Boys Generally Asian

Boys Generally Asian, also known by the acronym BgA,https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/BgA?file=BgA_Logo.png is an American K-pop parody group that was created by YouTube personality Ryan Higa and formed by Wong Fu Productions and RHPC under "Fake Label Production Records". They officially made their debut on May 13, 2016 with the single "Dong Saya Dae". The group is self described as "guys who can’t sing, dance or really speak Korean and try to start a K-Pop band." In addition to Higa, the group consists of film director/actor Justin Chon, filmmaker Philip Wang, and musicians singer/songwriter David Choi and Jun Sung Ahn. With only 2 singles in their catalog, the parody group dominated the K-Pop charts worldwide.https://www.asianjunkie.com/2016/05/13/ryan-higas-teasers-for-bga-his-k-pop-group-with-justin-chon-david-choi-wong-fu/
The group parodies multiple things from K-Pop. The name itself, Boys Generally Asian, is a parody of Girls' Generation as it is a pun on "Boys Generation". The acronym is also a parody of K-pop band names which are often acronyms, for example B.A.P. Their instagram username (bga.rhpofficial)https://www.instagram.com/bga.rhpofficial/ references BTS' Instagram username (bts.bighitofficial)https://www.instagram.com/bts.bighitofficial/ and is also fostered like the instagram account of K-pop bands.
The music that they perform are written and produced by Ryan Higa and David Choi who play R.O.P and Daeyang in the group. The concept of most BgA videos are mainly poking fun at the general tropes that are familiar to Korean pop music and idols in general. They soon began selling merchandise, for example caps and T-shirtshttps://twitter.com/TheRealRyanHiga/status/847202440130711552 and the BgA White Dad Hathttps://www.gianthugs.com/collections/ryan/products/bga-white-dad-hat.
==Members==
The group members stage names are a reference to BIGBANG members stage names with J-Lite, P-Dragon, Daeyang, R.O.P, and Jeungri referencing D-Lite, G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P, and Seungri respectively.
The group also created funny profiles for themselves which parodied some facts idols always put on these profiles.https://www.facebook.com/wongfuproductions/posts/10153522591281767https://www.soompi.com/article/854963wpp/ryan-higas-boy-band-bga-boys-generally-asian-debuts-with-wong-fu-produced-mv Each member has a fictional backstory and a weird blood type. They all also tampered with their ages making everyone at least four years younger than their actual ages referencing the fact that some idols actually lie about things and especially age on their profiles.https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/10-years-younger-kpop-idol-faked-age-baby-vox-lee-gai/
===R.O.P===
R.O.P (birthname: Ryan Higa) holds the positions of Leader, Main Rapper, Vocalist and Face of the Group.https://www.instagram.com/p/BFVf9P9wQza/?taken-by=wongfupro His birthday date says he was born on June 6, 1994 when in reality Ryan Higa was born in 1990. His blood type is liquid. The fun fact on his profile is that he was discovered at Chipotle. R.O.P is actually an alien who landed in ancient Korea, but lost his memory and is now trying to find his way home, and love, while at a K-pop academy. He's a rising star but his heart still lies with the sweet girl who's learning coffee art at the nearby cafe. Apparently he is the reason we're all here... 
Ryan Higa of the Youtube channels nigahiga (/ˈniːɡəhiːɡə/) and HigaTV is a Japanese-American internet personality. Best known for his comedy videos on YouTube, Ryan began making YouTube videos in 2006 and was one of the most popular creators on the platform in its early years. His main YouTube channel, nigahiga, was the most subscribed channel on YouTube for 677 consecutive days from 2009 to 2011, an achievement that has only been surpassed by PewDiePie and T-Series. Ryan was the first person to reach the milestones of 2 million and 3 million subscribers on YouTube. His main channel is inactive since April, 2020. In 2020, Higa started streaming on Twitch,https://www.twitch.tv/itsryanhigahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYyRQP0Qv3I (Ryan Higa On Fame and Happiness) where he reacts to his past videos and broadcasts video game content, most notably in Valorant. In 2012, Higa had put together a production company, Ryan Higa Production Company (RHPC)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuT5Jjz68kE (The RHPC Squad!) that worked together to make content for the nigahiga channel.https://variety.com/2019/artisans/production/youtube-star-ryan-higa-1203183732/ RHPC stopped business when Ryan stopped working on his main channel. They came together again for Daina and Greg's Wedding.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2fTD7STTA (Daina & Greg Wedding) From late 2015 to early 2020 Ryan was in a relationship with actress Arden Chohttps://www.instagram.com/p/BujULnKAU1r/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=ed3d0ec8-12e3-45c2-8a41-4ba7056a2a2d mostly known for being Kira in Teen Wolf and June in the 2024 Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Cho and Ryan first met while working on their 2010 action comedy short "Agents of Secret Stuff." After forging a friendship, Cho became a frequent guest on Higa's comedic YouTube skits. She also featured in the behind the scenes videos of BgA. The effortless chemistry between them led many fans to speculate that the pair was dating in real life. However, the confirmation didn't come until March 2019, when Higa publicly announced their relationship on his YouTube channel in a video titled "Revealing My Not-So-Secret GF!".