K-Pop Stories

The first time I read everything about those sasaengs and how people were mad at JYJ for hitting them, they made it seem like they had actually beat them up or as if they had to go to the hospital. But then I read a post of what Jaejoong had said to those girls and it broke my heart. It made me sad that for years he had all of that bottled in and then after drinking some it all just came out. It sounded like he didn’t even feel safe anywhere anymore because they enter their dorms or take their social security numbers or purposely try and crash into their cars in those taxis ;-;. And that was only like 1/10th of the horrible things they do to them. I don’t understand how people could be mad at JYJ when there are girls practically out to destroy them. I don’t think they really care about JYJ at all, I think it’s stalking and harassment; and they can’t do anything about since most of the girls are underage…

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Exactly. I can’t believe that things like these are actually happening. I can’t imagine me or any friend of mine of maybe someone I’ve met, for example, to suddenly turn out to be such a horrible person, to be a sasaeng. It’s unimaginable. How does one come across a thought ”Oh, I know! I feel like crashing an idols van today! Shall go find a taxi now.. where’s my coat.” I can not digest this.

Thank you for sharing, sweetheart!

Mei. 

So I do have to admit, my collection’s pretty extensive, but I’m just getting started on the collection. I feel like collecting Kpop CD’s is one of the only ways I can really support my favorite artists, since there is a slim to none chance of them ever coming here. Just to start things off, I live in Houston, which of course has a very large Asian community, and so I do have the added plus of living near Chinatown/Viet-town. We do have a small Koreatown as well, which is quite a bit north from my area. But that never deterred me from going there all the time anyways. So I never really had to order CD’s off the internet or feel the thrill of waiting for them to come in the mail.

My first ever Korean anything CD is not a Kpop CD. Ever since 7^th grade I’ve been very interested in Korean dramas [before then it was mainly Jrock and a little Jpop]. I’ve been watching them for a really long time now [college junior] and I’ve always tried to find the OST’s to the dramas that I particularly enjoyed. La Dolce Vita was definitely one that I liked, especially because it was so much more different than the usual Korean drama [plus Lee Dongwook is especially hot and is one of my actor biases] and the soundtrack was amazing. However, I ran into the problem of not being able to find it online. So the first Korean CD I ever bought was the soundtrack. Off the internet. So even though it’s not Kpop, I still definitely count it as a personal favorite of mine.

After I started watching dramas I discovered Kpop. My first group ever was definitely Super Junior. Their songs roped me in, especially Don’t Don and U. After that I basically tried to find out anything and everything I could about Kpop [because I realized early on that it takes a lot of work and attention to keep up with all of the different artists] and I started discovering everyone else, from BoA to DBSK to even Korean indie music like Dear Cloud. I fell in love with the culture and the language [and from watching all those dramas and movies, I started learning the language by myself!]. I’ve even flown out to LA to attend an audition for SME [obviously I didn’t make it but I do have some goodies from when I was there, plus I actually met Amber at those auditions, which turned out to be the person SM picked :D]. I have taken a Korean language course in college and that was when I finally learned how to read and write Hangul.

 After I discovered the existence of Super Hmart and the rest of Koreatown there was no need for me to even bother with ordering CD’s off the internet because there is a nice lady in Hmart with a little shop that sells everything Korean: Korean books, Korean drama DVD rentals, KOREAN KPOP CDS. And this is where my journey began. The first CD I bought from that store was of course a Super Junior album, back in I would like to say 2009. I had been listening to Kpop since the beginning of high school but I never discovered Hmart until that year. The Bonamana album holds a special place in my heart for being the first Kpop album I ever purchased. The Version B came with Ryeowook as the photocard [I’ve put all of them together somewhere and I can’t find them at the moment so they’re not included in the photos].

I bought both of the editions back to back [I always meant to buy the third edition but she ran out before I bought one]. The Version A came with Siwon as the photocard [one of my top four biases from Super Junior, the others being Donghae, Eunhyuk, Kyuhyun] but when I got my wallet stolen Siwon got stolen with it T-T But it’s okay because there are some hot photos of all the SuJu boys in the album. :D

The next album I bought from the Kpop lady was BoA’s Copy and Paste [if you guys can’t tell SME artists are pretty much my favorite, and I’m definitely partial to the male groups as opposed to female groups]. This album unfortunately had a little mishap with one of my Starbucks chai lattes in the car once, so that’s the little stain on the inside and also the reason for the ripped paper. I learned that I definitely needed to take better care of my albums from then on out. I love that face she’s making with the orange juice too.

