KPop my life with it

I have asked many to voice their thoughts and feelings on K-Entertainment, I wanted some essays talking all about their time being involved in the k-pop/k-entertainment world and so here's mine.

Many years ago as a child I watched cartoons on TV some which I later found out were actually Japanese entertainment call Anime made English for people like me to enjoy. Growing up I wasn't too big of a cartoon fan other than say Richie Rich and Archie I didn't really read much cartoons though I did love my charlie brown and for better or worse. I was about 16 or so when I started to watch Inuyasha a Japanese Anime subbed in English on my all too favorite Canadian station YTV. In Inuyasha's ending there was a song called Every Heart I found it so beautiful everything about it made it seem as though the world had froze I was stuck in the moment in awe. I searched the internet to find out who the singer was I found out it was not a Japanese artist at all but a Korean named Boa Kwon. The fire of curiosity was lit and I searched out Korean music I found a few groups I had liked a bit but there wasn't that many available for me to download this was a good 11 years ago and Korean music wasn't as popular with North Americans as it is now. A big part of me has wanted to visit Korea since I was in the tenth grade and that is because I discovered Boa's music.

I wasn't involved with anything Korean from that point other than their manga it was 2002/2003 but then in 2008 or there about I was looking through Youtube videos for a video or people playing hackey sack or as some call it shuttle cock to show my British friend what it was I was so fond of playing. I found a video of it and it was of Super Junior whom I didn't know a thing about, I showed the video to another friend of mine I thought the "girl" in the video was so beautiful. My friend told me that the guys were members of a Korean boy group and that there were 13 members, I was shocked the biggest group I had heard of was sclub7 and they ended up breaking up. Then I was shocked to find out the beautiful girl was a beautiful guy older than me named Kim Heechul. I was curious about a 13 member group and so I video searched before I knew it I was obsessed.

Anti's are what?! Sasaeng fangirls?! I had never known what an anti fan or sasaeng was before I started paying attention to Korean groups. I would joke around with my friend Bedo fan girling but then I started reading about the crazy things being done to Super Junior and label mates DBSK. I saw videos of them being chased down and such and found myself wide eyed in fear. I had been a fan of Japanese entertainment before entering the shining candy coated world of k-pop. I was aware of Otaku's and over zealous fans to a degree but all of a sudden the term all that glitters isn't gold came crashing into my brain. As I started to view more of the dark side of Asian Entertainment I found myself being cautious and fearful , Fan girls scare me shitless! as a joke my friend and I would call ourselves KCMJ and KCSumi when we were angry over something happening in the entertainment world that referred to Korean Chinese because those fans were not just over zealous but frighteningly psychotic and so we used the term for when we were less than pleased at what was going on for example when we heard about Hangeng receiving blood from a so called fan I was livid!. I found myself being irrationally afraid of Asian women due to all the crazy things I had seen and heard.

I am not part of any fandom and I do not hate on any fandoms or groups I am a fan of music, I like a song from a band and that is that. I do not believe a true fan abuses the artists when things are not the way they wish them to be. The whole 12 only thing not wanting Kyuhyun to join Super Junior or the way they were 13 only or even hating on Hangeng for being Chinese, then their attitudes change and it is "omg !!! if you do anything to him I'll hurt you!" They are all a huge mass of hypocrites not fans. Or how about the 2PM thing Jay was ostracized for something he had wrote years before that point, he proved how untrue those words were so many times just by everything he had done til that point. "Fans" (ha! hardly!) were bashing him wanting him to kill himself but then freak out when he is no where to be seen. "Fans" hating on all the rest of the members when he is no longer part of the group "I do not care what you say to hate the group because he isn't part of it anymore made you only his fan not the groups, you were never a hottest you were merely a Jay admirer" FTIsland's Oh WonBin left the group on his own choice and yet poor Seunghyun started his music career with unwanted Haters all because he was replacing a member who decided he wanted to explore the realm of music at his own pace in his own way. And some of those very haters are now apparently "his greatest fans!" give me a break you hypocrites. I am North American, I love music and I do not waste time hating on people. Anti's spend equal if not more time hating on a band than someone that likes them does. Pointless much? where I come from it is not uncommon for bands to break up or for groups to get new members so on so forth and we do not start sending hate mail or death threats! I mean sure there is the odd crazy or two but in general we let it go and maybe only listen to the old stuff after giving the new stuff a test drive. People did not go on some massacre when Kevin of the Backstreet Boys decided to step down, They are still as popular now as they were when I was merely what 12 years old? And what about Destiny's Child they were popular regardless of the fact other than the ever popular Beyonce most of it's members were changed Kelly Rowlens is still doing her music thing and no ones hating on her.

The world of K-Entertainment has showed me how money hungry and greedy some people are, it showed me how under appreciated entertainers are their value does not amount to much in their companies other than as merchandise SM Entertainment seems to be the company that has shown it the most. First things first I was almost appalled to find out they make grown men share beds and rooms together Kyuhyun didn't even have a bed for a long time what the hell is with that! seriously! other groups in other companies complain about being hungry not having enough to eat being on strict diets. There are many artists who end up in the hospital from exhaustion what are you doing to your talents ? treat them like porcelain if you want to profit off their skills. Over worked staff under paid so many accidents not enough care and security taking advantage of trainees and their desires to achieve their dreams.

I stay involved with K-Entertainment because they always put so much effort and heart into everything they do regardless of their bad situations. I have never wanted to fight for something as badly as I want to fight for Korea to change it's ways so they will stop sweeping things under the carpet before more people kill themselves or are killed by the lack of care and action. I fight for a better tomorrow knowing today is all I have to give .