Fallen out of kpop

This post is about 650 words.

Hi, ZoyieTTAngel here.

I'm 18. I know many kpop fans are young - younger than me. If your maturity is not present, then, please, grasp all you can, and really think before you start attacking me over your keyboards and touchscreens.

 

I've been a member of AFF for four years now. I joined to start reading stories about Teen Top, a group most kpop fans nowadays don't know about. I began writing a Teen Top fanfic in 2014, but as I grew older, I realised that my literature was rushed, elementary, child-like, so I started a new story about EXO. I didn't like that one either, so I deleted both. I started writing yet another EXO story in 2016, and I am almost finished with it. As time progressed, I became more and more sick with kpop. My boyfriend jokingly called me a koreaboo several times, and that drove my discomfort further. Eventually, he stopped calling me a koreaboo, but the sick feeling remained.

Whenever I went on websites such as soompi or allkpop or koreaboo, I got angry. Why? I don't know. I guess I felt like there was an unnecessary hype for kpop, especially the group BTS. Now, I don't hate BTS (they are actually in my story), so halt your quick thumbs and fingers. Whenever I visit those sites now, I feel like I'm wasting my time, just like how when I visit celebrity websites for western celebrities. Guess what happened?

 

I realized that there's no difference. 

 

I know what you're thinking: "Of course there's no difference between Asian and Western celebrities? How did you not know this?"

 

Don't judge me. When I was about 15, I was surrounded by people who hated the idea of not being Asian. They were weeaboos and koreaboos, but they didn't know it, but I did. I left them and made new friends, and I started thinking about things that actually mattered instead of some celebrities I didn't even understand. I asked myself these questions:

  1. What does the hype do to benefit me?
  2. Why am I trying to learn the entire language of a country I'll never visit just to understand lyrics of a song?
  3. Why am I undervaluing my perception of music?

 

I might have struck a nerve with that last question, if you actually understand what I meant. If not, let me explain. I'm not Korean, I don't know the Korean language entirely (I'm intermediate), and I don't want to. ALL k-music fans who do not know the Korean language listen to it because they like what they hear, that is FACT. The Korean language is pretty, it ties into high bpm songs well, like English, Spanish, Hebrew. It doesn't sound boring! It's exciting! You're agreeing, right? Good.

 

The thing is though: without understanding the Korean language, you're not retaining or understanding the lyrics you hear. You could be listening to the same Korean song for years, singing alongside it, and still mess up on some parts because you don't understand what you're saying. Does this sound familiar? Yes? Good. Let me get to the point.

Without understanding, your perception of music is skewed. You only lust for the pleasantness of the sound instead of the relation of the lyrics. In other words, you can't relate to a song you can't understand, and that is the main reason why music exists. We have music to relate, to comfort ourselves and each other, to express thoughts and feelings we can't on our own. I could go on and on telling you why we have music, but this blog post is already long enough. All in all, if you can't understand what you're hearing, then what's the point in hearing it? It's a rhetorical question, so just think about it and not respond.

 

 

So now I guess you get why I've fallen out of kpop. Feel free to reply.

 

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bohubear #1
Falling out of kpop is something that happens and cannot be helped so there's no steam from it but the whole point about having to understand the music you're listening to to turn it into 'valuable' music, real music just screams elitism to me. Some pointed out classical music and how it hasn't stopped bringing out emotions even after centuries while you may argue that lyrics aren't needed and that's the same things. Music is real no matter what. Some songs are meant to make you question your experiences, to get past them, to remember them or to relive them at the same time as the singer but there's also music created solely for the purpose of dancing to it at parties or belt it out in your car with friends. There are songs in languages invented by the writers that don't make much sense yet tug at your heartlines as well as there are songs in your mother tongue that tackles personal experiences you've had yet can't be bothered to listen to it. Music is music and that's all there is to it. No taste in music is superior to another. You can talk about it from an objective technical view and it still doesn't trump the experiences of the listener.
Hwa-Jeong #2
i've been into kpop since the o3 error & holy , i've been in & out of it
& i agree w/ u.
as u grow older, u either grow into the same genre of music more or kinda fallen out of it....
now a days, i've been fallen back into taiwanese pop (i'm vietnamese btw) & viet hiphop....sometimes switchin back into the eng lang. music groups like linkin park, a7x, disturbed, etc ( any group in the rock, alt., punk, death metal scene) i also listen to hopsin & twiztid from time to time.
kpop fans these days needa learn how to chill & stop takin ppls opinion as an offense.
goldteacup #3
Girl don't worry, that's normal. I'm 25 and I've been into plenty of fandoms, and this simply happens. I always look back at my past fandoms with love tho, I've never been angry I liked a thing in the past.

Kpop has brought me a lot of happiness and opened my eyes to this whole culture I deeply admire. I love Korea, their history, their food, and going there has been one of the best experiences in my life.

You shouldn't feel forced to be in a fandom, it's a huge waste of time! If you're gonna force yourself to do something, try learning a useful skill that will benefit you in the long run :)
Hannawalker #4
I’m still in love with BTS but I’m sure I’ll fall out of kpop too when I get older. I’m currently in love with Park Jimin and that not going to change in a few years but it will one day
exocat15 #5
i fully respect your falling out of kpop.

a reaction to your last paragraph: i could say the same thing about classical music or music without lyrics. not everyone understands tonality or modes or how the notes specifically work together with the key, tempo, or dynamic markings. however, this doesn't necessarily mean that people's perception of classical music is skewed or that they can't relate to the feeling the music's trying to convey because they don't understand these things. knowing them certainly enhances the listening experience, but at the end of the day it's not crucial for enjoyment.

as for not retaining or understanding lyrics - i've thought about this too. there are so many language nuances that are easily lost in translation, but kpop is another form of entertainment, that's all. i figure i can continue being entertained by kpop even if i don't understand every single lyric or linguistic witticism thrown in there. that being said, some people do learn korean for the sake of understanding lyrics (or interviews and such), and, well, if they end up genuinely liking and appreciating the language, then that's great.
tsuxia #6
Hey, I've also fallen out of kpop. Even now, I'm not sure if I'm into it or not as I don't follow any groups at the moment. I'm glad you shared out your opinions because I've experienced this feeling as well! Though, I believe you don't HAVE to connect to songs to enjoy it and relate. I listen to a bunch of songs that deal with nonsense I'll never connect to. People like music for a VARIETY of reasons, not just comfort. Some just like the instrumentals. Some like the vocals, and just so on. We all have different reasons to enjoy music so there is no harm into listening to songs that you don't understand, nor is it a big deal. Music is universal. If you like the song, then you like it. If you want to understand the song, then you search up lyrics. Why stay strictly to the language you are fluent with? It's nice to be open and listen to music of diversity. I really appreciate this post though, it had me thinking.
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