aespa's "Next Level" Banned During The CSAT Period After SHINee's "Ring Ding Dong"

Back in 2009, SHINee, a group from SM Entertainment with a big hit and addicting song “Ring Ding Dong made headlines after the song was “banned” during Korea’s national college entrance due to its highly addictive melody and catchy beat. Following SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong” twelve years ago, aespa’s song “Next Level” has now been named the next SM Entertainment song to be banned during the upcoming national college entrance exam period.

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aespa’s song “Next Level” is Banned During The CSAT Following SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong.”

A once-a-year national college entrance exam or College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) is held in South Korea. If they failed, they have to retake the exam in the following year. As a result, students should not be failed solely because of one song.

A list of prohibited Kpop songs from the CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) period featured SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong.” As it has addicting lyrics and beats that make it repeatedly rings in the brain.

Following in the footsteps of SHINee’s big hit “Ring Ding Dong,” aespa’s new song “Next Level” also has a highly addictive melody, beat, and lyrics stick to our mind. Thus, aespa’s “Next Level” is at risk of being blacklisted during this year’s college entrance test period and maybe in the years to come.

According to an anonymous music critic, “as soon as Karina begins singing ‘I’m on the Next Level,’ the listener’s blood heats up with excitement as the exciting and fun beat sticks to their ears, and the song resonates in their heads.”

Here are addictive KPop songs that were banned during the CSAT period.

Some KPop songs besides SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong” were also banned during Korea’s national entrance test. So, here are the k-pop songs that Korean students were banned from listening to during their CSAT period.

Super Junior “Sorry Sorry” (2007)

T-ARA – “Bo Peep Bo Peep” (2011)

Red Velvet – “Dumb Dumb” (2015)

BTS’s “Go Go” (2017)

BLACKPINK – “DDU-DU-DDU-DU” (2018)

Netizens react to aespa’s song “Next Level” to be banned during the CSAT period.

congratulation (?) aespa Next Level, if this song is really get banned, that means this song is very popular & liked by gp and they listen to this song everywhere. This means that Next Level is really big and accepted by ppl/community https://t.co/v3peREK7dZ
— kyara? (@araaerii) June 2, 2021

on the day next level was dropped some ppl say no one was gonna listen to it / the song was bad and only a few days later the song charted high, went viral and now is a banned song bc it's too addictive… the aespa karma is beautiful
— was seofessional ? (@yujiminst) June 3, 2021