Perfection is part and parcel of the idol experience, but that doesn’t mean that the humans behind the artists are perfect as well. They also have their weak moments, moments of silliness, vulnerability, wisdom, and complete and utter chaotic energy. It is indeed this duality that makes them so lovable and relatable. Here are some instances when your favorite K-Pop idols had the wisest things to say, coupled with some when they made absolutely no sense at all!

EPIK HIGH Tablo

Tablo’s lyrics are rife with some of the wisest things one learns in the course of life. Therefore, it is not unusual for him to be quoted for things he has said that has truly helped many fans get through some difficult times. On the other hand, Tablo is also one of the most playful and amazingly weird artists out there. The Tablo Podcast is a prime example of the same! Fans will never forget when he said, “To be strong is to understand weakness. To be weak is to have fears. To have fears is to have something precious to you. To have something precious to you is to be strong.” But they’re also likely to never forget when he tweeted, “brushing your teeth with mint chocolate chip ice cream > eating literal toothpaste. Prove me wrong”.

BTS Jin

The oldest of BTS makes sure to take care of all the members, and his maturity truly shows through even in the little things. One of the most touching things he has ever said was, “Just because others are having difficulties, doesn’t mean that yours get any less difficult. So, whenever you’re having a hard time, tell others that you’re struggling. Ask them to understand and comfort you. Please be sure to say that.” However, Jin is also the first person to make the room light with the brightest laughter and as such, one of the most iconic quotes by him, while trying to justify drinking was, “Drinking alcoholic beverages is to disinfect my throat!” and another time, when he couldn’t really tell where the conversation was going during Carpool Karaoke, he just decided to laugh along anyway, saying, “I don’t know what he said but let’s just laugh” before proceeding to burst into laughter. Surprisingly, he didn’t expect that portion to be subtitled when the episode finally aired.

EXO Lay

Lay is popular just as much for his talent as for his bright personality and his ability to instantly light up a room. One of his most popular quotes is, “By working hard, you may not necessarily reach your goal, but there will always be a result when you work hard.” This little advice alone is potent enough to make someone’s day better and help them with the motivation they need to feel and do better, but it gets even easier when he says things like, “cat don’t have name” when asked about what he named his pet kitty.

SHINee Key

Key has been a role model to tens of thousands of young fans and the reason why becomes clear when you look back at quotes like, “My dream isn’t to become the ‘best’; it’s to be someone who I’m not ashamed to be.” Instilling self-confidence and self-importance is something Key has also prioritized. However, it’s always iconic when he teases fans, like when he called a fan out because she said she loved him, but her Instagram handle showed that she was into NCT’s Jaehyun. The exact quote was, “Your ID looks like you’re into NCT Jaehyun, right? What happened? You said you loved me, but you’re into the other guy, which means you’re cheating on me!”

The Boyz Kevin

In response to someone asking if Kevin was a snack, he confidently answered, “no, I’m the whole d**n meal.” That’s exactly the kind of confidence we all need in life. However, that’s not the only iconic thing he’s ever said. From calling Ariana Grande, “Ariana Noona” to deciding that the acronym for ASMR is “Awesome Synchronised Metallic Rats,” Kevin is a goldmine of brilliant quotes.

TXT Soobin

Soobin, taking after his Suga hyung, did not hesitate to tell his fans on a V-Live that it was fine to only know basic addition and subtraction because “you don’t have anywhere to use the math you’ve learned” and “why would you learn math when you can use a calculator.” Could he get any more relatable?

RED VELVET Wendy & Yeri

A common comment Netizens are often seen making under Red Velvet posts is, “what’s in the SM water?” referring to what made the water at SM so special that all its artists are so incredible and gorgeous, especially Red Velvet. Although it is unsure whether the girls were referring to this particular comment, a clip of Wendy and Yeri saying, “SM water tastes like water,” has gone viral time and time again as newer fans discover them every now and then. In fact, the quote became so popular that an entire subreddit was created on the social media platform ‘Reddit’ purely for it.

STRAY KIDS

The entire debate on beating hot with hot or cold that Stray Kids had over on Dingo Music is a well of iconic quotes and is quite famous among STAYs. From Hyunjin getting agitated, screaming, “Your behavior is so..ughh” to the maknae, I.N announcing out of the blue that, “I can speak Korean” and the entire English debate being played off by speaking Korean with an English accent, this video is a must-watch for fans new and old.

DPR Ian

The fact that DPR Ian is a little out of touch with Internet lingo makes for some of the funniest quotes to ever come out of a K-Pop artist. He once admitted that he thought ‘meme’ was pronounced ‘maymay’ or ‘mimi’ and another time, when called a “skinny legend” by fans (which has nothing to do with being skinny and instead, everything to do with being insanely attractive), DPR Ian replied by saying, “For people who are calling me a skinny legend, I do not know what that means. I guess that’s referring to being skinny and being a legend at being skinny, so that’s not gonna last very long. I’m gonna start working out, but you can call me like, muscly legend then.”

NCT Johnny and Jaehyun

No list about iconic quotes can be complete without mentioning Johnny’s incredible story about how coffee was invented, exclusively for him by his dear father. The story goes as follows, “My Dad knew I liked beans. So, like, he was just playing with beans, and then he dropped it, and then he dropped a rock and then it slid, and then hot water started falling, and then coffee!” On the other hand, a similarly iconic quote from Jaehyun is when he rapped with much panache, “I lived in America for four years, that’s why I’m here man!”

MONSTA X I.M

Closing out the list is probably the sassiest and most fitting response an idol can have for negative and malicious commenters. While receiving an award at the 2019 V-Live V HEARTBEAT award ceremony, MONSTA X’s I.M started off their acceptance speech by shouting out MONBEBEs, showing due credit to fellow K-Pop artists and K-Pop fans for the global proliferation of K-Pop before finally, saying, “I know that there are lots of people like K-Pop haters but let the haters bark, I don’t even care about it. Let’s keep grinding and keep hustling!” He speaks for the entire Korean industry when he says that and fans could not be prouder.