Chuseok Idol Binge

Chuseok Holiday Binge-Watching — Not Dramas, This Way

During holidays, "binge-watching" usually refers to dramas. However, the viewing environment during holidays is not very favorable for dramas. It's constantly interrupted, you can't play it freely in the living room, and if you lose the thread once, you have to rewind.

Idol content, on the other hand, is strong under those conditions. It's broken into 3 to 20-minute segments, so there's no loss if you stop at any time, and the context isn't broken if you restart anywhere. It's rare to find a format better suited for the spare moments of a four-day holiday.

Four Different Types

These four have completely different consumption methods. Mixing them can be tiring, but arranging them by time slot can make the four days quite packed.

The flow for fancams is organized under Fancam, and if you want to focus on stage performances, Dance is the starting point.

How to Divide and Use the Four Days

Thursday, 24th — Travel day. Only viewing on hand-held devices is possible. Fancams are all for this day. If you're worried about data, download them before you leave.

Friday, 25th — The ancestral rites are over, and the afternoon is free. Since there are people in the living room, variety show appearances are suitable. You're less likely to draw attention if you turn on the sound, and it doesn't matter if someone talks to you in the middle.

Saturday, 26th — The only block of time available during the four days. It's suitable for binging original content by season or going through an entire promotional period of a specific group.

Sunday, 27th — Return journey. Back to fancams again.

Order for First-Time Fandom Explorers

If you take the wrong entry route, it won't be fun. There's an order.

First, watch one music video for a title track. It's the most condensed representation of the group's direction. Then, move on to a fancam of the same song. Individual members, often hidden by editing in the MV, are revealed here. Usually, a member will catch your eye at this stage.

Next is original content. This is where personalities not seen on stage emerge, and it's truly where you decide whether to become a fan or not. The last is stage compilations from promotional periods. If you find yourself comparing how the same song differs across broadcasters and performances, you're already deeply invested.

Entry points for each group are gathered under Girl Group. If you want to start with recently debuted groups, Rescene or Hearts2Hearts are good options; if you prefer those already established, AESPA or IVE are solid starting points.

Let's Catch Up on New Songs from August-September

Quite a few things have come out in the month and a half leading up to the holiday. It's a good idea to organize them while you're at it.

• Red Velvet — August 3rd Summer Mini Album 《Velvet Summer》
• KISS OF LIFE — August 4th 3rd Single Album 《SWEAT》
• ARTMS — August 7th 2nd Mini Album 《Hyper-Ego》
• izna — September 2nd Japan 1st Mini Album 《HANDLE WITH CARE》
• Chungha, tripleS LOVElution — Comeback scheduled for September

By the time the holiday arrives, most music show fancams for these songs will be uploaded. If you place the stages immediately after release side-by-side with those from the latter half of promotions, the difference in completeness is noticeable. This kind of comparison is one of the joys of watching fancams. Furthermore, September to October is university festival season, so stage videos will pour out once more. Festival stages are shot differently from broadcast sets due to varying camera conditions, even for the same song — season schedules and entry/filming regulations are covered in Autumn University Festivals.

How to Watch Fancams Better

Even for the same performance, what you get out of it differs depending on the type of fancam.

Official broadcast fancams have stable quality and angles. If you're new to a group, it's better to start here. On-site fancams have lower quality, but the camera follows the entire stage, showing the movement. This is advantageous for understanding the choreography structure.

If you plan to watch a song multiple times, change your focus each time. The first time, watch only your bias; the second time, only the overall formation; the third time, only expressions. The same three minutes will be interpreted differently three times.

You Might Be Wondering About These

Isn't it awkward to watch in the living room? Variety show appearances are generally fine. They are already edited versions broadcast on terrestrial or cable TV, so they have subtitles and a proper structure, and it won't feel awkward even if family members pass by and watch.

I'm worried about data usage. It's safer to download the amount you'll watch on travel day via Wi-Fi before you leave. Lowering the fancam quality by one level significantly reduces the file size.

Will new content be uploaded during the holiday? Special programming and original content uploads tend to be concentrated during holidays. However, confirmed schedules should be checked on each group's official channel announcements.

What if I only have an hour? You can watch 10~15 fancams. It's enough to go through one group's promotional period.

Reasons Why Content is Concentrated During Holidays

Holiday breaks are periods when viewing time increases several times compared to normal. Time spent traveling or staying at home is long, and most of that time is spent with a screen.

Broadcasters have been organizing holiday specials for a long time for the same reason. In the idol scene, this practice led to large-scale specials like the Idol Star Athletics Championships, and now each agency's original channels have taken over that role. Uploading unreleased videos or special episodes to coincide with holidays has become a pattern.

Consequently, holidays are one of the periods with the highest influx of new fans. This is because people have free time, algorithms keep suggesting things, and the situation of needing something to watch coincides. It's especially common during this time to discover a new group after four days.

If you're considering dramas for the same holiday, the time calculations are available in Chuseok Holiday Drama Binge-Watching.