Q: When did you first hear about -kpop?
K-Pop Fanatic: Freshman year from Jakayla (Because I spread the love).
Other 1: This year.
This year?
Yeah.
So no Gangnam Style? That was really big.
Oh, that’s K-pop?
That’s K-pop. That’s Korean.
Last year.
Q: What do you like/not like about k-pop?
K-Pop Fanatic 1: I like a lot of stuff about k-pop like music and lyrics,and also, Sung Jong(Infinite) is really attractive. *attach picture*. And um, I don’t know if I dislike anything. But um, I guess because of like, the netizens and like all their responses, like there’s like, a lot of overreacting responses.1 So like, a lot of kpop idols are just trying to like, hide their private lives because of these people.
K-Pop Fanatic 2: ...What I don’t like about it is all the emphasis they put on appearances of idols.
Other 1: That I don’t understand it.
Other 2: They all...this might offend you, and all of the fellow k-pop people, but they kind of all look the same. Sorry. Also, they’re very feminine -- the guys-- I mean that’s fine, it’s just a thing.
Q: What are words you would use to describe Korean pop music?
K-Pop Fanatic 1: Sungjong.
K-Pop Fanatic 2: Catchy, fun. Like um, their lyrics are… a lot of them like the ballads, are like more deep I feel like than the rest of the music a lot of the times.
Other 1: Crazy
Other 3: Funky, Korean. With a little bit of English dispersed.
Q:What is the main reason why you listen to/watch kpop music/MVs?
K-Pop Fanatic 1: Sungjong2
Other 1: I wouldn’t. They’re very colorful and crazy.
Q: After this interview do you think you'll go and listen to a couple of songs?
K-Pop Fanatic 2: Yes! A couple hundred of songs!
Other 3: If you send them to me.
Well, unfortunately I don’t see K-pop being embraced by the Menlo Community any time soon, but I am glad I got to make some of my peers more aware of it. It’s getting bigger and bigger and who knows what the future holds? Perhaps one day a few exceptional groups will break their way into Menlo’s musical bubble of country music and EDM.
K-pop in the Menlo Community (continued)
1: Netizens is the word used for the citizens of the internet who are active online.
2: At this point K-Pop Fanatic 1 was then overtaken by large amounts of feels for Infinite’s Sungjong.