Kpopalypse is back, this time with a fun quiz for all my lovely readers!  This quiz won’t take long, but it is very educational, so please read on and enjoy!

 

Everybody on the Internet is familiar with Adolf Hitler comparisons, and anybody with any sort of profile online will know that it’s almost impossible to function or even exist without coming across endless comparisons to one of the 20th century’s most terrifying dictators several times a day.  However some people say that the way k-pop communities behave is much more like Nazi ideology than any of us would like to believe.  Godwin’s Law of Internet analogies is familiar to many, but regardless of the cliché, is there actually any truth to it?  Do people in the k-pop community really think like Hitler, or do we just enjoy claiming that they do to piss them off?  Time for Kpopalypse to investigate!

Avid historians will know that while Hitler was imprisoned in the 1920s, before he went on to lead Germany into World War II and some of the most tragic and cruel events of the modern age, he wrote a book called “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle).  In this rather lengthy, rambling and poorly written book which I really don’t recommend that you ever read from start to finish, he outlined his racist, nationalist ideology in great detail and gave several hints as to what was to come for Germany after he became leader.  Few dictators have given such a precise and detailed window into their twisted worldview, and reading the book is certainly as terrifying as it is dull due to his ponderous writing style (even worse than mine, if you can imagine that) – but is Hitler’s ideology really all that different to that of k-pop fans?  See if you can tell the difference between Hitler and the community of k-pop writers, with the below fun quiz!

To participate in this quiz, all you need to do is:

1. Read the following quotes, presented out of context
2. Determine if the original source is a k-pop related essay, or a quote from Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf”
3. Click the images for the answer, and the full context of the quote!

Let’s do this!

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Question 1

the situation is already intolerable where talent and natural gifts are not taken as decisive factors in qualifying

Written by:

• a k-pop music writer, about unfairness in IZ*ONE’s selection process?
• Hitler, about access to higher education for white people?

Click the picture below for the answer!

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Question 2

he is not a creative genius but rather a superficial imitator who, in spite of all his retouching and tricks, cannot disguise the fact that there is no inner vitality in the shape he gives his products

Written by:

• a k-pop music writer, discussing Primary and plagiarism?
• Hitler, about how he felt Jewish art was low quality?

Click the picture below for the answer!

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Question 3

The necessity for standardisation derives from the fact that the popular music must meet the demand of grabbing the individual’s attention and it must also fall within the category of what the listener views as natural music

Written by:

• a k-pop music writer, discussing the effectiveness of the k-pop trainee system?
• Hitler, about wanting to promote only “white” music in music education programs?

Click the picture below for the answer!

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Question 4

What, for example, should we say of a poster which purported to advertise some new brand of soap by insisting on the excellent qualities of the competitive brands? We should naturally shake our heads.

Written by:

• a k-pop fan, explaining how “multis” (fans of more than one group) undermine success?
• Hitler, explaining why political propaganda campaigns should not be objectively truthful?

Click the picture below for the answer!

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Question 5

Once they landed, they began to touch the dilapidated buildings, the rotted grounds and the scenes of death, and the destruction either disappeared or regenerated. To combat the harbingers of death come the princes of light

Written by:

• a k-pop fan, describing a k-pop boy group’s introductory appearance on a concert stage?
• Hitler, describing German reinforcements advancing on the Western Front during World War I?

Click the picture below for the answer!

 

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Question 6

Of course, the word ‘religious’ implies some ideas and beliefs that are fundamental. Among these we may reckon the belief in the immortality of the soul, its future existence in eternity, the belief in the existence of a Higher Being, and so on. But all these ideas, no matter how firmly the individual believes in them, may be critically analysed by any person and accepted or rejected accordingly, until the emotional concept or yearning has been transformed into an active service that is governed by a clearly defined doctrinal faith. Such a faith furnishes the practical outlet for religious feeling to express itself and thus opens the way through which it can be put into practice.

Written by:

• a k-pop fan, underlining the relevance of religious belief to the BTS concept of “speak yourself” and political activism?
• Hitler, explaining the quasi-religious meaning of the term “Völkisch” in relation to the formation of the Nazi party’s ideology?

Click the picture below for the answer!

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Question 7

The movement must use all possible means to cultivate respect for the individual personality. It must never forget that all human values are based on personal values

Written by:

• a k-pop fan, explaining how their fandom needs to promote the personality of their idols first rather than their appearance?
• Hitler, explaining the need for the Nazi party “cult of personality” in terms of recruiting followers to the cause?

Click the picture below for the answer!

 

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Question 8

the “singer is the image of the spirit of a people,” and popular songs embody a culture’s belief

Written by:

• a k-pop fan, explaining how it’s possible to understand Korean society through the lens of k-pop
• Hitler, outlining how to deploy nationalistic folk music as way to rally people to the Nazi party

Click the picture below for the answer!

 

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That’s all for this quiz!  Telling the difference between the writings of k-pop fans and Hitler is easy, right?  Right?  Kpopalypse will return!