WHAT IS “CHEMISTRY” IN K-POP?
“Chemistry” is non-romantic; rather, it is the unique friendship dynamic between two people; the interaction between two or more personalities.
What is “chemistry”?
The term “chemistry” or “chemi” (케미) for short in Korean, holds quite a different meaning than how it is used in English. The more accurate translation for native English speakers would be “dynamic” or “pairing.”
As there are multiple members within a K-Pop idol group, usually more than four members (groups like NCT have 20+ members!), there are bound to be inter-team friendships and dynamics, between two or three members, sometimes more.
Why is “chemistry” important in K-Pop fandoms?
Chemistry is part of what makes K-Pop so much fun! Once a “chemistry” between two members grabs your eye, you might start to notice more members around them from a specific interaction, because “chemistries” are often intertwined.
Alternatively, you might start out with a clear bias in a group, only to find out that your bias has interesting “chemistry” with the other members of the group, and eventually fall for all of the other members.
This way, more fans will become “all-fans,” or a fan of all of the members from a group, instead of only being a fan of a single or a couple of the members.
It is also just more entertaining, when watching a variety show or vlog from your favorite K-Pop group, to be aware of these “chemistry” names and be in on the joke!
How is “chemistry” different from “shipping”?
“Chemistry” (케미) shares some aspect with “shipping” culture, but is not the same thing. Most importantly, “chemistry” is non-romantic; rather, it is the unique friendship dynamic between two people; the interaction between two or more personalities.
For example, a member that is usually reserved, mature and quiet might act like a child and do cute aegyos with an older member of the group. This specific chemi might attract a lot more fans because the chaotic dynamic of the two specific members could lead to a lot of meme-worthy moments.
“Chemistry” could also mean the visual/performance combination of two specific members - for example, the two main dancers of the group that often end up doing the more difficult choreographies in dance breaks.
How do you name a “chemistry”?
The most notable similarities between “chemistry” and “shipping” culture is that there are specific “chemistry names” that become little inside jokes of the fandom; some may become common buzzwords that even the general public (GP) knows about!
Sometimes, the members themselves come up with the chemistry name; the naming process often happens organically in a variety-setting or vlog context. In other cases, the members also ask the fans to come up with a chemistry name for two specific members of a team.
In many other cases, the fandom organically comes up with the chemistry name; a twitter post or a YouTube comment from a fan calling two or members by a certain nickname may go viral, and in some cases, the members may acknowledge the chemistry name from the fandom and even end up using it!
Common “Chemistry” Name Patterns
Most chemistry names take the form of calling the two members by a simple nickname, combining the nicknames, and adding a “z” (즈) at the end (pronounced like “s” at the end of a plural form of a noun). In many cases, the nickname will be a pun, as the chemi name will sound like a different word in Korean.
Annyeongz = An (An Yujin) + Yeong (Jang Wonyoung) + z
Annyeong = “Hello” in Korean
Sometimes it could be the “z” added at the end of a “similarity” that encompasses the two or more members that belong in a “chemistry.”
Foreignz = The non-Korean members of the group
Below are some of the common “chemistry” name patterns that are often seen in K-Pop culture.
In Order of Age
matmakz - LE SSERAFIM’s Sakura and Hong Eunchae
unniez - aespa’s Karina and Giselle
In Korea, age plays an important role in social situations. In a K-Pop idol group where there are multiple members that have to live together and perform together every day, age plays an even bigger part in each of the members placing themselves within the group.
Though it is not an absolute rule, the eldest member will often also end up being the leader of a K-Pop idol group.
- Older members are often called “hyungs” or “unnies”
- “Hyung” is how a younger male sibling addresses an older male sibling (for boy groups)
- “Unnie” is how a younger female sibling addresses an older female sibling (for girl groups)
- Younger members are often called “dongsaengs”
- “Dongsaeng” is how an older sibling addresses a younger sibling (regardless of gender)
- The oldest member is often called the “maji” (맏이), while the youngest member is the “maknae” (막내).
- For chemi names, each could be shortened to “mat” (맏) and “mak” (막).
Birth Year
02z - ENHYPEN’s Jay, Jake, and Sunghoon, all born in the year 2002
bbangsaz - NewJeans’ Minji and Hanni, both born in the year 2004 (bbang = 0 / sa = 4)
Even though Korea incorporated the international age system for official counting of age, the old Korean age system are still used in everyday life situations, where age is counted by the “birth year.”
By the Korean age system, everyone born in the year 1998 is always “a year older” than everyone born in the year 1999.
This also means that if two people were born in the same year, they are always “the same age” and thus are “friends.”*
*Not in the American sense of the word “friend.” Rather, it means you don’t have to use honorifics when addressing each other, or call each other “unnie” or “hyung.”
One Syllable Nicknames
gyukatz - TXT’s Beomgyu and Hueningkai
(gyukatz also sounds like gyukatsu, Japanese grilled beef dish)
Often, a chemi name between two members would be three syllables; with the last syllable being the “z” at the end, and the first two syllables each standing for one of the members.
That is why within a fandom, there’ll be a “one syllable” nickname for each of the member in a group.
The chemi name will often end up being a pun (sounding like a pre-existing word meaning something else).
Birthplace/Hometown
seoulz - Stray Kids’ Hyunjin and Seungmin, the only members of the team to be from Seoul
aussiez - Stray Kids’ Bangchan and Felix, both Korean-Australians
A K-Pop group will most likely have members of diverse backgrounds; some of them will be Koreans raised in different parts of Korea, others will be non-Koreans born and raised in countries such as Japan, China, or Thailand, and yet others will be Koreans raised in other countries such as America or Australia.
Thus, if there are two or more members in a group that have come from similar backgrounds, they are bound to have a lot of similarities, and an interesting chemi!
Face Type
catz - ITZY’s Yeji, Ryujin, and Chaeryeong, all known to have cat-type faces
mungmungz - NMIXX’s Jiwoo and Haewon, both having puppy-type faces (mung = “woof” in Korean)
In Korea, “face types,” usually comparing facial features to animal face types such as dog, cat, rabbit, fox, and more, are popular. K-Pop fans love combinations of different, or similar face types within a single group.
Though there are many face types, “puppy” and “cat” are considered to be two most popular animal face types.
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