I started as a cynic...
My introduction to KPOP music was not a gentle one. I was one of those girls who huffed and narrowed their eyes at the sight of boys in brightly colored outfits dancing to some type of electronic song. Yes, I was not kind to KPOP fans. I looked down at them, though I wasn't verbal in my dislike. I simply had thoughts that ran along the lines of "These girls are stupid..."
Little did I know that I would soon be joining the hordes of KPOP fan girls in the world of skinny-jeans-wearing men, guyliners, crazy hair colors, and, most of all, fun online friendship.
How it all started
I started out only liking Korean dramas. Man, do they know how make them. The girly girl inside me just couldn't help but fall in love with their stories and their characters. I wasn't obsessed or anything (at least not yet), but I really like watching good movies and TV shows and reading great books. So I was really drawn to this form of Korean entertainment.
Then one night, as I was browsing through some K-drama videos, I stumbled upon this. The video that changed everything. (I'm a little dramatic when I talk about this. Bear with me.)
The turning point...
I was like, "Who is this white-haired man?" And what in the world is he thinking eating and cracking up a pomegranate like that?! It's illegal! No one should look that attractive and sexy with white-dyed hair and roots showing! No one... but him.
His name was Choi Seunghyun aka TOP.
I was sold.
From then on out, it became a ritual to check this man's videos on YouTube, Google him, look at his pictures, and all the crazy stuff I thought i was the only one doing. You should all know I was already in my twenties during this time and I felt ashamed that I can still "fangirl" like this.
It was a little stalker-ish, but the fact that I can laugh about it now helps me not to worry about my sanity.
It actually brings to mind my awkward teenage years of being so besotted with Westlife. I made a whole scrapbook just for them. Lyrics, pictures, family trees (yes, I'm serious), and all those other stuff any true-blue Westlife fan should know and have. Now, before I go on scaring out all of you, I can assure you that I am still mentally stable. But then again, no crazy person ever admitted to being crazy, right?
But just trust me on this one.
Going back, that's how my story with KPOP started.
His name is TOP
KPOP Songs and Albums
Thirty wonderful KPOP tracks form the most KPOP idol groups such as Big Bang, Girls' Generation, Sistar, Secret, Lu, G.D & T.O.P, Yim Jae Bum, Yoon Da Hyun, Park Hyo Shin, Lee Seong Chul, Wheesung, FT iSland, 2NE1, 4minute, Girl's day, YB, Lee Hyun, Sg Wanna Be, IU, Sung, Si Kyung, Brown eyed Soul
Big Bang comes Alive with their highly anticipated fifth mini-album! Working with the group's usual hitmaker Teddy,
G-Dragon again has songwriting credits on all the album's new tracks.
Big Bang's previous album, featuring 10 original tracks.
Why its so important for me
Its not just the cute guy... although that counts a lot!
KPOP has made me realize that I can do what I love... writing.
Some of you may not know about stories called fan fiction, but in the KPOP world, it is big. Being a KPOP fan sort of gave me the reason, more like the push, to write. I wrote Bigbang, mostly TOP, fan fiction, and although I was so ashamed of it at first, I'm really thankful I started writing those short stories.
I would have never been able to discover that I LOVED to write. I like creating stories, albeit fantastical ones. I love what I can do with words and how I can make people feel things while they read it. I love how I can put into words the stories I have in my head, even the naughty ones! I love how I can even earn money as a freelancer off my writing!
I love that I made friends.
I guess that was the most important thing. Before you go one thinking that I have no "real" friends in the offline world, I do. But you see, I'm very introverted. I don't like being with large crowds or too much partying. I prefer to read, to write, to watch movies and then talk about what I read, wrote, and watched later on.
Only very few of my friends offline share those hobbies with me. But in KPOP, particularly in Tumblr and the Introvert Forums, I found people who share my interests.
It was like being introduced to a whole new world where I can be me. I didn't have to pretend that I'm excited for parties nor do i have to come up with excuses to slip out.
It was no longer about KPOP anymore, it was about realizing I like being different.
And that there is nothing wrong with it.
And so here I am...
This leaf is the introduction to all the others I will make in the future. There will be plenty. And I hope to share with you my passion for KPOP and all the things I've learned from it. I'm not just a crazy KPOP fan girl, I'm also someone who likes to write about it.
I think I could also bring some of my KPOP friends over here!
It'll be one big party!
