I Will Never Regret Liking KPOP

I’ve been asked – sometimes, ridiculed – by a lot of people already for being this addicted to KPOP, particularly to Super Junior. I don’t know why they have to intervene and question my interests when it’s very easy to just mind one’s own business.

Nevertheless, their constant condemnation – of what I believe is the best thing that ever happened to me – has brought me to thinking: WHY DO I LIKE KPOP?

The answer has been clear to me since day one. But only this afternoon did I fully understand why I would rather sing songs which lyrics I can’t understand than be awed by some Hollywood singers who – I think – can’t write even just a single song for themselves.

Not that I’m coming clean and not that I’m putting KPOP (particularly Super Junior in the pedestal). Until now, I’m still a fan of some American pop groups. But it’s just that I want people to understand why liking and indulging in KPOP will never make one less of a person.

Okay. So here’s my defence: I don’t understand the lyrics of a KPOP song right away. It’s the melody that speaks to me first. And this is one basic thing why I will always choose KPOP over Hollywood RnB: KPOP music is real music to me.

You see, listening to the melody exercises my critical judgment. It makes me think of what the song is all about. It makes me wonder. It makes me imagine. This is actually what I do. Before I ransack the internet for the translation of the song, I formulate my own translation first.

That… is magic to me. And that is what I cannot really find in Hollywood RnBs. In KPOP, though auto-tuning of voices are rampant and not everybody’s good in English, I can sense the emotion on the song. It’s real music to me. Not plain beats, not plain raps.

Furthermore, there’s real meaning behind every song. And I can feel it. I don’t go wondering where the tune and the words came from.

Second reason: RESPECT. Admit it or not, KPOP idols are FAR MORE RESPECTFUL than HOLLYWOOD STARS. This is a personal opinion and I know that most Filipinos know what I am talking about. (Those who don’t, CD is a clue.) I can’t generalize, especially with the truth that one of Super Junior have once been involved in a controversy similar to that I’m referring to; but really, I still won’t regret choosing Super Junior over that kid.

Because in Super Junior (and in KPOP), I have seen how artists respect their fans. Their sincerity cannot be questioned. Whenever they perform, they don’t make it obvious that they’re sick. They might be quite demanding during tours but they make sure that they give back to what they ask for. In airports, though they get mobbed and their cars get chased, they still find time to wave, smile, and make pa-cute to fans who waited for them either under the scorching heat or in the midst of bad weather.

Maybe it’s because of the Asian culture, too. (NOTE: FUCK YOU WHOEVER WILL SAY THAT PHILIPPINES IS NOT AN ASIAN COUNTRY. LEARN YOUR GEOGRAPHY, FOOLS.)

KPOP idols are superstars, as well. Though they are subjected to racism, THEY ARE STILL SUPERSTARS IN THEIR OWN RIGHTS AND IN THE EYES OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE. They are equally talented – if not more – and at par with the Hollywood singers they’re being compared with.

Seriously, this post could be meaningless; and it may have set your minds off to wandering. But this is a message which I would want to make known: Please stop bashing KPOP and the people who love it. Because in a way, it is much better than what you think it is.