Story With Kpop

My Kjourney

My name is Janna, and I would like to share my story with y'all.

I am a 23 year old female from the US and I got into Kpop back in 2017.

I was really into Kdramas and found one that was about kpop idols. It reminded me of a friend I had back in high school who was really into Kpop.

So I decided to check it out. I watched a few random music videos and was blown away at the amount of effort that was put into them and how over the top they seemed compared to western music videos. I casually listened and added songs to my playlists but was unaware at that time how much there was to Kpop.

I at one point decided I wanted to learn the names of the groups that I was listening to because I was struggling to tell them apart in the music videos. After learning their names I started to see clips on YouTube and realized that the members seemed so down to earth- just a bunch of goofy guys having a blast.

I realized that there was an app called Vlive where they put a lot of content out and then I found out about Weverse and after downloading TikTok my For You Page was filled with kpop content.

Over time I think what I realized was that I liked that the artists share their lives with their fans and that isn't something I saw or experienced in western music/artists. The pretty faces and catchy music aren't necessarily what keep me listening to kpop (although they don't hurt😅). I think it is the community that I have found in other fans and the openness of the artists.

Specifically in BTS I appreciate their message of loving yourself and loving others which is a great message to spread. I have also found that kpop is very accepting of everyone regardless of age, race, language, religion etc.

Kpop became my escape from the problems in my life. When watching clips, videos, listening to their music etc. I am usually laughing and enjoying my time so it became a good way to distract myself from everything (negative) going on in my life. I've heard many people say that Kpop came into their life when they needed it most (for the uplifting community, music, and artists) and I think that is true for me as well!

Kpop and kdramas have also stirred up an passion in me to continue learning languages. I learned Spanish in high school and am pretty proficient. Since learning more of Korean culture I have started to teach myself Korean and have even started learning Mandarin! Learning these languages will help me connect with and appreciate other cultures and help me make friends all over the world!

Some of my favorite groups are BTS, TXT, Stray Kids, and Pentagon. Over time I continue to stan more groups as there are so many talented ones out there! I look forward to all the great music and talent to come, as well as friendships to be made through this growing community called Kpop.

*The picture shown above is a Talisman that I made from metal. It represents BTS, Army, Magic Shop, and the album Answer. It doesn't hold magical powers but it serves as a reminder to me of how powerful Kpop, BTS, Army, and music are*