Black Ocean

Here you see the bright PANDA, the lightstick for girlgroup Apink.

Sometimes, however, the lights would go out.

With many groups dominating stages in K-pop, it’s natural that there’d be a sense of rivalry. Sometimes, the enthusiasm of fans would reach such heights, that this rivalry became very heated, and fans would feel the need to show displeasure towards performing artists.

Enter: The Black Ocean.

A Black Ocean is a trend, where the audience turn off their lightsticks and phones to demonstrate a lack of support to the particular artist or group performing on stage. These events mostly occurred during larger scale performances where several groups would perform.

The turned off lightsticks cause the arenas to go entirely dark, creating what is called a ‘Black Ocean.’ Of course, this is very discouraging for idols, and such occasions are remembered very well. A lot of people came together to make them feel unloved, how could you not remember this?

But many bounced back, and continued to fill stadiums with their lights. And still fans cheer on their groups, sending them their love through the colors and the lights. Which one is your favorite?