SeoulNicole 서울니콜

It took a few months, but I finally feel like I get it  : I am fangirling all over my apartment watching and listening to K-Pop music. The combination of catchy choruses, beautiful people, and music videos with memorable dances is what allows K-Pop to appeal to fans with no Korean language skills. Additionally I find that in Korea these performers are so accessible to their fans - much more so than American pop artists (*with the exception of Lady Gaga). The over-exposure of K-Pop idols in Korean media creates a feeling of intimacy with the fans that I haven't seen replicated in American pop culture. (*) I think Lady Gaga acts most like a K-Pop artist...she is A. obsessed with recreating her image and B. was the first American artist to release singles at a more rapid pace similar to the way in which K-Pop artists release their songs in "Mini-Albums". There is no K-Pop equivalent of Lindsay Lohan. This is probably due to the manufactured nature of K-Pop and the ...

The rain brings out the smell of kimchi as I stand with my umbrella and stare at my feet. I'm waiting to go home. I hear the bus before I see it, groaning around the corner. I stick my hand out, palm down, wave my fingers toward my wrist. The rain jumps off my beckoning hand.  The bus stops for me and I smile at the driver while trying to close my umbrella and swipe my T-card against the reader. “Kamsahamnida” the meter says in a female voice as it deducts my fare. I search for a seat but the bus jolts forward and I lose my balance. My soaking umbrella brushes against an old man’s knee and he recoils, except for his blank stare which stays fixed on me.  I stutter my apology and the Korean words fall clumsily out of my mouth.   My shoes squeak as I sit down. Already we are going downhill, soon I will need to get off. Shops, bars, restaurants, salons, cafes, pet stores, all built on top of each other. All whizzing by. The windows are speckled with raindrops and ...