My Relationship With K-Pop is… Complicated!

You know, when it comes to the term K-Pop, I honestly don’t have any specific criteria for an idol to be idolized.

I only have two main idols in K-Pop, whom I like because of their music: 2NE1 and Jay Park.

I like 2NE1 because I’m so connected to their music. It’s similar to Lady Gaga’s, it reminds me a lot to Missy Elliot’s back in old days, it somehow gives me the feeling like when I listened to Britney Spears’. Well you know, it’s just the music I never get bored to. That kinda music that fits me the most. My kinda music. That’s why 2NE1 will always be in my first place.

I like Jay Park because he’s American, haha~ Yeah it’s true. But truth is, they sold me his story and I bought it. Bone once told me all about his controversy and I found it very interesting. But then I listened to his songs and I found it similar to Chris Brown’s on his 1^st album in 2005. It was really good, especially for people who like R & B and hip hop. I was a ghetto once in a while back there, so I like it. Jay Park helps me reminisce the music I used to like. The beat is so fun, the melody is ear-catchy, and his voice is superb. It’s very rare, you see, to find someone who’s able to sing and rap in Korea. Well, since Jay is American, let’s give him an excuse, shall we. :)

But then K-Pop is getting even more interesting.

It’s not just a music, but a whole new concept of entertainment!

It’s not only made for people who love music, but to all the people in general.

K-Pop provides everything you wish for idol to be.

Everything, just everything.

Face? Checked.

Skill? Checked.

Performance and stage-act? Checked.

Which one fits you the most? Just pick, they have them all.

This is when I started to pay attention to anyone else.

Take Girls’ Generation for example.

First time I heard Gee on the radio, I wanna puke.

“What-the-fuck-is-it” something like that.

But then I heard it again and again until the song stuck in my head and I liked it. It all happened naturally, I built certain curiosity. I wanted to know more about the members. I googled, I tubed and bam! There are Korean-American girls in the group, Tiffany Hwang and Jessica Jung.

Been a worshipper of American music since I was very little, knowing the fact that there actually is an American among those Korean idols is something I consider as symbol of hope.

Yeah I know it’s silly but that’s what I think. That’s why I always give special attention to American-Born Korean, especially the one in the group. Tiffany and Jessica are just the beginning. Later on I found out about f(x)’s Amber Liu, Kara’s Nicole, 2PM’s Nichkhun, and of course, Jay Park.

I started to learn the thing they called ‘bias’, which means your favorite member in the group. Those American-Born Koreans are no doubt, my biases. 

But then it’s getting more interesting, again.

You know, thanks to my job I have a chance to get to know K-Pop more. I have privileges to meet them in person and watch their performances. That’s when I realized, these idols also have personalities. Inside the group for example, there is a hierarchy: leader, main singer, main dancer, center, and maknae (the youngest). That creates different personality and approach for each of them.

Why should they make such things?

Why is it important?

But in K-Pop, yes it is important. It is somehow their marketing strategy to sell every member’s, not just the group or the music.

That’s the thing about K-Pop, isn’t it?

Like I said before, K-Pop provides everything you wish for idol to be.

If you don’t like the music, try to watch their performance. If you don’t like the performance, try to watch their variety shows. It shows you everyone’s real personality that you might like. I think it’s similar with liking some TV personalities or social media personalities or YouTube personalities. You may find it similar to yours or if it somehow attracts you. At the end, you’ll like it.

As a fan of K-Pop, I admit I love the idea of liking their personalities. That’s where my affection toward 2NE1’s Sandara Park, Bigbang’s Seungri, Super Junior’s Leeteuk, SHINee’s Minho, Wonder Girls’ Sunye, B2ST’s Gi Kwang, 4minute’s HyunA and G.Na came from.

You may wonder, why would someone who idolize a super-talented Jay Park, also idolize an average-skilled kid like Seungri or a pretty boy like Leeteuk? Why would someone who like 2NE1 music, also like that super slutty HyunA?

I simply like their personalities. Because of that I enter the stage where I don’t care about their performance on stage anymore. I also don’t care about their lacking of skills. For me, they can’t go wrong in anyway.

So if you or anybody ask me, who’s my favorite K-Pop idol, well this post is the answer.

I can’t simply answer 2NE1 or Jay Park because I have a lot, each of them has a specific reason.

What can I say, my relationship with K-Pop is complicated.

Thank you so much for reading! :)