K-POP Guide To K-POP

Guide and illustrations

by Tracy Escobedo

K-pop artists have taken over the music industry and if you have not heard at least one song yet. . . Have you been living under a rock?

Members from the Korean Entertainment Student Association (KESA) at San José State University gave us the latest information on the basics of K-pop to share with you!

Lightsticks!

With these constant outages in San José, we are definitely going to need flashlights. . . But what if we brightened up the room with TWICE’s brand new

“(Lightsticks are) light up devices that are uniquely designed to represent different groups. Fans will carry them during concerts and they will light up during the show. Lightsticks are an interactive way for

“I own 13 lightsticks and counting,” freshman business student Mya Hiatt said, who recently joined KESA last semester. “I like having one for every concert I attend and for those groups who I hope to see in concert in the future. I feel like lightsticks are an essential part of the K-pop concert experience but I know that many fans cannot afford to have lightsticks,” she said.

Terminology!

You might have heard the phrase “stan LOONA” before and it is meant to support the popular girl group LOONA. Though the group is boycotting against their company because of the mistreatment they’re facing, the phrase itself remains a timeless expression.

Here is a list of terms K-pop fans use, collected by KESA members themselves!

stan a dedicated fan of an artist/group. multi-stan someone who likes multiple artists/groups. biAs

Photocard trading!

an artist/member of a a fan’s favorite member within K-pop groups. someone in the K-pop group who will make you trainee someone who is training to become an idol. the first time an artist

Random dance play when fans form around an open space, play a compilation of popular parts within a song and meet in the center to dance…if they know the choreography.

It’s like a brand new era of baseball and Pokémon card trading. Albums include a photograph of the artist/group member as an inclusion. Fans have created a whole community to trade and sell photocards.

“I really enjoy it but I do warn others that it can be time consuming and expensive,” biology student Andrea Gong said, who has been a part of KESA for two years.

Photocards are a fun way for fans to share their love and appreciation for their favorite artists. They are put into card sleeves and stored in binders, toploaders, clear phone cases or photocard holders.

“I think the one thing that is important when trading through the mail is protecting the PC (photocard) with items such as sleeves, top loaders, cardboard, etc,” junior business major Crystal Huang said, who has