The K-Pop community can seem a little confusing to outsiders. Maybe the most that you’ve seen of us is replying to politicians’ tweets on Twitter with hip-swaying fancams of our idols. (In which case, I’m sorry!) If you wish to understand us a little more, or if you’re a K-Pop newbie and you want to know more about K-Pop, here’s a mini guide.
What is a K-Pop fan, and how do I become one?Being a K-Pop fan is super simple. First, you need to be interested in Korean pop music, which isn’t hard at all. Just watch a couple of MVs from your artist of choice (BTS, BLACKPINK, SEVENTEEN, NCT are a few groups that are popular right now) , but if you don’t know where to start you could just google “K-Pop” in the YouTube search bar and you’ll get thousands of music videos. Pick a thumbnail that you like, click on the video and you’re well on your way to becoming a fan. There are lots of funny edits of idols doing questionable things or answering questions online, and you might want to check out a couple of them to really get to know each member’s personality. At first, you might think that they all look the same, but once you watch a couple of videos you’ll realise that they’re actually very different people.
The majority of the target audience for K-Pop is international audiences, which is why many K-Pop songs have English lyrics in them. It’s so that their music can reach a wider variety of people and so that their fans can sing along!
Why do the male K-Pop idols wear makeup?Some may think that idols wearing makeup is feminine and unnatural, but really that’s just toxic masculinity speaking. Guys, and K-Pop male idols, can totally wear skirts, wear makeup, and so forth all the whilst being attractive. Furthermore, the makeup used for K-Pop music videos is usually light stage makeup, unless they’re doing a super strong concept. Sometimes they might be pretty much bareface, and that’s perfectly normal too.
Why can’t I be a solo stan?Honestly, there’s nothing stopping you from being a “solo stan” - that is, liking one member from a group only. Being a solo stan is frowned upon by many K-Pop fans, however many do choose to go this route especially when one member is promoted above all other members in the media (an example of this would be ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo - he is promoted heavily in banners and K-dramas whereas the other members enjoy considerably less fame). You should ideally try to learn everyone’s names in a K-Pop group and respect all of them to avoid being a solo stan. You can have a bias, which is finding one member of a group the most attractive, with no problems.
About The Author
Our awesome guest writer and author of this informative article is Emily Lee. Emily is a Korean-Australian living in Melbourne with a love for Korean culture. In her spare time, she learns K-Pop dances and watches Korean dramas. For more examples of her work check out her portfolio here.
Further Research
If you are still looking for more information on K-Pop and what becoming a fan entails, the following books are not only a great resource, but are as entertaining as they are educational:
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