So Hi. Long time no see. I have this ENGLISH Subject at school which is more into Public Speaking. Our exam is to do an informative speech of whatever topic and so I was torn between two topics and one is about being a K-pop fan. I actually made a speech about the other topic but later on decided to do this instead. I even memorized this speech before I have memorized the other one LOL So it goes like this:
Imagine you are locked inside a dark spacious room. Everything is ambiguous. Everything creeps you out. You heard a ticking sound - someone switches the lights on. You flashed a bright smile but it eventually faded. You saw so many doors with the word "ENTRANCE" in it. You were hesitant but you decided to go through one of those. You walked on a seemingly endless path and when it feels like the journey is over...there it is. Words like "Congratulations. You just entered the world of K-pop."
What is K-pop? K-pop means Korean Pop. Korean Music and a lot of people do become fans of such music. How one becomes a k-pop fan? And if you become one, how it is like to be one? How to be a k-pop fan? To simplify things, may I present to you the stages a person will undergo.
The Interested Stage. The stage where you are presented with various of boy and girl who make good and catchy music groups (example the famous 2NE1, SHINee, SUPER JUNIOR. You find them interesting because besides the talents they can boost, they also have those graciously good-looking members. This is also the time that you will choose which group to scrutinize more.
The Starstruck Stage. To dig deeper. You will track down their entire filmography. You begin to watch all their interviews and variety shows. You will conduct a thorough research and find out that K-POP fans have names that vary from one artist to another. It is called FANDOM (fan+kingdom) 2NE1's fandom is BLACKJACK, SHINee's is SHINee WORLD, SUJU's is ELF. You will also know that there is a fanclub color. 2ne1 is hot pink, SHINee is pearl aqua, SUJU is sapphire blue. You also start to download all their pictures and videos and you squeal everytime you see them.
Development Stage. This stage is the time you begin to buy the artist's albums. Albums come with a poster and vary from time to time. You also tend to buy related merchandises such as t-shirts, fans, ballers and etc. Also, you cry, weep or even leak everytime they win an award. A mere attraction is now converted to love.
Maturity Stage. You love them. You spend so much for them but there is more to come. Korean artists also hold concerts. Prices though are quite cost ineffective. The most expensive is around 15000pesos VIP and the cheapest is 1500 General Admission BUT prices vary from country to country. What is unique in a k-pop concert however is the ocean thousands of fans make through their lightstick. Moreover, this is when you become open to criticisms. People insult your favorite group, then so be it.
Denial Stage. Perhaps the most interesting facet. You start giving hate comments and statements about your favorite group. You accuse them as LIFE RUINERS because they are indeed. Giving you too much heartattacks with overly atttractive clothers, making you explode with too much feels because of their actions, and lastly giving you one heck of a roller coaster ride of mix emotions.
Being a fan is complicated. You are hopelessly devoted. To some though, it is a source of inspiration. For few, it is an escape to the sometimes harsh reality. Its impact differs from one person to another. But what a one fan usually does, generally will most probably be done by the others. Now you want to go back to the dark spacious room. Free yourself from all these. But unlike before where you saw so many doors with the word "ENTRANCE", the door with the word "EXIT" seems nowhere to be found.
THE STAGES ARE PURELY BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE. MAYBE NOT TRUE TO ALL. AND PHOTOS ARE NOT MINE :)
please find the lost lamb i am begging
medusa~
