Travelling the world of K-Pop

It's easy to see that K-Pop has taken the world by storm.

With its catchy tunes, dazzling performances and passionate fanbase, global interest in K-pop – that is, pop music from South Korea – continues to soar.

And as its popularity climbs, more and more international K-pop fans are packing their bags and heading to South Korea for concerts, festivals and cultural experiences.

One such travelling K-Pop fan is our friend Tara Skopp, who has travelled to South Korea from Australia multiple times to be part of the fever.

We sat down with Tara to hear more about the world of travelling for K-pop.

‍‍Tell us about your life as a K-Pop super fan – or 'stan'. What’s the journey been like?‍

I feel like K-Pop has been such a big part of my life, but I only became a stan in 2017/2018, so in some people’s eyes, I am a baby stan! 

(For the reader: 'Stan' is the term to describe a highly dedicated fan who actively supports a K-Pop artist or group.)

I actually got into K-Pop by watching K-dramas on Netflix, in particular My ID is Gangnam Beauty. The main actor is Cha Eun Woo, who is a member of the group Astro. 

My friend Vanessa and I were trying to find more TV shows to watch him in, then found out he was a K-Pop Idol as well as an actor.

Basically, the rest is history [laughs].

Seriously though, from there, I didn’t necessarily start to listen to K-Pop; I was still very much in my emo/rap era, but I slowly started to find more interest in K-Pop – especially the groups that were superstars in so many people’s eyes at the time. 

After Eunwoo, Vanessa dragged me into a band called BTS, and this is where I would light-heartedly say my K-Pop obsession began.

It was intense, but it has brought me so much joy, which I find extremely hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t experienced the K-Pop world. 

At present, I still mainly listen to K-Pop, but I dip in-and-out of my old faithful rap and emo groups. It’s funny … most K-Pop fans I meet had very similar music tastes to me prior to finding the genre.

Which K-Pop stars or groups should we be watching right now?

At the moment, K-Pop really is slapping hard, with not only strong groups, but talented solo members as well.

Most group’s members are producers, song writers and choreographers, and are involved in so much of the album process. 

Once you dip your toe into certain groups, it’s crazy how talented these guys are, and also, they all started as trainees from like 12 years old. 

My ultimate groups as of today, and I find new ones all the time, are BTS (though they are currently going through South Korea’s compulsory military enlistment process), NCT 127, NCT DREAM, ATEEZ, SEVENTEEN, P1HARMONY, ASTRO, TXT, ENHYPHEN, RIIZE, STRAYKIDS, WAYV and Lucas. 

Other that are insanely talented include Oneus, Zerobaseone, The Boyz, CIX and BOYNEXTDOOR.

What do you love about the world of K-Pop?

It sounds corny for a 30-something-year-old to say, but Korean boy bands have got me through so many depressive moments over the last few years – even if they are just a distraction, or something to look forward to. It’s a crazy world being part of the K-Pop fandom. 

K-Pop is a wild phenomenon, where fan service is at a heightened level, so at times it does create a delusional relationship between an idol and their fans. 

There is lots of news coming out at the moment, especially in Korea, about the treatment of different Idols, and also their management companies, and it gives a glimpse of the dark side of the genre. 

But for me, it has given me the opportunity to travel probably more than I would have usually. In the last three years, I have gone to Korea, Japan, Manila and Jakarta for to see music, and it’s also allowed me to meet so many people online and in person, and create new relationships. 

I also think now after I have been to K-Pop concerts, when I see a non K-Pop group perform, it doesn’t hit the same. 

It’s the atmosphere and the fans’ love of not only the group and its members, but the music and the stage performances. They put in so much effort to every aspect of a show. 

I also find it so hard to explain the fascination to people who don’t understand the K-Pop world, because before K-Pop, I don’t think I ever would have travelled overseas just to see a band, and I don’t remember ever being this invested in music band before. 

Like I recently went and saw The Getaway Plan in a small pub in Sydney, and they are one of my favourite alternative rock groups whom I was obsessed with in my early twenties.

While it was so nostalgic and I had the best time, it just felt extremely different to what I now feel at K-Pop concerts.