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 as if the