an interview from KPopStarz.

Since everyone has their own preference for appearance, personality and characteristic, K-Pop groups just combine everything for everybody. Each person is unique, therefore every member has his/her own position in the group, which is clearly indicated and strongly promoted by the management company. 

Twice - Debuted in 2015 with 9 members

Here are positions that most commonly seen in K-Pop groups:

• Captain → Lead the whole team, usually as spokesperson for press conferences or public events
• Facade → The most handsome or beautiful one in the group, usually the first one to grab attention from public
• Lead singer → Vocalist, sing the largest part in one song and do all high pitch to enrich the songs
• Rapper → Most K-Pop songs comprise rap parts, a show time for rappers
• Lead dancer → The one with the most powerful dancing in the group

EXO - Debuted in 2012 with 12 members

A group with many members means that you can always find a person you like no matter what your type is, thus probably like the whole group and become a fan.