My problem with K-Pop:

I’m tired of people becoming fans of kpop and then immediately talking about how Korea is their home and they want to move there and live there for the rest of their lives with their totally hot oppa Korean husbands. 

I would love for those kind of people to go to Korea and see what life is ACTUALLY like there. And how it’s actually nothing like kpop and kdramas. Like. I think every delusional kpop fan should go to Korea for at least a day and understand. I wish people could get past kpop for like .2 seconds. It’s not Korea. 

Korea is not a magical land of perfection and sunny days and rainbows (the weather kind of sucks actually) and boys who dance around all day singing and making hearts at you. 

It’s not Narnia or sugar gumdrop fairy land.

It’s a country. 

It’s a country that is neither better nor worse than your own. 

It’s a country that has it’s own pros and it’s own cons.

It’s a country that has it’s fair share of problems and difficulties just like every other country in the world.

It’s a country with a deep rooted history and culture that is thousands of years old.

Kpop has existed for what like fifteen years? It’s not Korea. It will never be Korea. Please fucking stop. 

Yes I listen to Kpop. Yes I like it. Yes I reblog a lot of kpop gifs and pictures and talk about how cute the idols are. Yes I am attracted to Korean men and yes I make posts about it and yes I try to give advice to other people about Korean men. I know all of that, and I’m not going to pretend like I haven’t jumped on the k-pop bandwagon, because I have. 

That being said, I find it not only incredibly irritating, but also incredibly offensive to Korea itself when people act like the only thing Korea has to offer is Kpop and Kdramas and boys who wear nice clothes. 

I get asks all the time about stupid things like ‘How would a Korean boy act about this situation? Can I get this in Korea? How do Koreans feel about this?’. I don’t mind answering these questions at all (most of the time) but people need to try to understand that Korea IS JUST A COUNTRY. Koreans do not act completely different from the rest of the world. The things they sell there are not different from the rest of the world. Yes there are small cultural differences, but the basics are the same. 

Maybe I’m just saying this all because I got into kpop only after I had decided to go to Korea, and it wasn’t what made me want to go there. Maybe I just don’t understand the people who start liking Korea after kpop. I do think it’s great that a country that small is able to influence so many people around the world. It’s great that it’s making people more open minded and adventurous and I love that. 

However I don’t love the fact that a lot of people can’t seem to get past the shiny pants and nice hairstyles and understand that those people are just people who come from a country that’s just a country. 

I love Korea as much as all the other people on tumblr. But I love it for it’s history and beautiful language and drinks with weird bits of fruit in them and how there is corn on things that don’t need corn on them and how the toilet paper isn’t sold in packages less than thirty rolls so you look like a moron carrying it back to where you live. I like how sometimes you walk by areas that smell disgusting and have to plug your nose and how they have these weird dual male and female bathrooms so when you’re drunk it’s highly likely you’ll walk in on a guy peeing when you’re trying to get to the ladies toilet. I like how when Koreans see each other unexpectedly they go “OH” like they have never been more surprised. I like how there are five of the same cosmetic store on one street and how when the subway is about to leave people run and dive into it like their life will be over if they have to wait for the next train. I like how separating all the trash into those little recycle bags is fucking confusing and how everyone spits all over everything and always makes these really unflattering noises when they do so. I like how middle aged ladies will pick lint off your sweater randomly in the bus or offer to hold your purse for you. I like how everyone drives like a bat out of hell and how there are literal barriers put up on sidewalks so that cars won’t drive on them. I like how Koreans are on their phone 24/7 and won’t look where they are going and are constantly losing their phones because they leave them in dumb places like on restaurant tables and taxi seats. I like how old grandmas and grandpas will smile at you on the subway and tell you you’re pretty. I like how ajummas will elbow you in the side and push past you like they own the world. I like how ajummas really could own the world if they tried. I like how in almost every restaurant there is a damn couple meal and people will actually refuse it to you if you’re not a couple. I like how when people go out at night they get way too wasted and vomit all over the place and pass out by themselves in the middle of the street. I like how when young people go out clubbing or drinking they let themselves go and just have fun without any restrictions or guidelines. I like how at night the city lights up and it looks so amazing that it literally takes my breath away. I like how when I’m there I feel more alive and young than I’ve ever felt before.

That’s why I like Korea. Not because of dramas. Not because of kpop. Not because oppa is attractive. And it makes me sad when people don’t take the time to learn about Korea the way that it should be seen. Without all the eyeliner and choreographed dances. 

D E N I E D BITCH