This is Blackswan, a K-pop group whose members hail from around the world. Gabi agreed, chiming in: “Everything that a K-pop group has, we have.”Trained the Korean wayThe four members may not be Korean, but their journey to Blackswan followed a well-worn, uniquely Korean path that involved auditioning to become trainees in a hyper-competitive program. Emma McIntyre/Getty ImagesBy contrast, some of the newer Blackswan members have been training for a year or less. “When I was 15, my friend showed me a K-pop music video … and since then, I kind of got stuck on the K-pop genre,” Fatou said. But the Blackswan members say most of the criticisms come from international observers, while Korean fans and artists have been largely supportive.

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