Day 23: Why I’m Such Kpop Trash: A Confession.

Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz!

As I desperately await X1’s debut this week, Kpop has been the only thing on my mind. I’m legit just way too excited to tune in to their live-stream of their showcase, and I’m going to be sitting on my computer, like a proud mama, finally stanning a boy group after almost a year of not being interested in them.

With that being said, I actually wanted to talk about how and why I got into Kpop music and explain to people who may not understand how I can enjoy it so much. Listen, Kpop is such a global phenomenon as we speak, and more and more people are enjoying Kpop music more than ever. Although other generations of Kpop made their way into westernized countries in the past, Kpop wasn’t truly recognized, nor taken seriously, until BTS came into the picture and shut shit down. 

Even though I didn’t discover my love for Kpop through them, I’m glad that one day at the Asian laundromat in my neighborhood was playing some Kpop music; preferably TWICE.

As I started to branch out my interests in Kpop music such as seeking through the many albums TWICE released up to date and finding similar girl groups with high popularity, Kpop started to become the only music I was listening to, and it truly wasn’t because I was now this Korean wannabe American that hates American music. Quite frankly, my interests in music are not in Top 40 as much anymore; surely, I still will bop to Ariana Grande’s new songs or another pop princess on the charts, but I’ve just become more of an “oldies but goodies” music listener. Yes, not only am I Kpop trash, but I am also old-school trash as well. 

For many people, music is their safe haven. Music truly is the universal language and it’s such a healing experience when you are in need of it. In the past, I have to thank Kelly Clarkson’s My December album for saving my life through my darkest of times. While the last thing that truly saved my life was the TV show, The Killing back in 2013 and 2014, this time around, I discovered something new that’s continuously saving my life.

Kpop music is saving my life, as we speak, as I write this, at this moment, and that’s why it’s so important to me.

Although I don’t engage in any Kpop toxic communities that just see these human beings as literal entertainment mules, I live in my bubble of discovering new music that is coming out, follow all of my favorite groups and wait for their comebacks, and yes, even watching Korean survival shows, like PDX101.

At first, I was truly embarrassed to be so interested in music that was in a language I don’t understand, and many people who don’t listen to Kpop don’t understand how I listen to it or how it even gets stuck in my head which it truly does, but now I just don’t care. Everyone that knows me knows my love for Kpop, and whether they want to label me this “Koreaboo” now that I enjoy something like Kpop, a lot, that’s on them.

Because everyone has something in this world that saves their lives when they are in tough times, and mine just happens to be Kpop.

Let me know if any of you guys listen to Kpop! Leave some suggestions, tell me what’s your favorite Kpop groups! I’m more than happy to connect with you guys through some of my favorite songs in Kpop!