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SMTOWN 2022 Concert Review (which includes another KWANGYA explanation based on the teaser videos that played between acts!)
Key Terms to Remember
aespa: avatar x experience
ae (pronounced “I”): the members’ avatars; their digital alter egos
From the intro film: “Digital existence is called ae, and there’s an expectation of coexistence with ae in the future”
Number of people with aes is “growing exponentially”
Part of the reason some people have not been able to recognize their aes yet: their aes are not “them;” they are the versions of them compiled out of their social media feeds/digital footprints, which can be very different from who they “really” are
The professor in the intro film: “ae, made up of digital information, [take the forms] of ourselves. The existence of ae transcends the real world and the digital world [emphasis is mine].”
Rekall Time: Time spent getting to know one’s ae
The FLAT: The “resting place” for aes; like the “sleep mode” characters in a computer or video game enter once you log out
SYNK: The way to communicate with ae; a method of messaging ae that is disrupted by the blackouts caused by Black Mamba and others
SYNKOUT: When the ability to SYNK is disrupted on a massive scale; kind of like when the WiFi is down
KWANGYA: The separate world where anything is possible; not quite a dream world, not quite “real;” not necessarily just in their imaginations, but not accessible and visible to everyone like the “real world;” intentionally an ambiguous, mysterious location (although I try my best to explain it in the above podcast episodes!)
Black Mamba: The enemy who seeks to sabotage aespa’s blossoming relationships with their aes
Black Mamba’s foe seems to be butterflies, prominent not just in aespa videos but other SM Entertainment artists’ videos too
KOSMO: The level above KWANGYA (which I theorize refers to a higher level of subconsciousness; an additional layer of dreaming. Again, I try to explain this more in the above podcast episodes!)
Naevis: Refers to their “novices;” a term of endearment for their aes that is focused not necessarily on the aes but on their inner essences; who the aes are at their core
Key Details in their MVs and Short Film, in Chronological Order
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