Fun fact – today is the New Year in South Korea – a national holiday! From my basic understanding of this holiday, families gather together in traditional clothes, greet one another, eat a fish cake, and then BAM – you’re one year older! But I could be completely wrong …
Also fun fact – everything in town is closed because of it. So that means it’s been a lazy day for me, Emily, and her mom Julie. And since I did nothing to share with you today, I thought it would be a great day to try and explain my exposure to Kpop.
Some of you may ask, “what is Kpop?” And that’s like … a really great question. I’m still trying to figure it out myself.
Basically speaking, they’re either a girl or boy singing group in South Korea that also dance really well. The fandom for Kpop, however, is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I wish I could explain the madness, but I don’t even understand it fully. Luckily, I found an article to explain some of the odd aspects. But for a general idea, love notes written in blood is not uncommon. Stalking is next level. And then there are the “anti-fans” who try to pour superglue into the superstar’s drinks to kill them.
Y’all, this is an alternate universe.
When Emily first began explaining Kpop to me, it was made very clear that I had to pick a favorite band and join allegiance towards a specific member. So behold! I’ve chosen Suga from the band BTS (don’t tell Lance Bass)!
Here’s a music video of the group BTS (with my boo Suga in the gray/blue hair).
The sweet “babydoll” look is quite popular for the girl groups in Kpop. Kinda, sorta feeding into that stereotype, I suppose. But dang, this song is super catchy. I find myself wanting to do the dance moves.
CL is my favorite of the Kpop scene. She’s just … cool.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have the choreographers that create all of these amazing dances. Below is a video of one of the top dance studios in South Korea. I watched their stuff even before I came to South Korea.
And there you go – my basic, entry-level knowledge of the intricate and dedicated Kpop world. If there’s anything I’ve taken away from it, I love the clothes and dance moves.
No Comments