I have to admit, I knew about SHINee in the beginning [they had SHINee mini posters at the auditions but they limited how many you could grab D: ] but I wasn’t really attracted to them until Ring Ding Dong. That song I have to say I didn’t like in the beginning, but it grew on me really quickly [and it’s been stuck in my head numerous times]. SHINee is now one of my favorite groups ever. I love all of their albums and they just keep getting better. The Kpop lady never had the Lucifer album, but I definitely had to get Hello. I even got a free poster with this CD. :D

I of course was upset when DBSK broke up. T-T I actually got my best friend into Kpop [she totally fought me about it the whole time but she finally gave in after all that kpop blasting in my car :D her ultimate bias also happens to be Jaejoong] and after she learned about their history, she fell in love with Kpop. I’m going to get shot for this, but I do happen to like HoMin more than JYJ [but it’s only because Changmin’s my DBSK bias AND I got him as the photocard]. Their Keep Your Head Down album I had to have. It is an amazing album.

I would buy CD’s from the Kpop lady every chance I could get. I’ve also purchased f(x)’s Pinocchio album and Super Junior M’s Perfection album as well [I got Eunhyuk as the photocard :D]. After that she started ordering a lot more albums from a bigger variety of artists, so I branched out and I’ve purchased MBLAQ’s Mona Lisa and Teen Top’s Roman.

B1A4 has to be one of the cutest Kpop groups ever. :D I even got Gongchan as the photocard [hell yeah!]

I also purchased Super Junior’s Mr. Simple Version A [it’s currently in storage in the garage and I couldn’t reach it because of someone’s crappy ass parking skills] and I LOVE IT. Of course I had to get A-Cha too. :D

The latest CD I’ve purchased from the Kpop lady is MBLAQ’s 100%ver. I haven’t been able to visit her as often as I used to because of my loss of self transportation. But trust me, whenever I get the chance, I’ll go by to see what latest CD’s she has in stock.

Needless to say, Korean pop is one of the biggest influences in my life. Ever since I was young, I’d always wanted to become a singer. After I discovered Kpop, that dream was just fueled by all of the talents I’ve found and even now after all these years I’m still surprised with every new song release. Soon I’ll start acting on my dream even more and start my own YouTube channel. Be sure to check it out when I get it running!

- Linh/Eunyoung

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I read everything with such interest! Where do I begin! O.O Firstly - awesome collection and totally SME biased. ;D heheehe~ But I can’t blame you, SM does produce really great songs and groups, it’s just talent all over the place. And OMG you auditioned! That’s so brave. ;D; I could never even try thinking about doing that, but would want to anyways, but still wouldn’t audition - too scared. ^^; Plus met Amber right around the time she was chosen, that’s something not everyone can say. -u- What do I see~ ooo -D- Some hot, halfnaked bodies on the SuJu 4th album YES. <3 Oh, my Heechulie in the middle on the A-CHA card! I’d want that so bad! About TVXQ - you know, I kinda like HoMin more as well, but not like I dislike JYJ or anything, I just like their music a lot more, but still have full JYJ support! As for the A-CHA CD design.. what is that. Minimalism that is coming off a bit boring. :T However SuJu-M CD design I really like, also simple but loving the mirror-ism. ^^ I’d want all of these CDs anyways! You’re lucky to have this kpop lady, I hope you’ll show us your future purchases as well. ^D^ As for your dream to sing, I hope you succeed! And keep us on track about your progress, even if it’s just a youtube channel~ ^u^ Thank you for writing!

- Mei. 

Hmmm. I’ve been into the kpop fandom for a couple of years, but I never bought anything till last year, mostly because I was just a student and didn’t have much money for myself that I could spend.

A few months ago I had the chance to go to work in China and I found a CD shop not far from my house: they had so many things! And the prices were extremely low (5-8$ for a CD, max for a DVD). I like many different groups so it was like heaven for me. Especially because for the first time I could pick CDs first hand and I didn’t have to spend for ridicolous shipping fees.

The very first kpop CD I bought was Super Junior’s “Bonamana” (Version C)

After that I became some sort of a regular there, to the point that the shop workers once showed me they had left some CDs just in case I was interested XD I bought more things from Super Junior, but also Big Bang, B2ST, DBSK, 2PM and so on.

I came back from China a couple of months ago but that didn’t stop me from ordering other things (I finally have enough money now, woohoo!)

I currently own 51 between CDs and DVDs and I recently ordered 19 more.

I keep updating my collection, you can see it here.

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OH, I’m so jealous! I wish I could spend my money on CDs more, but I thought to myself that I must buy a CD from time to time with some moneys I save up. ;u; Gah, if I could get to your shelf I’d be all touchy and feely all over it and you probably couldn’t get me out of there as I’d browse through every CD and then start from the beginning again to infinity~ ;D; 

- Mei. 

