SUGARPOP was a 2019 reality survival show, with the objective of debuting an 8 member girl group under H&S Entertainment. The show was broadcasted live by the Kakao TV app, with Kakao M being the majority shareholder in H&S Entertainment, this was a way to bring in more revenue as views and streaming played a heavy role in the ranking system. With the produce scandals completely destroying Mnet's credibility, the public clung to SUGARPOP, it's accessibility and unique premises making the show a national pass time.

There were 40 contestants, trainees from Kakao M and H&S. They were split into 2 groups depending on which concept the company thought suited them best, Cute or Girl Crush. Each team had  4 units, A,B,C, D. They changed each week depending on the contestant's overall ranks . Girl Crush Unit A would would compete against Cute Unit A and so on. If one of the Cute units won the challenge, nobody from Cute Team would be eliminated.

Girls from different concepts barely interacted until the last five episodes where the concepts were extinguished and they were simply divided into Unit A and Unit B. This was a strategy of the producers to create drama, as the whole season they had pitted the teams against each other, encouraging tribalism and fights in an attempt to emulate hit american reality TV.

The two teams faced some tension, but were able to band together . As the last episode came all the girls had bonded in some way. 12 girls stood there thinking that at least 8 of them would debut together. The host happily announced the girls that had placed 8 to fifth, and before they could properly celebrate, the announcer shocked the public, declaring that only the top 4 girls would debut.

Aside from the constant encouraging of fights and rivalries between contestants, H&S Entertainment mistreated their girls in several different ways. They hired way less staff than was necessary, making their staff members do twice the work. Because of this the staff was way more stressed and hostile against the girls, making many contestants scared and untrusting of them. The lack of supervision paired with an intense shooting schedule made several contestants faint, as there was nobody to bring them food. The girls couldn't leave their dorms without a member of staff accompanying them, had no access to the internet and could not communicate with any of their family while on the show. It was very clear, too, that their dorms were not made to house 20 girls each, they were so cramped most of them couldn't sleep during the few hours they could rest.

So here the deal, Sugarpop ?
A total riggamorris.

The public's perception of a trainee and the narrative the producer's had built around them was as important and, in some cases, more important than their talent and skill. All the eight girls who were originally supposed to be in the lineup  were equally worthy of debuting, so why were these four selected as the final winners?

MAYBEL PARK - the safe bet

Maybel was the most well known trainee to join the survival show and her being there got the show a lot of clout. Having a previous YG trainee gave the show a sense of legitimacy in the korean public eye, and May was a favorite even before the series aired. Although she doesn't have the most likeable personality, the editor's were able to create this 'Ice Queen With a Melting Heart" narrative, where Bad Bitch May learns to be more open through the competition, becoming Soft Bitch May. 

BU GUKHYEON - the ugly duckling

Gukhyeon wasn't anyone's first bet. Being a young awkward trainee who always looked unhealthy, she barely got any screen time for the  and when she did, netizens made hurtful comments about her weight and personality. She was expected to go home by episode 9,  but then  In episode 8 The Girl Crush Team's iconic DDU DDU DDU performance happened, and the lil hoe was center. She really killed it and her dance skills were finally put on the spotlight. The judges and audience were a bit shell shocked and immediately wanted to know more about her. She went from 17th to 6th in one episode. The moment she started getting attention she lost a significant amount of weight, which helped them build an Ugly Duckling To Swan, Rags To Riches narrative around her.

SAITO AOI - the little girl

Aoi struggled a lot. She got hurt a lot. And she was very open about it. She was crying and limping over half of her screen time. This created a very unique dynamic with viewers. Her sadness was so emotionally distressing for the audience that half of it wanted her to win the whole thing and the other half hated her guts and just wanted her to leave so they could stop hearing her cry. But fortunately, the fact that this huge portion of the audience was so emotionally invested in her and her well being, seemed to the producers like a guarantee that she would bring that loving fandom to the group.

OH BONGCHA - the plot twist

BongCha's character was introduced as this washed up trainee who was taking her last chance in SUGARPOP. Although it was certainly an angle, it made her look weak and kind of boring.
Bongcha only caught the public's attention because of the cold paranoid way she addressed strategy and the girls she considered threats. She was The Shit Starter ™ and always looked like she was ready to fight someone. Bongie was meant to be The Season's Villain and was edited that way.

But of course that narrative felt a bit flaky  as BongCha visibly became Soft n Whipped for her teammates, constructing genuine supportive friendships with them . The public though, was only was able to fall in love with Bongcha and forget about the paranoid tendencies she had shown, in episode 16.

The episode saw 26 girls divided in 2, each group was to deliver a group performance to Girl's Day Ring My Bell. BongCha's team included all of the future finalists and winners of the show, and oh boy they were struggling. Because of the " suggestive"  sexy choreo,  the girls had to dance in these huge ass skirts,  made for tripping,  everybody had different ideas and limitations. The timed ticked and ticked and the group hadn't finished anything, all of the girls were sure they would lose.

That's when in the middle of this Depress Fest, BongCha came up with the revolutionary idea of saying fuck it  with the skirts. Since they couldn't dance in the skirts, why not just lift them up? In 2 hours, BongCha and the girls created choreography mostly based on shaking and lifting their skirts, using them as cowboy lassos and jump ropes.
This allowed them to have so much fun during the performance and their energy was simply incredible. The performance went viral, and as BongCha earned the center position for having the miraculous idea, so she became an instant favorite. The public now was not only grateful to her for saving all of their faves, but were also deeply amazed by her creativity, stage presence and defiant behaviour.