B.A.P., 2ne1, BTS
When I finally decided to take the plunge into the world of blogging, I agonized on what my first post should be. Should I talk about my current favorite group? The song I have on repeat? The drama I’m watching that may or not end well? Would I look back on my first post and cringe or have a bittersweet nostalgia for a project that never took off because of an indiscreet first blog post? It was too much of a struggle to choose, so I decided to find a loophole write about why I started this blog in the first place.
I was swept away in the Hallyu wave while in high school. An awesome friend of mine (thanks, chingu!) introduced me to the drama Boys Over Flowers and like most people with that gateway drama, I was hooked. It had everything: high school drama, rich chaebols, amnesia, a plucky heroine, and those irresistible cliffhangers. I ended up skipping some of the final episodes, because let’s be honest, it could get a bit much sometimes. But this crash-course introduction to all the clichés and drama tropes left me wanting more. My next drama was Answer Me 1997, and with its poignant themes and tight storytelling, I never looked back.
Then came K-pop. I thought I was going to go after the educated hipster vibe. You know, the person who’s too ‘cultured’ to listen to simple pop or dance songs. But I realized that I was just too lazy interested in all of the songs I was hearing in the background or mentioned in the K-dramas I was watching. B.A.P., 2ne1, how could I resist? And I started getting more into the lyrics as BTS started to blow up internationally.
As a type-A perfectionist, my first instinct is to immerse myself into things to an extreme degree. I watched a lot of dramas during high school, mostly as an escape from my high-stress courses and later, college applications. As college, graduation, working, and general adulting replaced the unsustainable amount of time I spent watching dramas and following comebacks, I became more selective in what I spent my time on. Instead of watching every new drama that came out, I picked one or two that piqued my interest. And I didn’t obsess over keeping up with the episodes as they aired, opting instead to watch them when I could actually pay attention to them and relax. I started listening to new songs while I exercised, studied, or went into work. I learned to appreciate how a seemingly simple background vocal addition could turn a basic pop song into a all-kill bop. I fell more in love with the mini-series format that assured viewers a complete, if not always satisfying, ending. So when someone pointed out that my rants to my group chat about a recent release might as well be a blog post; I decided to run with it, hoping that my clumsy rants would bring someone else entertainment.
If you’re still reading this, either you are an amazing human, I paid you to do this, or you are my mother. Just kidding, I had to pay my mother too. Either way, I hope you can find something worth your time here, a rest from your day, and a safe place to be a fan. So sit back, cook some ramen, and let’s binge-watch some dramas!