Hello, hello this is my story~

When I first hearing Kpop my parents looked at me weird like:

When I’d just stare at my CP screen for hours and occasionally let out a scream or just giggle:

One day I was watching this MBLAQ vid(Y) and at the beggining Joonie is in the shower and yeah and my mom walked by then stopped when she saw him:

Then shes tarted dancing along:

After that incident she started paying more attention to what I listened to and watched, she wouldn’t leave me alone and my dad started wondering what was going on that she stayed up staring at her screen as well so I introduced to girl groups. BEG now have a new fan. Whenever we go to a party or family reunion or something my dad just HAS to show everyone he can do the hip dance. This is what he thinks he’s doing:

This is what actually looks like:

But in the end it doesn’t matter because the both listen to kpop now and they don’t look at me weirdly when I fangirl or ask for something Korean related ^-^:D

And that is my story of my kpoploving family<3

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Haha! Your dad dancing to Abracadabra - that’s funny. :D And so totally awesome as well. The fact that both of your parents enjoy kpop is worth appreciating. I hope you don’t mind I made up a title for your story, I think it’s fitting? As I just find it so interesting about your dad and I genuinely giggled while reading that part! Please do submit more in the future~

- Mei.  ♥

Well. I’m not sure what my parents think about kpop. When my music is loud or when a song is too… ‘rough’? or too rock-ish, they don’t like it. But I’ve been busy cleaning up my room, and I usually play kpop while doing that. My mom and dad would sometimes help me clean up and stuff, and sometimes my father or mother would hum or whistle along to the song, or tap their feet to the rythm. My parents know I’m also into Japan and Korea, and they even know who Super Junior is (My mom even recognizes my favourite member, Eunhyuk YAY). But in short… they aren’t big fans of kpop hahaha x”D
(btw, my mother did say she thinks Siwon is handsome. Siwon is such a mommy favourite haha)

So that’s my story! Bye~

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Well, at least some reaction! Pretty similar to my parent’s. And I could not agree with you more, I dunno what it is, but Siwon and moms.. that’s a thing. :D I haven’t had a chance to slip my mom some Siwon, but I hope it won’t be too long. -u- hehehe~

- Mei. ♥

My first kpop song….

Around spring 2009

First I have to say that I knew about kpop and kdrama before that  but was more into Jdrama and Twdrama and that my only exposition to asian music was tru those drama. At the time I wasn’t really into anything  Korean because I tought the language sounded funny.

I was at work and it wasn’t really busy, so I was checking vid on youtube. I remember I was watching flashmob and by clicking here and there I found one of Indonesian girl (if I remember correctly) doing a flashmob for Again and again from 2pm. I liked the dancing so I searched it on youtube…… but I didn’t like the song that much. Too much again and again and again……..and again lol I tought it was pretty repetitive. But as I said the dancing was nice, so I typed something like: Korean boys band dance and BAM Mirotic came up…. Do I need to say more? Funny storie on my first impression of them, I didn’t really flash on Jae immediately. For me it was Changmin that did it. And I tought Junsu was way too hummm agressivly manly LOL It was a shock for me when I found out he was in charge of the cuteness. But then I clicked on Balloons….and got the fright of my life kekeke But I found Big Bang Lies and since then I’m a proud VIP.^_^  And I gave dbsk and 2pm another chance later on, watched wild bunny and hot blood and show with dbsk on it,….. to discovered that one had break-up sort off and was in a middle of a lawsuit, and the other was in a scandal and the leader was  leaving the group O_o . I had really picked my time lol.

So yeah since then I’m pretty much a kpop lover, I don’t stick to a group in particular (apart from Big bang) if I like a song I like it. Oh and I’m starting to like girl group…. But slowly.

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I get about the language sounding funny thing! :D It was the same for me, Japan was my first love actually. And also the fact that you discovered DBSK around the time they were breaking up - I FEEL YOU, I also was in the exact same place.. And slowly liking girl groups - also I was exactly the same! I was not even a tiny bit interested, but they somehow grew on me and I hope that will on you as well. -u- We have some things in common. Was nice reading your story, please submit more. C:

- Mei. ♥

My first experience in K-pop came thanks to another of my obsessions: Mando-pop. The year was 2007, and a movie came out called High School Musical 2. I avoided it, being old and too much in love with what little sanity I had. However, one day, whilst wandering around Youtube, I spotted something odd. A song from HSM2 sung in Chinese. I was taking Chinese lessons at the time (still am), so I decided, why not?

