Katherine Does K-POP

Katherine’s Top K-Pop Songs of 2023: #31-40

These posts are coming out much slower than I had planned (because I got sick AGAIN), but I’m finally moving on to the next section of the list! Aside from a couple of songs, most of the entries in this batch generally fall into one of two categories. The first is K-pop releases that I initially had neutral feelings on but ultimately ended up enjoying. This was due to repeated exposure, usually from a friend who was a bigger fan of that particular group. The second category is the complete opposite. They’re songs that I initially liked but eventually had to pull back on due to overexposure. That was typically because the song became super popular in South Korea and was thus played everywhere. Some of these songs actually flip-flopped between the two categories for me. But at the end of the day, they are all comfortably slotted in the lower to mid section of my Top 50 list and I’m standing by it.

Katherine’s Top K-Pop Songs of 2023: #41-50

I can’t believe it’s been over three years since I made an official Top 50 list for this blog. I actually had one in the works at the end of 2021 (the last time I was super active here), but I never finished because I was moving and there was way too much happening. Since I’m making a fresh start this year – slightly delayed after getting sick AGAIN – I figured bringing the Top 50 back would be a good place to begin. Some of my tastes in K-pop have changed over the years, and some have remained the same as ever. I think that looking back at my favorite songs in 2023 is my opportunity to catch you up with who I am as a K-pop fan right now.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2024, everyone! January 1st is over in Korea, so I hope everyone enjoyed (or is still enjoying) their New Year’s holiday. I was looking through my posts, and I realized that the last time I wrote anything was just under a year ago. Back then, I was thinking about what I wanted to do with the blog and what direction I wanted to go in. Unfortunately, a LOT happened in 2023 that completely derailed those plans. With 2024, I’m hoping to break my somewhat yearly streak of hiatus explanations and long life updates. Let this one be the last for a good long while!

There are two main reasons why I had to extend my blog hiatus through the past year. The first one was a drastic change at work. I went from a fair and balanced schedule to one with more classes and fewer breaks. Any free time I have during the workday is often filled up with some type of lesson prep or grading. As a result, I’m absolute exhausted when I get home. I barely have enough energy or brain capacity to pay attention to an episode of light television like The Simpsons, let alone craft a carefully thought out blog post. (BUT I will have a new schedule when the school year starts again in March, so I’m hoping things will change for the better.)

The other major factor behind my hiatus is that I literally was sick for half of the year. Before (and I guess during) the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had a really strong immune system. That being said… if I got sick, I would get REALLY sick. Like taken out, bed-ridden, down for the count sick. When everyone finally stopped wearing masks here in Korea, I foolishly thought I could be one of those people. NOPE. Seasonal allergies, bad reactions to air pollution, losing my voice, catching every flu and virus that my students had – you name it, I had it. Add that to general exhaustion and burnout from work, and the recovery periods became extra long. I feel like from April to December, I went through regular three week cycles of getting sick, recovering, and then getting sick again.

Due to these circumstances, my blog sadly became the last thing on my mind. K-pop also became much less of a priority. But after having a less than stellar 2023, I have decided that 2024 absolutely has to be better. New years mean new starts, and I’m absolutely determined to rejuvenate this blog. For the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the kind of posts I can make that are interesting but not as time consuming as the ones I used to write.

For now, I’m going to start by sharing my Top 50 songs for 2023. These posts are currently about halfway completed, and I’m aiming to get them out in the next week. I also have some other things I’d like to write about, such as the numerous concerts I’ve attended over the years here since moving to Korea. (During the brief periods of time that I WASN’T sick, I managed to attend ten concerts, two fan meetings, and a few performances of the Street Man Fighter and Street Woman Fighter 2 tours.) I was also thinking of making posts about K-pop in Korea, like how to buy concert tickets or what happens when you use SM Global Package. Aside from that, I have a few other things in the works that I’m still working out.

I’m really looking forward to sharing more of my thoughts and opinions with you all. Like I said before, I can’t promise that I’ll be here regularly – but I will try my best to be consistent. As always, thanks for coming along on the journey.

Lots of love,

Katherine

NOTE: The featured image is of ~~my beloved~~ D&E, which they posted for New Year’s Day on X (Twitter). You can find the original post here.

Happy (Lunar) New Year!

