Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Is this an official Web site?
A. No. This site is run by me, and all opinions expressed on it are my own.
Q. Where is Block B's official Web site?
A. Block B has a Twitter feed, a Facebook page, and a You Tube channel, while its management company, Seven Seasons/KQ Entertainment, has a Web site. Official international sites, Zico’s KOZ Entertainment, and social-media accounts of individual members can be found on the Links page.
Q. Shouldn't Block B own the BlockB.com domain name?
A. Sure! I'd be happy to give it to Block B free of charge if they want it. Until I hear from them, though, I'll be keeping this up.
Q. What is Seven Seasons? What is KQ Entertainment? What is KOZ Entertainment? What is Artist Company?
A. Seven Seasons is a subsidiary of KQ Entertainment. KOZ Entertainment is a label founded in January 2019 by Zico. Artist Company is the agency that represents P.O.
Q. Have any of the members left Block B?
A. No, Block B remains a seven-member group.
Q. Do any of the members still have to perform the military service required of Korean men?
A. No, the members have all completed their service.
Q. What's a BBC? A KBBC? An IBBC? What's the deal with bees? What’s a Common? A BBCommon?
A. A BBC is a fan of Block B (it stands for Block B Club, not British Broadcasting Corporation or anything obscene). KBBC are BBCs in Korea—there is an official fan club that they can join. IBBC means International BBC—in other words, the fans everywhere else. The official fan club used to be completely closed to international fans—that’s eased up in recent years, but you should still feel free to call yourself a BBC even if you don’t have the little card. Block B also refers to its fans as bees, and Zico and Taeil both have bee tattoos.
After Zico started his own label, he also started his own official fan club, Common. Fans informally refer to themselves as BBCommon to indicate that they support both Zico and Block B.
Q. What is Bastarz?
A. Bastarz is a sub-unit of Block B consisting of B-Bomb, P.O & U-Kwon.
Q. What is T2U?
A. T2U is a sub-unit of Block B consisting of Taeil & U-Kwon.
Q. But wait...what's a sub-unit?
A. Asian pop groups can be quite large (some Japanese pop groups have more than 100 members!), so sub-units, or smaller sub-groups featuring fewer members, are common. Like solos, sub-units allow members to show off talents that they don't normally get to display (think of U-Kwon rapping in "Zero for Conduct") and to explore types of music that don't necessarily fit the image of the group as a whole.
Q. What is Fanxy Child?
A. Fanxy Child is a hip-hop crew that Zico started.
Q. What is B.B Trippin?
A. B.B Trippin is a dance crew. They began as backup dancers for Block B but have expanded into other areas.
Q. Why can't anyone agree on what Block B's songs are called in English?
A. Block B is a Korean group, and the titles of many of their songs are also Korean. They don't always provide official English song titles, meaning that people have to do their own translations. As a result, there are songs and even entire albums that will have different translations on different retail sites.
Q. Why isn't a particular song on Spotify or another digital platform?
A. If a song has just been released, it usually takes a day or two for it to show up on venues like Apple Music or Spotify. If a song has been out for a while and isn't on a particular platform, though, then it simply hasn't been licensed there—even if other songs on the same album have been.
Q. Why is it that sometimes the regular editions of the CDs are hard to find or really expensive?
A. The production runs for a number of Block B's CDs have sold out, and in some cases it has taken months for another run to be produced. Once production resumes, it takes time for the new supply of CDs to get distributed to all the retailers.
Whenever there are shortages, resellers tend to mark the price of the regular editions up, sometimes making them as expensive (or even more expensive!) than the limited editions. Please keep in mind that with a regular-edition CD, production can resume at any time, so if you aren't patient and don't shop around, you could wind up paying top dollar for a CD that a week later is available everywhere for ten bucks. (And it's not like it benefits Block B if you overpay.)
Q. Where can I buy official Block B merch?
A. KQ Entertainment has opened a Block B merch shop here. Zico merch is available on Weverse.
Q. Hey, I heard this hot rumor from someone who swears it's true! What do you think?
A. Here's my two cents on coping with the rumor mill: What always seems to happen when people aren't skeptical about rumors is that first they buy into some wishful fantasy that some totally super is going to happen by some specific date. Then, when that date rolls around and nothing materializes, they decide that the naysayers (who don't actually know anything more than the fantasists) were right all along, and that utter catastrophe is at hand. I don't understand why people feel a need to put themselves through the wringer that way: Just realize that someone posting rumors or speculation doesn't know anything more than you do, and don't believe it if it doesn't come from a reliable source, i.e. someone who is actually in a position to know what they're talking about.
The number of people who are actually in a position to know what they're talking about can be surprisingly small, by the way. When I was involved in the Firefly fandom, the actors themselves were not especially reliable sources. They wanted the property to continue, and sometimes they expressed that desire in a very enthusiastic manner that could be highly misleading because they were seen as insiders with special knowledge. In reality, they were just cheerleading (actors don't actually finance TV shows or movies), but that wasn't always apparent to the fans. So, just because someone claims to have or actually does have some kind of connection to Block B doesn't necessarily mean that they are well-informed. (And yes, I occasionally have to get re-schooled on this myself.)
Q. Why did you start this Web site?
A. Obviously, I'm a fan of Block B's music. I'm also an indie writer and one of those crazy Browncoats who got a DVD release and a feature film made for Firefly, a low-rated television show that was canceled after half a season. So my attitude toward marketing and promotion is that if you want it done, you don't wait around for some record label or publisher or studio to come along and do it for you. They won't. At least not until after you've done a ton of work yourself.
Q. Why link to retail outlets that aren't counted on the Korean music charts?
A. Because lots of people shop at them. Yes, sales from international outlets may not count toward the Korean music charts (doing well on those helps Block B win Korean music shows). But buying Block B's music from any outlet is much, much, MUCH better for the group than piracy, YouTube, or streaming.
Q. Wait...did you just say that fans shouldn't YouTube or stream Block B's music?
A. No, go right ahead—YouTube and streaming can help introduce new people to Block B. However, the amount of money musicians get from either is a source of constant complaint within the industry. So while I think it's fine to YouTube or stream, I would encourage fans to buy the music (digitally or as CDs) as well.
Q. Why don't you include this or that thing on your Web site?
A. The purpose of this Web site is to introduce Block B to English speakers who are unfamiliar with the group. As a result, I try to keep the site as lean as possible—I don't want to overwhelm people with too much information.
If there's something you think should be here but isn't, feel free to contact me, but be aware that I may not include the content for the reason stated above. Likewise, feel free to contact me if you have a question that's beyond the purview of this Web site—I'll help if I can!
Q. How do I contact you?
A. Just fill out the form below!
Just keep a few things in mind: I don't know the members of Block B, so I can't help you get in touch with them. I am not remotely fluent in Korean. And I am not interested in fan fiction.