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg6TTkQ7kog (Ryan and Arden Discuss Their Relationship (Ft. Arden Cho) - Off The Pill #10) However, the pair split the following year. In a March 2020 YouTube video titled "My Midlife Crisis...", the content creator announced their breakup stating that it was mutual. A few days after Higa published the video, Cho shared a cryptic lyric from a song she was working on ("I hate you / and all your lies. Makes me wish I could turn back the time / to a better day before I called you mine"), which led many to wonder if Higa had been unfaithful to her when they were together. However, Higa took to Twitter and set the record straight by refuting all the infidelity rumors surrounding his former relationship with the actor. "Idk who decided I was relevant enough to start a rumor on, but NO, I did not cheat on Arden at any point throughout our relationship. Sorry to spoil your quarantine boredom", he tweeted in response to the cheating speculation.https://twitter.com/TheRealRyanHiga/status/1242372228047441921 Cho didn't publicly comment on the confusion.https://www.distractify.com/p/ryan-higa-arden-cho-breakuphttps://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/who-is-arden-cho-dating-48944377
===Daeyang===
Daeyang (birthname: David Choi) holds the positions of Main Vocalist, Composer and Visual.https://www.instagram.com/p/BFVKXqeQQ_3/?taken-by=wongfupro His birthday date says he was born on March 22, 1995 when in reality David Choi was born in 1986. His blood type is beer. The fun fact on his profile is that he is a rejected girl-group member. Another fun fact is that he's going to start his own Korean beauty line, featuring D.Choi face masks.
David Choi is is a Korean-American musician and YouTuber.https://www.davidchoimusic.com/ His humorous song "YouTube, A Love Song" which helped launched David's singing career was featured on the homepage of YouTube in 2006 and has received over 2.8 million views. The music videos for his singles "Won't Even Start" and "That Girl", which are posted on both his and directors' Wong Fu Productions' YouTube channels, have received a total of over 13 million views. He also posts non-music vlogs on his second channel. He released his debut album, Only You, in October 2008. His second album was released in 2010, his third in 2011 and his fourth in 2015. He previously also released parodies such as a parody of B.o.B and Bruno Mars' "Nothin' on You". David overwrote the lyrics and did a song for his favourite restaurant Chick-fil-A. It was entitled "Nothing on a Chick-fil-A". Choi has been portrayed by netizens and fans as a sad and solemn person, with a poker face. Choi's music genre falls mostly under the modern "ballad" genre, his songs being slow, mostly about love and relationships. He describes his own music as "poppy with a hint of jazz and folk." His songs have been described as "often to melt girls' hearts".
===P-Dragon===
P-Dragon (birthname: Philip Wang) holds the positions of Main Dancer, Visual and Drama.https://www.instagram.com/p/BFVBPcYQQ8x/?taken-by=wongfupro His birthday date says he was born on October 28, 1995 when in reality Philip Wang was born in 1984. His blood type is reddish. The fun fact on his profile is that he is finally debuting after 25 years of training. Another fun fact is that he grew that blue hair himself. The color comes from all that sadness inside.
Chinese-American Philip Wang is CEO and one of the three founders of Wong Fu Productions, an American filmmaking group. According to Philip Wang, Wong Fu Productions was unofficially established in 2001 during his high school junior year at Northgate High School in California. Wong Fu Productions was initially known for its independent music videos of contemporary hit songs. Wong Fu released its first major short film called Yellow Fever on January 25, 2006. Other notable works of them are Single by 30 (2016), Everything Before Us (2015) und Agents of Secret Stuff (2010). Short films released by Wong Fu Productions have received, cumulatively, millions of views, and the group has several thousand fans. In a feature by CNN, newscaster Ted Rowlands reported that Wong Fu's primary audience were "young Asian Americans who often can't find accurate depictions of themselves in mainstream media". Through its films, Wong Fu Productions hoped to break the different stereotypes of Asian Americans. Since 2011, the group has developed a reputation as a springboard for Asian American acting talent. Actors such as Justin H. Min (The Umbrella Academy), Anna Akana (Ant-Man), and Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) have all previously starred in Wong Fu films prior to their appearances on their respective projects. As of March 2024, Wong Fu Productions' YouTube channel has over 3.22 million subscribers. In 2015, one year before BgA's debut, the Wong Fu Productions crew had also posted a video of them trying to learn the choreography to BIGBANG's "Bang Bang Bang", one of the major inspirations of "Dong Saya Dae".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua2Airn0ct8 (Learning Big Bang - BANG BANG BANG) 
===J-Lite===
J-Lite (birthname: Justin Chon) holds the positions of Main Visual and Main Gigolo.https://www.instagram.com/p/BFVYxfEQQ4O/?taken-by=wongfupro His birthday date says he was born on May 29, 1999 when in reality Justin Chon was born in 1981. His blood type is Love. The fun fact on his profile is that he is banned from variety shows. Another fun fact is that no one knows how he got into the group, but everyone is too afraid to ask. The profile further states: Don't make eye contact with J-Lite. He will see your deepest secrets.
