Lessons I’ve Learned From K-pop

I started casually listening to K-pop about a year ago, and quickly made the dive down the rabbit hole. Recently I’ve realized just how much their music has influenced my life and helped me grow as a person, so it’s time to reflect on all the lessons I’ve learned from K-pop ... besides how to waste hours upon hours on YouTube.

Anything Can Make A Heart K-pop has opened my eyes to just how many ways humans can make hearts with their fingers, hands, arms, etc. No matter what, there’s always a way to express love to fans.

Asian People Are Extremely Underrepresented

Not every lesson I’ve learned is as light-hearted as hearts. I am ashamed to say that only after falling in love with K-pop was I aware of just how underrepresented Asian people are in media. Things have been progressing with hits like Crazy Rich Asians and BTS going global, but we still have a long way to go.

Rock-Paper-Scissors Can Settle Any Argument

K-pop isn’t just about the music, it’s about the groups. Getting to know them as individuals is key to getting obsessed. I’ve watched my fair share of V Live content and dance practice videos to come to the conclusion that rock-paper-scissors can help make any decision. Who has to dress up as Snow White? Who has to take the dance solo? What about carrying everyone’s suitcases? A few rounds of rock-paper-scissors is all you need.

Friendship Is Everything

An interesting aspect of K-pop is that most groups live together. They are quite literally always together practicing, recording, filming and traveling. It’s great to see their friendships at the forefront. They truly care about each other and you can see it through interviews/livestreams, etc. Friendships just aren’t celebrated enough.

People Are F*cking Racist

This one surprised me a lot more than it probably should have. With an obsession this strong, I talk about it pretty much constantly and I’ve received a lot of mixed responses. My friends have been cool and mostly just get annoyed because it’s all I talk about sometimes, but others can be straight up dicks. One time a bartender said that he always turns off K-pop when people try to play it. Others make the comment that they just can’t like something that’s not in english. It’s so strange to see the comment section of videos raving about how much they love these artists, but then stepping into the real world, people won’t even give them a chance just because they speak Korean. Even in interviews journalists can be insanely disrespectful by asking questions like, “Why don’t you make an all english album?”. Can you imagine asking an American artist to make an album in Korean? Ridiculous.

Subtitles Are Important

Whoever makes subtitles for V Live, YouTube, etc. deserve so much love and appreciation. I don’t know what I would do without them. I can complain all day about production companies not providing the subs themselves, but honestly why should they? We’re lucky enough to get any content at all. I’ve watched livestreams where I understand a few words max. I’ve loved subtitles before getting into K-pop and now I truly know how important they are.

Fandoms Make It All Work

The artists themselves are amazing, but the fans really bring the whole thing together. I’ve been part of a lot of fandoms in my day and none of them even come close. Fans spend hours memorizing lyrics, practicing fanchants, buying merch, making videos, subtitling videos, writing fanfiction, waking up in the middle of the night for premieres and livestreams, creating fan art, organizing fundraisers to honor idols. They are fiercely loyal, but also nice? I’ve never had a bad interaction with a BTS fan and most of the time when rude comments are made on videos, fans jump in to educate instead of argue. It’s really remarkable. I’m not saying all K-pop fans perfect, but they do make me proud to be part of the community.

These are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned through my year as a K-pop fan. Since it has taken over my life in such an extreme way, you can expect more K-pop content coming soon. With a BTS comeback happening, anything is possible.