Netizens are walking down K-pop memory lane with famous photos of 2nd and 3rd Gen idols.
On an online forum, netizens discussed some of the most iconic images and GIFs of idols that trended during the late 2000s and 2010s—moments that went viral for being hot, adorable, mesmerizing, or heart-fluttering, catching widespread attention.
While such content continues to emerge with today’s 5th Gen idols through viral social media clips and photos, this particular wave of nostalgia centers on 2nd and 3rd Gen idols—who rose to fame during the peak of fan activity on Korean online forums.
Here are some of the most memorable images and GIFs compiled by netizens:
Krystal's blonde hair and digitally edited colors ("This was everyone's profile pic back in my days")
Krystal's photos that inspired many to go on diets ("This was also used as a lot of people's phone wallpapers")
Sulli's famous lip mask selfie ("After this photo, everyone bought that lip mask to copy her look")
Sulli as the Human Etude House
Jiyeon's headband and strawberry curlers ("Dream High kids all knew this, right?")
Jiyeon's GIF known for resembling her real-life beauty ("Also famous for being a side profile beauty queen")
Suzy's Ceci pictorial ("This is still a legend")
Suzy's wedding dress pictorial ("Back then, every girl group member wore a wedding dress at least once")
Suzy's hanbok pictorial ("I'm sure every Korean has seen this photo at least once")
Seungyeon's fairy GIF ("KARA was top-tier in Japan back then")
Na-Eun's famous leggings photo ("This sparked a leggings boom in Korea")
Xiumin's overall suspenders ("Everyone had a Xiumin phase back then")
Xiumin's flower petals ("Xiumin was the Muggle king")
Sehun's parrot hair ("It was definitely a sensation")
Nichkhun's napkin GIF ("I still like this one...")
L looking like a wax figure ("Congrats on being born handsome...")
Zico turning around when a fan called out his real name ("When Zico PD-nim was just a baby")
N's silver hair ("VIXX's 'On And On' was such a legend...")
Youngjae's orange hoodie ("He appeared briefly on ISAC but created a buzz for being so handsome")
Baekhyun's burgundy eye makeup ("All the beauty YouTubers copied this look")
YoonA pointing out her mic wasn’t working ("Beautiful goddess YoonA")
IU's short hair ("She kept switching between short and long hair, so this look during 'Red Shoes' was a hot topic")
D.O.'s Rudolph nose ("This was also a popular profile photo")
Hyeri's short blonde hair ("This haircut became a huge trend")
Hyeri's aegyo ("If you didn’t know this, you were considered an international spy")
Taemin crossdressing ("Everyone was shocked at how pretty he looked")
Ren's 'Something' performance ("This was the real deal")
L.Joe with the lemon tea background song ("Y'all should know this...")
Reactions included:
"Ha, the memories."
"Wow, insane."
"Do people also remember Lemon Candy and Azalea Boy? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ"
"There's nothing you don't know."
"SM takes up a lot of screen time ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ"
"Ahhh I know all of this..."
"Our Ren... that gif is such a throwback ㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ"
"I think I’ve seen that hanbok photo of Suzy somewhere."
"I know all of this ㅠ"
"Not a single thing to skip."
"That unedited photo of Jiyeon—every time I see it, she's just insanely, insanely, insanely beautiful... it totally makes sense that other idols picked her as the top visual. She seriously looks like she was sculpted."
"Looks like everyone missed this just like I did."
"Xiumin’s nickname was Baozi, right..."
"I want to go back to that time..."
"I'm an 03-liner, so I thought maybe I’d only vaguely know this stuff, but I know all of it..."
"Ren dressed as a woman was iconic..."
"The nostalgia is unreal."
"Wow, pure nostalgia ㅠㅠ Even the comments end with people bringing up their ult bias."
"I became a fan the moment Zico smiled when a fan called out 'Jiho-ya~~'..."
"I'm seriously scared at how I know almost all of this..."
"I wasn’t even into idols back then—why do I know all of this ㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋ"
"Muggle King, it’s been ages ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ"
"Seriously... Xiumin was absolutely incredible."
"Xiumin is a true legend... how does someone look like that."
"My friend was a hardcore parrot Sehun fan, so I first tried bubble tea in middle school because Sehun liked it."
"I want to go back..."
"Seriously, what a throwback..."
How many do YOU recognize?
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