30 years old, American living in South Korea, K-pop fan for 5 years and counting
Who am I?
As you can probably guess from my URL, my name is Katherine and I really like K-pop. I’m an Asian-American – specifically Southeast Asian – and I’ve been an expat for most of my adult life. I moved to Paris after college for work and school, and then I ended up staying for five years. I actually discovered K-pop and started this blog while I was living there. After briefly relocating to the United States, I got TEFL certified and moved to South Korea to work as an English teacher. I absolutely love it, and I plan to be here for the foreseeable future!
My Likes and Interests (Besides K-pop)
Reading
I LOVE to read. I really enjoy reading fantasy series, and one of my dreams is actually to write a YA fantasy novel or series. I’m also reading a lot of manga these days, which was something I did a lot as a teenager and am starting to get back into.
The Arts
I was your typical musical theatre kid, and I studied drama in college and went to film school. So I love everything performing arts related: plays, musicals, dance, TV shows, movies, music, etc. I’m very much into pop culture, so I like a lot of trendy things like Marvel, Disney, Harry Potter, etc. I’m also low-key addicted to reality TV (specifically Real Housewives). But I’ll give anything a chance!
Gaming
I’m obsessed with my Nintendo Switch and have logged 300+ hours playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I have a PS4 too, but I left it in the United States so I’m not playing games on it. I also really enjoy playing hidden object and time management games on my computer.
Dancing
I’m very much a homebody (not so into the outdoors because of allergies and sensitivity to extreme weather), so a lot of the hobbies that I enjoy are… not as active. But I do love to dance, as I’ve been taking lessons since I was a kid. It’s one of the reasons I actually got so into K-pop, because I was drawn to all the dancing. I also enjoy activities like yoga, pilates, and zumba.
My Timeline as a K-pop Fan
Entering the Fandom
(2016)
I discovered K-pop completely randomly by scrolling through Buzzfeed and accidentally clicking on a GOT7 personality quiz. I ended up taking it and checking out their music videos, which was ultimately my doorway into K-pop. I spent 2016 consuming all kinds of K-pop and discovering literally dozens of groups, and I went to my very first K-pop concert (KCON France). It was like being a kid in a candy store; I just wanted to see and try everything.
Getting Serious
(2017 – 2018)
I initially started this blog because I didn’t have many friends who liked K-pop, and I wanted a space to share my own thoughts and opinions. I also started working for the Tumblr blog Unpopular K-pop Opinions and eventually became a main admin. (DISCLAIMER: There is no connection or crossover between this blog and UKO.) I started going to more K-pop concerts like Monsta X, KARD, SF9, and Dreamcatcher. I also went to KCON New York and LA and ended accidentally coming face to face with my ultimate bias, which I will probably never start talking about for the rest of my life.
A K-pop Fan in Korea
(2019 – present)
My interest in K-pop ultimately turned into an interest in learning more about Korean language and culture. As I seriously started to consider a career as an English teacher, I looked into teaching in South Korea and landed a job there. While I don’t live in Seoul, I still was able to go to a lot of concerts like Super Junior, GOT7, EXO, and Red Velvet (before COVID-19, of course).
NOTE: My icon is a custom design that I commissioned from my friend. Please do not copy or re-upload without permission. (I doubt anyone would because it’s literally a drawing of me, but I’m just saying). You can check out the artist’s work work at her Instagram account @imgood.imdone.k or at her website https://imgoodimdone.com/.
Katherine Does K-POP 