When I was in 9th grade, I asked a friend to help me get into K-Pop. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work. I remember my friend being so excited when I asked, immediately knowing which group would be my gateway drug: ONEUS, the at the time newly debuted group. I was just glad she was excited. She gave me homework; we’d listen to K-Pop while in art class. I spent weeks learning their names and going through their discography. It should have worked, unfortunately, it “wasn’t for me”, at least not at the time.
A year later, another friend tried. This time it was someone I already shared many fandoms with, so they were sure they could get me into their favorite groups. This friend took another approach, they filled a notebook with pictures and descriptions of each member alongside comments on their relationships with other members. It was very cute and I went through it several times, trying to commit the names of the ATEEZ members to memory. The NCT and Seventeen sections were a lot harder and, to this day, I’m still mildly scared of just how many members both groups have. This strategy didn’t work either; Between pandemic rot and homework, I simply forgot to really immerse myself into either group.
Now, I think it’s crucial to understand that I’m a seasoned fandom person. I’ve been in fandom culture since I was very young and in those spaces, no matter how big they are, you’re bound to hear about the bigger fan communities even if they aren’t remotely related to what you’re into. This said, I knew about K-Pop fandoms. I knew the reputation these fan communities had but this wasn’t what deterred me, especially considering my long stay in the Dream SMP fandom which arguably had a worse reputation.
The reason for my hesitancy was due to a mix of factors — from my parents seeing it as odd in a slightly less acceptable way than say my love for My Chemical Romance, to me just simply not really enjoying the music. I also just thought it was way too different to the other fandoms I was in at the time. I didn’t understand what a “bias” was, I didn’t really understand what photocards were for, and I thought (hypocritically) that the fan culture was a bit strange.
Turns out, all I had to do was ride the fandom pipeline all the way to the end.
Minecraft, Danmei and pandemic rot
For me, this began with (and I say this with dread in my heart) the Dream SMP. Now, this fandom was a canon event of sorts for many people. I got into it during the beginning of the pandemic after a friend recommended I watch a creator named Ranboo. Following the Dream SMP was the first time I’d joined a fan community surrounding real creators who collectively created fictional lore for personas based on themselves. I don’t really regret being in the fandom, as I did get a close friend out of it, but it wasn’t a great fandom experience. Even in the less chaotic pockets of the fandom, the bad parts seeped in, tainting the experience; especially after it came out that half of the people that made up the Dream SMP are just terrible people all around.
Regardless, this did lead me directly into the beckoning claws of Danmei (Chinese Boy’s Love novels) and eventually into the genre of QL (Queer Love, mostly used to refer to Asian media that centers a gay or lesbian pairing/pairings). It all started with MXTX’s works: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS), Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGFC), and Scum Villain’s Self Saving System (SVSSS), all of which I’m still a fan of to this day.
Eventually, independently from these fandoms, I discovered BL/GL dramas — thanks to a university professor of all people. She would often talk about Thai QL dramas (as well as K-Pop) as it was a global literature and film class. I got curious and watched a Thai show I had seen around on Tumblr a few years prior while it was airing called Kinnporsche. Now, this wasn’t the best show to start with as it was both really good and deeply questionable, but it led me to other Thai BLs like Bad Buddy, Manner of Death, 23.5, as well as shows from other countries such as HIStory 3: Trapped (Taiwan) and The Eighth Sense (Korea). I also discovered quite an overlap with the Danmei fandoms through adaptations such as the Untamed (MDZS) and Word of Honor (Faraway Wanderers).
Now, what does any of this have to do with K-Pop?
Thai ql dramas: the begining of the end
Well, the Thai QL industry in particular, as well as the fandoms I previously mentioned, tend to be incredibly similar to K-Pop and idol culture, but instead of groups they have branded pairings. Branded pairings, like the name suggests, are when two actors are paired together to do several different shows as a couple. Most will do one or two shows, but those that gain a lot of popularity will do more. Some examples of particularly popular pairings like ForceBook and FirstKhao have both done 4 to 5 shows as a main pairing. These pairings have official logos, photocards, mascots, and people follow them in the same way one may stan a group.
In fact, Thailand is beginning to have their own idol groups, some partially made up of BL actors. Recently, a drama named ThamePo aired, following an idol attempting to find a way to keep his group together with the help of the man shooting a documentary that’s meant to capture their last concerts before disbandment. The pair also fall in love. It’s an uncomfortable look into the idol industry and it’s ironically produced by GMMTV, one of the biggest television and music production companies in Thailand (aka, the aforementioned Thai entertainment industry incarnate). It also stars Thai idol group LYKN, as the fictional group MARS. If you take anything from this article, take this show as a recommendation, especially if you like K-Pop.
K-rock and ateez fever
Returning to my K-Pop journey, the real gateway drug was a little band called Xdinary Heroes. I remember stumbling across them and realizing I really did like their music. Despite being under JYP, Xdinary Heroes is more of a rock band than K-Pop, but they’re still an idol group even if they’re not producing the typical music expected of them. To this day, they’re still one of my favorite groups, even after I’ve gotten into more traditional K-Pop fandoms. With them, I started exploring more of both Korean rock and K-Pop.
This is when I rediscovered ATEEZ. Out of all the groups I’ve come across, ATEEZ has continued being a big favorite. Their music is loud and fast, which is similar to a lot of my music taste outside of K-Pop. The concept and aesthetics of the group have also really drawn me in with their whole dystopian interdimensional pirates concept really appeals to me.
Overall, I think group concepts have been the most pleasant surprise I could’ve had while getting into K-Pop. There’s so much fan art potential in it and it adds interesting backstories to the music.
The K-Pop fandom culture has also been a pretty interesting one to get into, despite my initial hesitancy (especially considering its more problematic aspects). The friends who have led me through my K-Pop journey have been wonderful and the friends I share this interest with were so excited to learn I was actually getting into K-Pop and have also been great about helping me discover new things. Shoutout to my friend who recommended me OnlyOneOf, I probably wouldn’t have heard of them otherwise. Ultimately, I always knew I’d probably get into K-Pop at some point, but actually doing it has been very fun and so has been riding the fandom pipeline to get here.