Saturday 30 September 2017

Intro

...or the short story of how I got into K-Pop.


(Looking at it, it actually sounds like a name of new band who is just getting ready for their debut. Sorry reader, I got carried away already.)

Welcome visitor, 

to a world of opportunities and to the magical world of K-Pop. 

Before we start, let me tell you a story about stress, a pair of sandals and curiosity. 

When I was only 3 weeks old, my father got invited for a study trip to South Korea. As an aspiring architect, he took on the opportunity even with 4 small children (and a very though mother) waiting for him at home back in Budapest. In '95 returned to spend almost six months in Seoul to help rebuilding a few of Samsung's commercial buildings which got destroyed in a devastating earthquake, costing many lives. 

He couldn't bring home many things other than the love and respect in his heart for Korea and its people and... a silk robe for his young wife and 4 pair of sandals for his 3 boys and a little girl, me. 

They were the most amazing sandals I've ever seen in my life - at least that's how they seemed to me, a little girl with big dreams growing up in post-communist country trying to get back on its feet. They were so special actually, that eventually I got to wear all the pairs as I grew older.



Years passed by and we grew up as well, all of my brothers now hold respectable professions - one of them happens to be a corporate lawyer, who swears there are only a handful of things that can calm him down on a stressful day, and... well, you already guessed one of them: the charming tunes of K-Pop, especially the ones from girl bands. I guess the fact that they are super talented and also easy on the eye, didn't hurt either. I can't even count how many times I heard the hook 'I'm Genie for you boy'. At one point, if I remember correctly, he even had a Girl's Generation song as a ringtone - risky choice in the boardroom if you ask me.


Me? I wanted to study sociology, social anthropology, music... and ended up being a business student. That didn't stop me from writing my original thesis about fan culture, music business and music marketing - and I tried my best to feed my curiosity with as much travel as possible.

Being on the road popular culture, especially music was always a way to get to know the country, city I moved into and eventually help me understand its people a tiny bit better. 
What it is that they listened to gain courage before a first date or to get pumped up before an exam?

What TV shows kept them awake at night, head filled with theories, waiting to be shared with like-minded enthusiasts?


And which sweet would they buy as a present to their parents before getting lost int the realm of delicious comfort food?*



Popular culture interwined my work, my studies and my everyday life - sometimes even to the extreme extent of buying way too many copies of Rolling Stone, Wallpaper and co. whenever I'm at an airport, and then desperately trying to squeeze it into my luggage on the way back.

It also includes staying up all night to stream award shows, which reflect the state of the music industry and it's charts... just how this year's Billboard Music Awards did, where the unprecedented success of the seven member boy band sensation BTS shocked the music world. To give you the clue: they snatched the Top Social Artist Award from worldwide household names such as the critically acclaimed vocal gymnast Ariana Grande, Canadian troubadour Shawn Mendes, brand-builder powerhouse Selena Gomez, and the ultimate music career phoenix in recent memory Justin Bieber himself.






So what do we do, when we realise we actually know a lot less about what's going on in the Twitter-sphere, why changes are happening, and what's or who's driving them -  than we actually thought?

Well, we branch out, look for opportunities, open our minds and hearts... and learn, learn, learn.

Stay tuned for my journey at the K-Pop Academy and beyond with The Korean Cultural Centre UK, for essays driven by curiosity, vlog post on discoveries, reactions from all my (un)fortunate friends whom I slowly trying to convert to K-Pop and a whole lot more. 

Let's keep hwaiting

*What are you listening to, dear reader?










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