Justin Jitae Chon is a Korean-American actor and film director. He has directed films such as Gook (2017), Ms. Purple (2019), and Blue Bayou (2021). For Gook he received a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and overall good critics ("From its confrontational title to its striking cinematography, this raw cinematic gem uncompromisingly proves writer/director/actor Justin Chon is a filmmaker to watch."; "It's witty, stylish and ultimately devastating.").https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gook It premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the NEXT Audience Award and was picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Distribution.https://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/sundance-winner-gook-samuel-goldwyn-1202034031/ Ms. Purple and Blue Bayou also received favorable critics on Rotten Tomatoes. He is quite big in the indie film scene and stated himself that he isn't looking for something bigger as he loves to take care of his two children and wife which wouldn't be possible with bigger projects. He stated: "Sometimes you gotta do what's better for your soul than your bank account." He is also known for portraying Eric Yorkie in The Twilight Saga film series which he is proud of as he is the only Asian in the entire series. He also turned down a role in the movie "Pitch Perfect".
===Jeungri===
Jeungri (birthname: Jun Sung Ahn) holds the positions of Maknae, Choreographer and Vocalist.https://www.instagram.com/p/BFVSfB8QQ-T/?taken-by=wongfupro His birthday date says he was born on February 18, 2000 when in reality Jun Sung Ahn was born in 1993. His blood type is Korean. The fun fact on his profile is that he is an aspiring Youtuber and an actual K-pop star. Another fun fact is that he hasn't realized yet that this is all a parody... The profile further states: This is Jeungri and he's ready to "curry" you into his heart.
Jun Sung Ahn (Korean: 안준성), better known by his stage name Jun Curry Ahn and nowadays JUN, is a South Korean musician and Youtuber. He oved to West Windsor, New Jersey in the third grade of elementary school. He is a classically trained violinist who is known for his 2012 violin and dance cover performance of PSY's "Gangnam Style" on his YouTube channel and other K-pop and pop music covers. Gangnam Style which he published a few weeks after the original, soon reached more than 2.4 million views, and won first place in a competition Psy held in South Korea. He 'cloned' himself in the video to appear dancing and playing the violin at the same time. On August 9, 2014, he was a special guest at KCON LA's convention. Other notable K-pop covers of his are BTS' "Save Me", BTS' "Blood, Sweat & Tears" or BIGBANG's "Loser". On August 3, 2018, he released his MV "Hold it Down" marking his "solo debut". He has described his violin style as "slightly playful", because of the enjoyment he has as he plays and listens to music, hoping to share the same with his audience. He described his YouTube work as building a portfolio, with his passion for film portrayed in his violin playing, and with each video having a cinematic quality. In 2018, he stated that BTS destroyed the world market with sheer numbers and made it possible for Asian artists to be seen.https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/96okhw/koreanamerican_artist_juncurryahn_says_bts/ He frequently collaborates with idols, for example Soyeon from LABOUMhttps://www.instagram.com/juncurryahn/reel/CUOOd0xhYPg/, Jongup of B.A.P and Woodz wrote the lyrics to his debuthttps://www.koreaboo.com/news/jun-teases-new-song-hold/
==History and parodied things==
===2016: "Dong Saya Dae"===
BgA debuted on May 13, 2016, with the song "Dong Saya Dae" (Korean: 똥 싸야 돼; lit. "I Need to Poop"), which peaked at number 2 on the iTunes K-pop chart. They even topped the K-pop iTunes chart above both BTS and Twice. The song was written by R.O.P and Daeyang. The choreography was created by Jeungri. To accompany the song, the group released other content that K-pop groups typically release, including teaser images,https://www.pinterest.de/pin/527061962627375746/ K-pop profiles, a music video (which was directed by Wong Fu Productions, more specifically P-Dragon), a dance practice and a choreography music video. Releasing different versions of their songs is a typical practice among K-pop artists. They also released a "Making of" Video, a Dance Rehearsal and a Behind the scenes video. In there, Ryan stated "BTS means behind the scenes, everybody" shading Armys that commented on all of his BTS (behind the scenes) videos that doesn't have anything to do with BTS. As part of their image, the members of BgA based their stage names on the names of the members of K-pop boy band BIGBANG. The song also draws heavy inspiration from BIGBANG, especially their stylinghttps://www.dazeddigital.com/music/gallery/15490/2/g-dragons-strongest-looks, attitude and beat drop. The song was applauded by many fans for its deep and meaningful lyrics, such as "I have no friends", "We are sexy cold noodles", and "When I look into your dark heart, I see your eyes" ("The lyrics are fucking gold."). Netizens claimed that they were truly ahead of their time. While the choreography is not as complicated as some other groups, fans thought its simplicity is its charm. Dong Saya Dae went viral, garnering a total of 17 million views, and Top Dogg (another underrated group) reacted to it. .
