K-Pop

I have been listening to K-pop and stanning groups ever since my sophomore year in high school. If you’ve been using the internet, you’ve surely been seeing at least something related to K-pop. Whether it be the Twitter fancams popping up at every search, the songs and fandoms flooding every social media platform (BTS and Blackpink), or seeing a beautiful Korean celebrity and thinking they’re a K-pop idol, K-pop is unforgettable and undeniable.

There are TOO many reasons to list why I love K-pop, so instead, I’ll list the reasons from one of my research papers:

The Groups

There are undeniable stereotypes about what a typical K-pop group looks and sounds like, and that is often a result of the industry and the individual trailblazing groups (again, BTS). But, the K-pop industry strives to create connections between groups and their fans, and this shows when you delve into the individual groups and begin to love each and every member.

The Merchandise

This industry has so many types of merchandise, it’s no wonder why the fans obsess over it. We can buy the group’s several types of albums, photocards for our members, their lightsticks, too many things to buy, really.

The Fandoms

Now, there’s a reason why K-pop fandoms can overload any platform. Fans connect with each other, fandoms connect with other fandoms. All for the goal of supporting the idols. What helps even more is that each fandom has an official name from their idols. BTS: ARMY, Blackpink: Blinks, Stray Kids: STAY, NCT: NCTzen (pronounced “N-citizens”).