(Technically, the holiday’s almost over… but I’m counting it because I’m still on break XD) Happy Year of the Rabbit, everyone! I hope you’ve all been having a good start to 2023, wherever you are~

So… it happened again. When I moved to Seoul last year, I ended up taking a mini-hiatus that – despite my best intentions – eventually turned into a full-blown one. In terms of “life getting in the way,” there were two main reasons for this. The first was that I spent the first few months of my new job filling in for coworkers who got COVID-19, and then everything just snowballed from there. (Case in point: This post was actually supposed to go up January 1st, but it got delayed because the holidays made things very busy at work.) The other reason was that my best friend also moved to the area, and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Fast-paced hagwon life + more socializing = not much time for blogging.

Perhaps more importantly, my relationship with K-pop has changed over the past year. To be honest, 2022 was not really one of my top years for K-pop music. As we all know, there were several great debuts and rookie releases that took the community by storm – me included. But when it came to my favorites, there were a lot more “likes” than “loves.” I know I won’t have the same level of interest in each and every comeback, and I know there are bound to be times when I’m not really feeling something. But recently, it’s been like that with most of the groups that I like. I found that 2022 had lots of good music, but not much that made a lasting impression – at least, compared to previous years. So on top of being busy, I didn’t feel all that inspired to write. (Insert obligatory disclaimer that all of this is my own personal opinion.)

Finally, I just consume K-pop differently these days compared to back when I started this blog. in 2017, I didn’t live in Korea or have a job. I used K-pop writing as a way to pass the time, share my interest, and find like-minded friends. Even when I moved to Busan and became active again in 2020 and 2021, I was using the blog as a way to keep connected to K-pop through the pandemic. But now that I live in Seoul, K-pop is pretty much everywhere. A lot of my friends and coworkers also like it to some extent, so it’s easy to find people to talk with and share experiences. I still buy albums and go to events and concerts (SO MANY CONCERTS), but I’m definitely not online as much as I used to be.

That being said, I still want to keep Katherine Does K-pop going. Even if the situation is different now, it’s my passion project and I’m not keen on giving it up. Over the past few months, I’ve thought a LOT about what I can do with my blog in 2023. And to be honest, I still haven’t come up with the perfect answer. Right now, my plan is to find some happy medium between the two modes I tend to be on: writing all day every day or on a complete hiatus ^^”’ I would honestly be happy to get out a few posts a month. I can’t promise I’ll be here every day or even every week, but I’ll try my best to provide regular content going forward.

As always, thanks to all of the followers and the readers who are still here after all this time. Your patience really means a lot. I already have some posts planned and halfway-written, so please look forward to them in the coming weeks!

Love always,
Katherine ❤

IMAGE SOURCE: ITZY’s official Twitter / You can see the original tweet here

New (School) Year, New Plans

Hello, all! It’s been a long time (again). I’m sorry I had to step away from the blog for a while, but there’ve been a lot of major life changes since my last personal post. I can finally tell you the big reason I haven’t been around lately – I found a new workplace, and I’ve moved to Seoul! I’ve actually been here for a little bit, but I was sitting on the news since there were a TON of unforeseen complications to moving across the country. So, a lot of my time and energy has been spent on adjusting to the new job and handling random life admin situations as they come up. But everything has finally been resolved, and I’m ready to make the official announcement!

Katherine’s K-pop Recap: January 24-30, 2022

A summary of the news, current and upcoming comebacks, charts and music show wins, and more!

Katherine’s K-pop Recap: January 17-23, 2022

A summary of the news, current and upcoming comebacks, charts and music show wins, and more!

Katherine’s K-pop Recap: January 10-16, 2022

A summary of the news, current and upcoming comebacks, charts and music show wins, and more!

Katherine’s K-pop Recap: January 3-9, 2022

A summary of the news, current and upcoming comebacks, charts and music show wins, and more!
FYI: This post is SUPER long because of a bunch of charts, certifications, awards shows, etc. Sorry in advance for all the scrolling!

Delayed Reaction: “Sticker” by NCT 127

I’m currently finishing up the rest of my 2021 reaction posts, and “Sticker” is definitely a comeback that I want to talk about. While I’ve always considered myself a multifan, I often name NCT 127 as my “ultimate” K-pop group. And if I’m talking purely about the music, then they’re absolutely #1 on my list. So needless to say, their comebacks are always a thrilling time for me. And since NCT exploded in popularity over the past year or so, I was especially excited to see how a new single would boost their success. I think there were a lot of expectations for NCT 127’s return, especially after NCT Dream did so well, but they definitively proved they were more than up to the challenge. In my opinion, “Sticker” was one of their most solid comebacks yet – and it’s a serious contender for my favorite release of the year.