The video tells the story of "guys who can’t sing, dance or really speak Korean and try to start a K-Pop band". In the beginning of the video the five guys see a couple of girls being exited about a K-pop boygroup which is where they get the idea of making their own band. "You can learn to sing and dance, but you can't learn to be Asian." Daeyang is the only one who seems to speak Korean so he tries to translate some phrases for the guys. Unfortunately, his Korean seems to be quite bad as his translations are very off. R.O.P wants him to translate "Hey girl, you the shit" which he translates to "Dong Saya Dae". Afterwards, the music video starts. The whole style of the music video seems very reminicent of popular music videos of especially the second generation of K-pop and more specifically BIGBANG, especially "Bang Bang Bang" and "Fantastic Baby". For example P-Dragon's hair seems to be heavily inspired by G-Dragon's hair in "Fantastic Baby" and the styling of their colorful clothes also seems to be heavily inspired by BIGBANG and the song. Other styling (the white school uniform outfits) seems to remind fans also of EXO ("Love Me Right") or BTS ("Boy in Luv") while the black hip hop look also seems to be inspired by BTS ("No more dream"). The introduction ("Capitcal "B" with a lowercase "g" with a big "A""; "Where my BgA ARMY at") seems to also be inspired by typical phrases K-pop groups will use to introduce their songs, for example Block B did this in "Nillili Mambo" ("Ha Ha Yeah BBC follow me"). The term "BgA ARMY" as fandom name seems to be inspired by the fandom name of BTS (ARMY). The group standing behind each other in a row while making formations with their arms seemed very reminicent of SHINee's and EXO's choreographies, more specifically for example "Everybody" and "Wolf". The ending in black and white with Daeyang singing at the piano also reminded fans of EXO ("Sing For You" and "Miracles in December"), but also BIGBANG's "BLUE". The choreography of chorus also seemed to be inspired by BIGBANG's "Bang Bang Bang". In the middle the music video also has a dance break which is also a common thing in K-pop songs. This dance break is performed by dance crew TheKinjaz while the band tried to pretend it was them. Fans thought the idea was hilarious (""oh you thought we couldn't dance?" skips to a professional dance crew"). The video ends in a joke as the girl R.O.P tries to kiss says that she first has to poop to which he responds that that is "so immature". Fans further claimed that the unfair line distribution and the fact that R.O.P's profile states that he is a Main Rapper when in reality he sings all the lines and would rather fit the position of Main Vocal really fits within the normal K-pop groups as there is often unfair line distribution and sometimes members who aren't Main Vocals get a lot more lines than the Main Vocal (for example Jennie of Blackpink). Fans loved the video and reacted in the same ironic manner that the video and the band were created in: "Exo and BTS have got some serious competition"; "Why does R.O.P (Ryan) get the center spot 90% of the time? Just because he's the face of the group. #JusticeForJeungriOppa"; "horrible line distribution"; "hey even wrote the song themselves! So much more talented than your bias group~ BgA oppas hwaiting~" Fans love to pretend that they are a real K-pop band. Fans also really appreciate the effort the content creators put into the project. The band was also very well received by the general public. Other comments are:"Nigahiga is easily one of the best youtubers. His creativity is uncomparable, never miss a laugh during his videos"; "Jeungri can throw a towel at me any day~ <3"; "Born in 1995 and trained for 25years Damn P-dragon oppar is so hardworking since pre-embryo days. STAN STAN STAN"; "#fail because they didn't release the MV at 12:00 AM KST to maximize their potential on the charts."; "I've been stanning J-lite since his pre debut drama Wendy Wu Homecoming Warrior."; "The song and MV is absolute FIRE."
Apparently, since they topped the official charts in America and South Korea they almost got invited to perform on music shows. Fans were demanding, creating petitions and sending letters to music shows for them to be on there. Some music shows did put in into consideration, but they never went fully through with it.https://www.change.org/p/nigahiga-bga-boys-generally-asian-to-appear-on-a-korean-music-show
K-Pop stars like ToppDogg have reacted to their song "Dong Saya Dae" and have acknowledged the production that went into the song.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg79F86390Q (K-POP STARS REACT TO: "Dong Saya Dae" - NIGAHIGA (ft. 탑독)) They stated that the quality of the song and video was very good and that PSY came to mind while watching the video. Other Koreans were also reacting to them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjsegt5R4yE (Koreans React to Nigahiga : BgA "Dong Saya Dae (똥싸야돼)" [ASHanguk])https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEn_QPUIRbg (Korean React to BgA - Dong Saya Dae Music Video [MV Reaction] / Hoontamin) According to them, the Korean sounds good. It was generally well received.