Three hours, one Google search, and dozens of videos later, and I was in love with a singer named Luo Zhi Xiang. Through him, I learned about the amazing world of Mando-pop. It was in this world that I first met and fell in love with some members of Super Junior, although, seeing as the videos I watched had only Chinese anywhere on the page, I never knew what their name was outside of the Chinese characters or SJ-M. For about a year and a half, Mando-pop held sole custody of my heart.

One day, while searching around for new SJ-M videos, as they were still pretty new at the time, I stumbled upon another video. I thought: ‘Yay!! Another new Mando-pop group!!’. I clicked on the video and waited. The guys were quite hot, and I couldn’t wait to hear their voices. But…hang on…

This isn’t Chinese!!!

(The original video I found. ^_^)

Well, after listening to the song, I realized I liked it, and I liked them. I started looking for more songs after I learned their name.

DBSK.

DBSK led me to Big Bang and SHINee, really quickly. Now, I belong to so many fandoms I can hardly keep them straight and fall in love deeper every day. ^_^

Don’t get me wrong, though. My mando-pop still gets love, especially when I realized I’d been a ‘ELF-M’ for long before I even gave SuJu a chance.

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First time I see someone who first was a Chinese music fan and later found out about kpop! Of course, there are probably more people, but I’ve only encountered jrock turned kpop lovers and simply people who somehow stumbled upon kpop. ^^ Seems like a lot of us had their first encounters in kpop thanks to DBSK. And you know, I hope you will have more and more fandoms to count yourself a part of! In my personal opinion - you can’t be a fan of too many groups/artists! =D

I hope you’ll share some more from now on~ 

- Mei. ♥

So. I’m a Mexican fan of KPOP, my favorite groups are BIGBANG, 2NE1, B2ST, SUPER JUNIOR, UKISS & B1A4.

So one night I was watching TV with my mom, and then a comparative of a video from Lucero *national singer* and 2NE1 came up, was Fire vs Inevitable. I decided to write the name “2NE1” on a paper and google it later.

Like 3 weeks pass and I found the little paper, I wrote it on YT and all the videos of 2NE1 show up, Fire obviously. Then watching all videos, I found Lollipop, then I fall in love with BIGBANG. That’s how I met KPOP

Let me tell you that I never like Asian stuff, like anime or things like that. Maybe Hatsune Miku, but it was like “Oh, look that character that sings!!”.

Thank you for let me explain all my story. Kisses ^^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIRW_elc-rY&ob=av2e

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”Lollipop” holds a special place in my heart as well, as it was my first BIGBANG and 2NE1 song and it seemed so catchy! But honestly I was kind of weird-ed out about the girls in the video back then, but now I find them cute. :D And that little paper was destiny, I tell you! I’m glad you hadn’t thrown it away. ;u; Be sure to share more stories from now on as well~ ♥

- Mei.

Warning: this is probably going to be a loooong story.

So at first I was kind of a fan of jpop (Berryz Koubou mostly) but at a point it started to annoy me a bit and I started listening to music I liked before. But with a group of friends we would have one or two days in a year where we would make up games and quizzes about Jpop, and listen to the music all day. So one time, Kpop was also added, but at the time I didn’t listen to it yet (therefor answering all the questions about it wrong during the quiz haha). One of my friends back then was CRAZY about kpop and kept bugging me with it, even though I wasn’t interested.

BUT during the Holidays, at one night, I got bored and suddenly a kpop song my friend showed me got stuck in my head. This happened to be SHINee’s Ring ding dong, so I decided to look it up on youtube. (this was around Christmas 2010) That night I only listened to that song, and a few days later I clicked on another SHINee song, to check it out: Lucifer. At first I thought they looked reeaally gay there, but the song was catchy, so I kept listening.

One evening, I was lying in bed with my ipod, listening to Lucifer on youtube. I saw a mashup with Lucifer from SHINee and Bonamana from Super Junior. I remembered my friend talking about bonamana and that she liked that song a lot too, so I listened to the mashup, and ended up listening to Bonamana a lot as well!

At first I was a big SHINee fan, but now, for about a year, I’m a true ELF and I love this whole kpop world…. I really want to go to Korea and see SS4!! I have been to SM Town Live in Paris, and I’m suuuper happy about that!! I LOVE EUNHYUK SO MUCH NOW It’s crazy!

So… that’s my story haha… kind of long lol :’)

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Awesome! Those three songs (Ring ding dong, Bonamana, Lucifer) are really catchy in my opinion and when they’ve gotten into your head, there is no escaping whatsoever! :D Those were some of my beginning songs as well, they feel nostalgic now. :) Thank you for sharing and welcome! I hope you will share more - anything kpop related is warmly welcomed. 

- Mei. ♥