I remember one time a friend of mine was listening to a song which I couldn't quite grasp the familiarity, although at the time I can barely recognized some English words the components that make up this language have already been cognitively embedded into my mind somehow. So when I heard this I quickly ran to her seat asked what song is this? why does she listen to a song which presumably she doesn't even know the meaning? and handful more other questions she overwhelmingly had to answer regarding this fresh new strangeness.
After a peek, turned out this friend of mine was not only listening but also watching its' music video. This was usual couple years ago but seeing that one of ‘these people’, the kind of people who would turn on their TV, set the channel to MTV and spent hours sitting still right in front of the screen doing nothing but admiring or perhaps observing the work of art that's been integrated into this three minute or so long video while having their ears blessed with various tempos, motifs and others going back and forth between minor and major key still exist to this day was rather a moment of flabbergastation.
At the back of my mind I thought this must be Chinese or something, just when I thought I was right... “Oh it’s Korean pop girl group” my friend said “SNSD, have you heard of it?” she continued. Korea? all this middle school girl knew was the land divided into two different independent countries. The music video just as extraordinary as the song itself, very bright, colorful and eccentric. There were so many singers and in a way look all the same.
What about this special and intriguing enough to make my friend and like minded individuals spend their precious time obsessing over these artists. I’ve met such fan before, obviously, but they were something else… they’d write 100 facts about their “idol” on a sacred notebook from the food that they like to their shoe size, collect merchandise, watch four different types of an hour long interviews, even an extreme fan probably wouldn’t take obsession to that extent.
“They’re funny, pretty, cool, smart…” I heard her and two others neighbouring-class school mates expressing all the praising words listed in the dictionary when asked about why they like them.
I hold onto ‘they all look the same’ for years. Racism did pop out one time but swept away by claiming that I do watch several Thailand movies and anime not to mention my love of Japan or to put it differently i was in denial of having a concealed internalized racism. Male singers portrayed in K-pop all have the same bowl cut and wear make up which enough materials my 14 years old self needed to mock them. Same goes for female, it is as though one girl multiplied by nine of computer generated imageries. Even after layers of powder I still couldn’t find them appealing. (Yikes… i've come a long way)
The music is either too cutesy or too hard hitting, the texture mixed together in odd positions that more often than not made it sounds all over the place. After all, I don’t even speak Korean so why bother listening.
Many years after, the song Ddu-Du Ddu-Du played all over the radio for weeks, if not months. This was subtle, I’m used to listening to EDM in high school the only significant difference is that it has two rap verses however, still not enough to poke my interest. Several weeks went by, this time majority of people seemed to already know the choreography even for non K-pop fans. I decided to give the video a check see if it does live up to its’ popularity and at the same time I have already grown used to the song and found myself sang along the chorus plenty of time.
Right after one play, I was awaken or so to speak. The music video was extravagant, bedazzling tank, enormous hat, chandelier swing… I was left speechless. I now fully understood why my friend likes to watch MVs. Everything she ever said was starting to make sense, the song alone is great but combined with the music video is beyond words could describe. Things like, how the beat drop at the same second the set change, how the movements in the choreography symbolized the message of the lyrics, are all packaged together in a pleasingly ingenious and creative manner. Leaving one aspect behind wouldn’t make the song, likewise, in order to enjoy it you need to savor it wholly.
I then invested my time to have a little bit of insight about this preterritorial universe. Time after time I learned that these entertainers have an open relation with their fans. From superficial to very detailed information about them are being laid out by themselves to public. Thus, why both sides always have this sense of intimacy between them, it’s truly amazing how we as fans could feel in such a way that they’re a part of us and vice versa.
Sure we can't leave fanaticism behind when talking about K-pop. Although evidently speaking K-pop fans are more obsessive, participating in a concert, constantly buying new merchandise and album or watching several TV shows about your favorite idol whether to gain more information or merely for entertainment, nevertheless is a 'normal' act of support and has been a part of Korean showbiz culture for a long time even if in western view this might be considered as unhealthy (excluding sasaeng). *I'll further explain my opinion about this in the next blog post
One group could have a cutesy concept and another of the total polar opposite. You could find all sorts of genres in K-pop, trap, r&b, hip-hop, ballad... you name it. All of this is what makes K-pop uniquely special. Among other things, how the members interact with each other showcasing their personality is always fun to watch.
How blind was i years ago? Quite ironic how i 'hate' the look of these people then, when now their photos fill in about 3/4 of my phone storage. With time and maturity my unwillingness to learn about different culture apart from those that fancy me has slowly faded, i learned to always start with a blank canvas along with an open mind when developing knowledge of a different culture.