“Although it’s open to interpretation, the ‘good against evil’ consistently seen in Exo and aespa’s world view is very messianic,” Kaunda told the Korea JoongAng Daily. Kaunda, a professor of theology at Yonsei University, believes SM’s universes have been strongly alluding to Christianity. This expansive member base is not the only factor that makes the SMCU unique. However, the SMCU is bound to be more vast and intricate due to the large number of artists under the agency, including NCT, Exo, SHINee, Red Velvet, BoA, TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, Super Junior and more.

Fictional universes have been a trend in the K-pop scene in recent years boy band BTS has its BTS Universe, and rookie boy band Kingdom’s universe is based on historical and legendary kings. “That creates a bond among fans and forms a strong fandom.” Indeed, aspects of the SMCU that are yet to be clarified have sparked enthusiastic debates in comment sections and fan communities. “When lyrics and music videos are abstruse, curious fans will naturally gather online to discuss hidden meanings together,” said Kim. But pop culture critic Kim Heon-sik says this type of convolution is actually an effective strategy to attract fans in the long run. In 2012, SM Entertainment debuted 12-member boy band Exo with the backstory that each member had a superpower to fight against evil.

“Why are they walking to Kwangya and why do they keep mentioning that word?” “Although ‘Next Level’ was such an earworm that I memorized all the lyrics, I still have no idea what the song is about,” she said. Twenty-three-year-old Hong Seul-bean became intrigued by “Next Level” and shared her thoughts on its lyrics. While NCT U, Exo and NCT Dream incorporated the term in a more general context, the lyrics of “Next Level” talk exclusively about SMCU concepts, resulting in lyrics that are barely comprehensible without prior knowledge of the fictional universe. The recurring mention of Kwangya has stood out to K-pop fans, but “Next Level” took things to just that - the next level. Since then, Kwangya has continued to appear in songs by SM’s artists such as NCT U’s “90’s Love” (2020), Exo’s “Don’t Fight the Feeling” (2021) and NCT Dream’s “Hello Future” (2021). A scene from aespa’s music video for “Next Level” (2021) The lyrics of aespa’s debut song “Black Mamba” (2020) also mention the term kwangya, which means “wilderness” in Korean.

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