Ryan Higa reacted to the video in 2020 stating that Justin and Jun Sung Ahn actually speak better Korean than David, the supposed creator of the lyrics in the video, and that he personally actually didn't know that ARMY was a thing.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvdP28r0GTI (Self-Critiquing - BGA-Dong Saya Dae (Twitch clip))
Afterwards, the group went on a year long hiatus, leaving many fans worried about their future. People thought BgA had disbanded, and many mourned the loss of such a talented group. 
===2017: "Who's It Gonna Be"===
In March 24, 2017, BgA released their second single, "Who's it Gonna Be" from the Album That Doesn't Exist which was a fortunate surprise for fans. Just before their comeback, Jeungri featured in a video titled "My K-Pop Boyfriend ft. BgA".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHKCah1NYNA ("My K-Pop Boyfriend" - Bloopers) For “Who's It Gonna Be”, BgA released teaser photos and videos before the release of the song,https://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/19969631.html which has been another common practice in the Korean music industry. Again, the band also released a Behind the scenes video. Jun Sung Ahn also released a violin cover. And Arden Cho, Ryan Higa's then girlfriend though the relationship wasn't revealed at that point released also a Behind the scenes video. The script was written by Ryan Higa and Jun Sung Ahn. 
Their second single was received even better hitting #1 on the iTunes K-pop Chart.https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/ryan-higas-kpop-group-bgas-new-song-1-itunes-kpop-chart/https://gempak.com/rojakdaily/highlight/parody-kpop-band-kicking-legit-kpop-bands-butts-itunes-62918https://www.yahoo.com/style/ryan-higas-parody-k-pop-group-tops-itunes-k-pop-charts-080933384.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKcEBmWrmXnLAFH2ot-M24RSO37AOZOqCJYHrhB2O8W7tZHIxKf-enMfU7ZFirskoaXmwteT3pe6NNaiHThRkAO4x7tm9WGsgl1prnbo6Cbb0T6pvVSx0qGY39wuSjYtk109ypsrnpXFOypC6tWe8_LVAo-pbtf8n-P3qhjuRPGC The song also charted on two Billboard charts debuting at #2 on the Billboard World Songs Chart (something many K-Pop idol groups would kill to achieve), reaching number 3 on the World Digital Song Sales chart and number 33 on the Spotify Viral 50 chart.https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/282460/20170406/ryan-higas-parody-group-comes-out-with-their-second-song-whos-it-gonna-be-and-makes-it-to-3-of-billaboards-world-digital-song-chart.htm They dethroned BTS on the iTunes Charts as well as the Billboard Charts which many fans were proud of. A lot of people enjoyed the song itself more than the last one. 
"I prefer the second song so much more because I think the storyline is very interesting and the song is so much better. Besides, my bias is Jun so when he gets the spotlight he deserved in the 2nd video, I feel so happy." 
The video tells the story of the band releasing a comeback. The parody group also perfectly imitated how K-Pop groups are formed, from selecting their fandom name, adopting official colors, and choosing its solo members. In the video, they revealed the fandom name (Kpoopers) and the group colors (gold and silver) alongside their lightstick. This song was very well received by the public, once again reaching number one on the Kpop iTunes chart. 
This time, the song explores popularity disparity within Kpop groups. In Dong Saya Dae, the line distribution was very unfair, as R.O.P had all the lines. In Who's it Gonna Be, they decide to make the lines equal to see which member will end up at the top. As it turns out, the company wanted Jeungri to leave the group and and sign a contract to become a soloist, as they believe he is the standout in the group. However, he decides that he wouldn't sign the contract, as money and fame means nothing to him if he's not up there with the rest of the members. The storyline is heartwarming, and really showcased the group's bond and friendship with each other.
The song itself has a lot more pop influence that their previous release, but shows off the group's vocals really well. Just from watching the video, it is obvious how much BgA have improved in terms of singing and dancing. While the Americans were prepared for hilarity because of BgA's indentity as a parody group, the reviewers were pleasantly surprised by many positive things they saw in the video. The reviewers said that in terms of production value, the music video could really pass for a legitimate K-pop group. They also thought that BgA got a lot of things right in the K-pop trope like the outfits and the hairstyles. Mostly, they said that the message of "Who's It Gonna Be?" actually reflects the experience of many boy bands and not just K-pop groups. Americans also praised the song for sounding like an actual K-pop song. Americans were not the only ones who reacted to the "Who's It Gonna Be?" music video which has so far reached over 7 million views in just two weeks. Korean youtubers also heeded their subscribers' request and reacted to the video.
