WEB EXCLUSIVE

K-pop, or Korean music has entered America and took over teenage girls, and boys’ lives. However, a lot of people have strong opinions, good or bad, which can stir up a lot of conflict. 

The most popular group, BTS, is personally one of my favorites, and the fan base is strong, called ARMY. However, K-pop, isn’t really accepted in a lot of kid’s lives because they have heard people hate on them, so they would have to find it “gross” too. Words spread fast, especially negative things.

 The most common reason people don’t like K-pop is they do not know what they are saying since it’s in Korean, so they can’t ‘click’ with the lyrics. For me, this is true because there are some songs that are light and make you tear up when you watch their live performance and how much emotion they put in. On the other hand, their hype songs with a hard beat would make you wild, and in a party mood.

To me, what I have seen is that people say all Korean boy bands look the same and they cannot tell the difference, people have their own opinions, but no person looks the same, it can be offensive to some people. Which makes the fandom’s mad, because it’s a repetitive thing. Another reason people dislike about these bands is their makeup. ‘They look like girls,’ or ‘why are they wearing lipstick and eye shadow,’ but it’s their culture to do so. In Korea, it’s a common thing for some boys to wear makeup, it’s a part of their lifestyle.
However, the thing that bothers me, is that whenever I show a friend, or anyone who doesn’t like one of the bands a song I like, they don’t think it’s bad, or they start listening to more of their songs. BUT a lot of people ridicule me to say that, for example, people can only tell BTS apart by their different colored hair, or if they have the same hair color, they are twins. Which gets me fuming cause if they all looked the same, how would I, or other people who love BTS tell them apart as well? 

Onto things people love about K-pop is their music and how hard it hits. Even though we don’t know what is being said, it’s said in their facial expressions in music videos, their dancing ability, and the control of their voice. Unlike American music, which we have all seen so it’s a real thing, is celebrity drama. We don’t need to worry about them acting out, or if they have a secret girlfriend, all of that is public because they actually like to bond with their fans, unlike other artists. 

These bands, and solo artists don’t focus on the money, fame, or drama, they interact with their fans, and just make good music so people like me, can listen to it. Even though it’s not what everyone listens to these days, fandoms of any girl or boy band aren’t shy to show it.

So, next time you say the things I pointed out for what people say to Korean bands, and we all know you either think it, or say it, listen to their songs and look at guide videos into the artists you’re insulting. I was one of the kids who were grossed about from the idea of boys’ bands, but as I started to watch their videos, I saw their personality and how hard their music hits, so I suggest doing the same.