STUDENT LIFE SO
MADDIE ALON
HOPE O'BRIEN
K-POP THRIVES
GAS
KRISTINE LUEN
FANS OF KOREAN POP ARE STRONGER THAN EVER OLIVIA MUNSON COLLEGE TIMES
A
sea of eyes. That’s the first thing you see in Hope O’Brien’s bedroom in Chandler. The posters, juxtaposed against white walls covered by splattered paint, poignantly gaze at whoever comes in. “I probably have upward of 30 Korean men on my walls,” O’Brien says. Each wall is plastered with posters, primarily of icons of Korean pop, also known as K-pop. This includes the K-pop boy band BTS, her favorite band. She has tacked photocards of the band members, with blue,
purple and orange hair, who smile unwaveringly beside her bed. Twenty K-pop albums are neatly stacked in her cubby area. O’Brien has every release by BTS on CD, including four versions of the band’s latest album, “Map of the Soul: 7.” More mementos, such as keychains, banners, wristbands and lightsticks, clutter the room. A basket filled to the brim with merchandise, such as photocards, cup sleeves and stickers, sits next to her desk. Each item comes from a different K-pop-themed event created by and for fans in the Valley. The ASU student has been a K-pop fan since 2017. Within that time, she’s spent over $5,000 to satisfy her K-pop appetite. In the last year,
BTS 2 ECOLLEGETIMES.COM | JUNE 2020
she’s forked over $1,500 on concert tickets. Once, it took her four days straight on her laptop to get tickets to BTS’ concerts at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. That concert was postponed amid the COVID-19 outbreak, just as girl group (G)I-dle was set to perform in the Valley on April 19. It, too, will be rescheduled. But even with postponed concerts, the Arizona K-pop community is stronger than ever.
IT ALL BEGAN WITH BTS Initially, O’Brien disliked K-pop. She often made fun of those who listened to this style and thought alternative music was meant for her. It was not until high school when a friend finally wore her down. “I thought, ‘OK, I’ll watch one music video,’ and of course it was ‘Spring Day,’” she says. The 2017 single by BTS piqued O’Brien’s interest instantly. “I am a literature nerd, and when I found out this song was connected to one of my favorite short stories (‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’), I was hooked from there,” she says. One video led to another and then another. She spiraled into K-pop. She spent hours on end watching music videos and learning more about these BTS boys she has come to love dearly. BTS was O’Brien’s first K-pop love, but now she’s addicted to 10 boy bands and listens to many more. She has over 396 songs on her daily playlist. For O’Brien, K-pop is much more than elaborate dances, catchy beats and breathtaking visuals.
This music has given her something she always wanted—a community.
MUSICAL ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION K-pop originated in South Korea and was heavily influenced by the music of American troops stationed in the country during and after the Korean War. In 1957, the American Forces Korea Network radio broadcasted Western pop music, increasing the genre’s popularity. It was from there Korean music began to adapt and change to fit the mold of the American style. South Korea was impoverished by the war, and one way for Koreans to earn money was by performing for the American troops. Clubs dedicated to musical entertainment rose in number, as did the South Korean economy. This momentum would only grow throughout the years. By the 1990s, the genre was still booming, but it needed an update. In 1995, South Korean producer Lee Soo-man, who was educated in the United States and knew of its musical trends, founded his own entertainment company to shift the focus of the K-pop industry toward teen-centered pop music. Boy and girl idol bands began to infiltrate the scene, targeting a young, under-30 market. H.O.T., an acronym for Highfive of Teenagers, the first boy band, had its debut in 1996. H.O.T. set the trend of forward-thinking fashion, upbeat melodies and energetic dances. With the 1997 Asian financial crisis, K-pop idol groups began to