The song parodies the trials and tribulations of being a group in which each member is vying for the spotlight. The music video features a common trope in the K-Pop industry where the "Maknae" would become the most popular member and would do individual activities. Some critical responses said that the song portrays a rather American perspectivehttps://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/61xxan/what_are_your_thoughts_on_nigahigas_satire_kpop/ on the issue as most K-pop groups nowadays are using the "separate yet together" strategy popularized by Shinhwa and BIGBANG and don't split up anymore like Destiny's Child or NSYNC:
"They are very funny and they clearly research kpop tropes before making their songs. Jowever, I think they're very "western": they show our view on kpop. For example, the one member becoming super famous and leaving the group is more of a western thing (Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams etc). Yes, in kpop groups there usually is a member that becomes the most famous, but the group doesn't disband for that reason (the only case I can think of is HyunA, but the group was disbanded when their contract expired - but again, I don't know every group). In general, it's not the typical Korean humor, and I think this is the reason why Koreans don't always understand the jokes and think of them as an actual, not very skilled group (as the Korean reaction videos on YouTube show). So, I don't think they'll make it big in the Korean charts, but it's really funny for us, because we see all the typical features of kpop (in a very exaggerated way)."
Others stated that the storyline reminded them specifically of Shinhwa as one of the members actually got offered to sign a contract, but he refused so that the band could stay together.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iptLfyH4v-0 (Koreans React to BgA "Who's it gonna be" [ASHanguk])
Back in the days, especially in the first generation of K-pop, it was very common for groups to split and pursue individual promotions, one example being H.O.T. where only Kangta stayed with SM Entertainment.https://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/3772209.html In the second generation it was still a topic brought up as HyunA of 4Minute or Suzy of Miss A gained a lot more fame than the rest of the group members and ended up starting their solo career while the group disbanded. It could be a parody of older tropes in K-pop. The video also parodies shipping culture as they promote the ship J-Lite/Jeungri. In the beginning of the video J-Lite says "You be the bottom" while hugging him a lot which heavily leans into shipping culture being a reference for top/bottom positions fans asign their ships. In the end, they have an awkward hug at the reunion. The gay vibes are also underligned by R.O.P singing "we're gay" as an ad-lip in the last chorus. Another common trope they managed to put into the music video is colored hair as R.O.P is wearing purple hair while Jeungri has red hair. Jeungri playing the violin also reminded viewers of Henry formerly of Super Junior-M ("Fantastic").https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDaSiMh7pfI (BGA-Who's It Gonna Be? KOREANS REACT! (Give us a call BGA!))
Ryan reacted on his Twitch channel in 2020 to the music videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g1AV5AcQpE (Self-Critiquing - BGA-Who's It Gonna Be (Twitch clip)) and a Behind the scenes videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsoPoatx-TA (BgA-Behind the Scenes w/ the chat (Twitch clip)) stating that he didn't like the styling of his hair, that they did the scene in the beginning two times because they had no time which is why he isn't fully satisfied with the result, that they had choreography for the entire song, but it was too bad and uncoordinated to show it and that he hit his high note at the end saying "we're gay".
===2018–present: Hiatus and in production===
On July 28, 2019, the YouTube channel Nigahiga posted a podcast that announced plans for a BgA movie.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7y37l70Rr4 (From Twilight Actor to BgA Movie? (Ft. Justin Chon) - Off The Pill Podcast #25) They also stated that R.O.P. and Daeyang wrote another song for BgA but have yet to record it. JUN later also featured in the Podcast.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8nWBgUq-n4 (How to be a Kpop Star (Ft. Jun Sung Ahn) - Off The Pill Podcast #27) David Choi also featured in 4 Podcast episodes.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8NW2gszhbc (Off The Pill Podcast - Real Ghost Stories!? (ft. David Choi))https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbtnYg8K1w0 (Off The Pill Podcast #2 - The Apple Conspiracy, ASMR, and Is Incest Wrong?)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTv0XJVyc0g (Hate Comments, Eating Cats or Dogs, Humanity - Off The Pill #12)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfwXV3o7jP4 (Christianity, Science, and Aliens - Off The Pill Podcast #35) P-Dragon appeared in episodes on Wong Fu's YouTube channel, for example in "My Office Became a K-Drama".https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/j2srwe/hilarious_short_skit_my_office_became_a_kdrama/ An Instagram post to Wang's page also stated that the group was in an "indefinite hiatus".https://www.instagram.com/p/CFyC3iJhRDe/?hl=de&img_index=1
The fandom is treating this as ironic as ever ("I thought they are just in military service").
Apparently they did want do more music videos as BgA, but it was too expensive to produce for it to be sustainable (In a recent podcast, R.O.P revealed that they had produced another song, but because they didn't have enough money, they were unable to release it. Because the group's company don't finance their comebacks, they have to pay out of pocket, which was too expensive for them). R.O.P also seems to have drifted away from being a Youtuber and the project to being a Twitch streamer. Unfortunately, as of March, 2024, there have been no new comebacks. The group has likely disbanded, as all the members have gone their separate ways. It is unlikely BgA will ever reunite again.
