Then my daughter,
, developed a talent for being able to memorize raps. More recently she has fallen in love with KPOP and now I listen to Rap. Why? Pretty much most KPOP songs have melody and rap. Each group has vocalists and rappers, some rappers sing as well. She would love to be able to do the KPOP raps but is still trying to learn Korean. Needless to say, everyone on her Bias list is a rapper, her ultimate bias is more a vocalist but has rapped a few times.Bias what?!?! I am still learning about the kpop culture that has taken over my daughters life and I will admit that it has taken over my music genre. What has changed in our home? 1. We have Korean food in the cupboard, we have a Korean SnakBox that comes once a month to introduce us to different things. 2. We have purchased KPOP songs on Itunes, made our own CD's so we can hear it in the car, have discovered that Spotify and SoundCloud have the KPOP genre. 3. If it is my daughter and I or she and her cousin, any and all YouTube will be KPOP related - M/V's, dance practices, weekly idol chats, Korean entertainment variety shows, you get the idea. 4. Her wardrobe is now 70% KPOP merchandise.
Now people would think this is overboard but let me explain why of all the obsessions she has, that I am perfectly fine with this one and am slightly obsessed also. For explanation purpose I will tell you that a Bias is a celebrity (idol) from each group that you love the most. An Ultimate Bias is an idol that has pretty much decided he is who you should fan girl over lol.
Culture is sooooo different and I have a lot of respect for who these idols are. No, they aren't perfect, yes I'm sure they have faults, they are human but they are also not her hero's. Korea is very, VERY big on respect - that is a major plus in my book since here in the US it is becoming a rare commodity. Some idols work for YEARS before they can debut. Years without their family as when you are accepted as a recruit you move into the entertainment companies dorms. You sleep, eat, and study with strangers until you get to know them. They will place you with your group that you will debut with and that is who you live with. The competition between groups is extreme which means they want themselves out there as much as possible, there isn't much you cannot find out about a group or specific idol. Talk about glass houses, these people get ridiculed and called out if they don't smile or Aegyo (cute expressions) when in public. Anyone that is a current idol you know two things; they work very hard and are smart. A few entertainment companies will send recruits home if they don't have or keep good grades. I look at these as admirable traits, who doesn't want their child to have a good work ethic, to get good grades, and be successful?
I found out the other day that unlike in America, in South Korea you pick one group and stick with them until they have made a name for themselves. Again, because there are so many and they can use all the fans they can get. They actually love their fans over there and have been known to give gifts to fans that come out to filmings, meet and greets, etc. The fans make or break them. Therefore, each group has a "pet name" I call it for their fans, for example: BTOB's are Melody's, BTS's are Army, Got7's are IGOT7, and 2pm's are Hottest. We are happy that we are in America where we can like multiple groups and support them. I don't know that I could choose just one.
In order to do my part in getting recognition for these talented people, I have been wanting to do several blog posts with each one dedicated to one of our favorite groups. Therefore, there will be a blog about BTOB: Born to Beat, GOT7, BTS: Bangtan Boys, 2pm, and possibly Block B and Big Bang.
The craziest thing about becoming immersed in this culture? Half the time you don't realize that you have no idea what they are saying and the half you are waiting for the Eng sub titles to be done.
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