As soon as she walked into the concert, lights flickered around her as fans sang or chanted along to songs as they waited for the idols to come out.
“As soon as the concert starts, everyone starts screaming! Lightsticks are being waved, and, as soon as you hear the music start and see them pop out, everyone’s just gone. Everyone is chanting, singing along ... it’s amazing,” Summit Prep freshman Litzzi Mendoza said of her experience at K-pop concerts.
“Then getting noticed by the idol and everything - it’s amazing. Then by the end of it, you're upset since it’s over,” Mendoza concluded.
K-pop has been around for a while now, but it launced in America when PSY’s Gangnam Style was released. Now, this genre of music has skyrocketed even more in recent years and has spread throughout the world.
According to My Passion - The Beginning of KPOP, K-pop was first introduced into the world in 1992 thanks to a boy group called Seo Taiji and Boys. This boy group was formed under SM Entertainment, founded by Soo-Man Lee in 1989, which is now one of the “Big 3” companies, alongside JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment.
K-pop stands for Korean Pop music, but it doesn’t only consist of the pop genre. It also includes many other genres. K-pop includes a mix of English and Korean lyrics that are often paired with extravagant live dance performances.
Despite how popular K-pop is, not all Summit Prep students know about the genre.
Here are some interviews of the students at Summit Prep who aren't yet familiar with K-pop:
From this interview, three of the four students were aware of K-pop. Many students have heard of K-pop, but they aren't fans of the music genre. Students are also aware of the fan base.
On the other hand, students who are K-pop fans had varying opinions on the fandom and the music.
Summit Prep freshman Azaneah Laguinlin said, "The fans I’ve met are pretty nice. The K-pop fandom is supportive as heck!"
Laguinlin said, “If they’re immature, I stay away from them.” There are some fans out there that post and say hateful things about different K-pop groups on the internet, so many fans choose to distance themselves from that crowd, like Laguinlin.
Another Summit Prep freshman, Ivette Ochoa, gave her opinions on the music genre, saying that K-pop “makes people more open to different cultures and different type of music.”
When talking about [most of] the fans as a whole fandom, Ochoa said, “I think the K-pop fandom is a family; they understand you.”
Furthermore, when Ocoha was asked how the music affects her community, she said, “It’s easier to find friends in our community since they also understand you and your interests more.”
When two students who are familiar with K-pop were asked how K-pop has affected their lives, this is how they responded:
Many people have become friends just because of their interest in K-pop. Fans have met other fans at school, concerts, social media platforms and many other places.
K-pop has brought many people together these past few years, causing lots of tight and comfortable friendships to blossom. In a way, it helps communities feel closer to one another, making them feel more connected - like one big family.