After leaving BgA, Jeungri who now goes by JUN began his career as a solo artist. On August 3, 2018, JUN debuted with the solo song "Hold It Down", a hard hitting song similar to Dong Saya Dae to which he also released a dance practice. Earlier in 2017 he had already released "When I Call" for his dad who had passed away ("Looks like Jun finally signed that contract"). A year later, on June 5, 2019, he would comeback with "Admit", a slower, more emotional song. Only a month later, on July 25, 2019, he came back with the song "Switch", a hip hop inspired song that shows off his "badass" side. In August 2019 he released "REM" featuring Jongup of B.A.P. In 2019 he gave an exclusive interview at KCON NY 2019 together with Jonguphttps://www.reddit.com/r/TEAM24/comments/14ybpu7/jongup_jun_curry_ahn_exclusive_interview_at_kcon/ and in 2021 he gave an interview on his own.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2yIZLlN1-E (Young, Talented, and 😎HEARTTHROB💘 [In Your Pouch｜JUN]) 
Ryan Higa reacted to the music videos on his Twitch stream.
==Fandom==
Due to "BgA ARMY", the fandom name established in "Dong Saya Dae", being criticized for being too similar to BTS' "A.R.M.Y" (as it was a parody of said name), the fandom name was changed in "Who's It Gonna Be" to "K-Poopers" because "girls like poop jokes" and because of their first song's lyrics. They also established fandom colors in the video, gold and silver, and the lightstick itself: lightsticks in gold and silver with the poop emoji on top.
The fandom is very chill and patienthttps://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/13h24um/happy_7th_anniversary_to_bga/ and still waiting for comebacks even though it seems delusional ("still unironically high-quality after all these years, kpoopers for life"; "I still want a poop light stick."; "While BgA might have disbanded, their legacy as one of the most talented Kpop groups will live on. Let's never forget about these talented kings. KPOOPERS FOR LIFE!!")
Fans loved the band and react and leave comments in the same ironic manner that the band was created in. They love to point out that the band is self-producing ("Whenever people talk about self producing groups, they always talk about Seventeen, Stray Kids, (G)idle... where's the BgA appreciation? They direct their own music videos, fund their own comebacks, and produce their own music. Even though they disbanded, their legacy will live on"). On top of that, they claim that the band has deep meaningful lyrics, English subtitles on their music videos, are all visuals, and have no major scandals. They are also amazing dancers, rappers and singers according to the fans.
Many fans have either R.O.P or Jeungri as bias because Ryan Higa as a Youtuber is the most popular among the members and Jun Sung Ahn is the most "K-pop idol like" ("he actually looks like an idol") as he often releases K-pop covers, can dance the best, is the youngest and is Korean. The members themselves claim that JUN is the most idol like as well.
==Fanworks==
Unfortunately, as they are a parody group with only 2 singles, there isn't a lot of BgA specific fanfiction on Ao3.
As of March 2024, 8/12 fanfictions are written by KingOfHearts709 about the pairing un Sung Ahn | Jeungri/Justin Chon | J-Lite with one also featuring Philip Wang/David Choi. The most kudosed is:
Junstin: Can't Sleep by KingOfHearts709 (Jun Sung Ahn | Jeungri/Justin Chon | J-Lite): Jun goes to Justin for help sleeping.
Other works are:
* Penance by KaraGenki (Jun Sung Ahn | Jeungri/Justin Chon | J-Lite): After Jeungri’s solo debut, none of the members really looked at him the same. They joked with him, sure, and they discussed future band plans and song ideas (Dongeul Cheotda was a popular but short-lived sequel in the works). But, well… he’d been the maknae before, and he still was, but suddenly he had experience that none of his bandmates had. The pressure gets to Jeungri, and J-Lite reminds him that, as the maknae, his hyungs will always be responsible for him. Whether for restorative purposes, or for correction.
* Car Ride by veryanonymoususer (Jun Sung Ahn | Jeungri/Justin Chon | J-Lite): Jeungri and J-lite run into a sticky ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) situation when they realize that they're short a seat.
* Late Again by K_pooper (Jun Sung Ahn | Jeungri/Justin Chon | J-Lite): Jeungri is always late to practice and J-light is less than pleased.
* Meant to Be by K_pooper (Ryan Higa/Philip Wang): Ryan left his wallet at home and a handsome stranger paid for his coffee.
There are also some stories on WattPad.https://www.wattpad.com/stories/bga
Fans also released lyrics videos, line distribution videos and covers, just how they would do for real K-pop groups.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_MhL8tRbd0 (BgA - Who's It Gonna Be Lyrics (Color Coded Han|Rom|Eng) || by: K-Poopers)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c9xE_cO76A (BgA - Who's It Gonna Be - Line Distribution (Color Coded))https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EipND7Xw62M (BgA - Who's It Gonna Be - Piano Cover)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-QqvW_p9us (BgA Member Profile (Who's It Gonna Be Era)) They also released other fan videos like BgA -Who's it gonna be- Jeungri's Uriui sae- for 1 minute, Magic Dance BGA - Who's It Gonna Be + B.A.P - Wake Me Up or their own shortened music video. The band was also shown in a Teens React. Fans also created a lot of memes.https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/oql52y/bga_is_far_more_superior_than_bts/
Ryan also features in other fanfiction, sometimes about him and his production crew RHPC and sometimes about him and other Youtubers/streamers he interacts with, for example the OTV group. Ryan and his crew also filmed a video reading a fanfiction written about them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvrEfeMjrY8 (Ryan loves Sean!? (Fan Fiction)) 
Within his crew Ryan is mostly shipped with his close friend Sean as he is the other half of the original pair of the unofficial Higa and Fujiyoshi duo. After a prolonged absence, it was revealed that Sean was moving onto other things such as university, and no longer had time left to do the videos. It was unconfirmed if Sean would return or make a comeback, and he was sorely missed by the NigaHiga community. Sean returned to the RHPC in March of 2013 in the video "The Ryan Higa Show - Sean". From 2015 to 2018, Sean had been officially back on the crew with Ryan and the others much to the jubilation of viewers. In mid-2018, Fujiyoshi left the group as he was moving out of the area, specifically to Sacramento, California to live with his current girlfriend and to pursue his degree in engineering. He appeared on Ryan's stream in 2021.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmFSY9bbAQE (Sean Fujiyoshi Is Back! (Part I))https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cndOlDZ7rfY (Sean Fujiyoshi Is Back! (Part II))https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roq0hwKSFZg (Sean Fujiyoshi Is Back! (Part III))
An example work on Ao3 would be: Reasons Why by orphan_account (Ryan Higa/Sean Fujiyoshi): Then, like a genius finally made a breakthrough while sitting in a bathtub, he bolted from his seat, then not so quietly say, "I got it!" He cried in joy. Will, who is sitting on the couch right next to him, looks at him questioningly. "You get what?" Paco, smiling widely, beams. "They're dating!" Will raised an eyebrow. "Who?" "Ryan and Sean!" Paco is convinced Ryan and Sean is dating, and he's going to prove it.
== Other parodies ==
The only other popular K-pop parody in the international K-pop Youtube sphere is "Let Me Sarang (love) You - COOL MV" by kpopchonny which never reached the kind of popularity BgA could achieve. They named themselves "COOL" with members C-rap, J.i.Z, Gai 1, Gai 2 and tom.
There are also some parody project groups formed by Korean celebrities:
* Big Byung (빅병) was a temporary Korean project boy group created during the 1st season of the variety show Hitmaker by Defconn and Jeong Hyeong Don (Doni and Coni). Big Byung means means "big bottle" (Since they are full of surprises just like a bottle.) The name was chosen by Sungjae. The group consisted of: Hyuk D (Hyuk of VIXX, the leader of the group), Cha Dolbaekee (N of VIXX), Wang Kong (Jackson of Got7), and Yook Duk (Sungjae of BtoB). They debuted on August 20, 2014 with their first single "Stress, Come On!". Their other and final single before their disbandment is called "Ojingeo Doenjang".
* Celeb Five (셀럽파이브) is a South Korean girl group composed of female comedians. The group is composed of four members: Kim Shin-young, Song Eun-i, Shin Bong-sun, and Ahn Young-mi. Originally a five-piece group, Kim Young-hee later departed from the group in late 2018. Their most popular song is their debut song released on January 24, 2018, called "Celeb Five (I Wanna Be a Celeb)" (셀럽파이브 (셀럽이 되고 싶어)).
* C.I.V.A. (씨아이브이에이) was a three-member project K-pop group created by the show/K-pop mockumentary The God of Music 2. They were called "CIVA" because Lee Sangmin had produced hit girl group "DIVA" back in the 90s and said "you are better than 'D'IVA so you are 'C'IVA". CIVA pronounced in Korean becomes 씨바 and that sounds like "씨발" which is a Korean curse word. They debuted on July 8, 2016 under Sony Music Korea and Lee & Tak Entertainment but disbanded later the same year. They are known for being a parody group and dissing I.O.I in their song "Why". The members were actress Lee Soomin, Sohee of Nature and Chaekyung of April. Sohee and Chaekyung both participated in the show Produce 101 where they both failed to make the group I.O.I as they ranked #15 and #16 respectively. Both became part of the project group I.B.I before joining C.I.V.A.
* "Mine Rudolph" (내 루돌프) by Mad Monster (매드몬스터) - by the Youtubers 빵송국 which mocks mostly the filters of K-pop.
==References==
Category:Boy Groups (Kpop)
Category:YouTube RPF