[Fei's Friday Blog - Kpop edition]

Hii~~

This is officially my first blog post since we migrated onto the new website platform. So welcome to "Fei's Friday Blog - Kpop edition". I have been putting it off for about 2 years, having always wanted to blog again but never really getting to it. However, 2020 is the year where I don’t want to procrastinate anymore and will dedicate myself to posting weekly blogs about almost anything… Qute and Quirky is supposed to be a lifestyle blog where I can share all the things I love with you. So, I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing…and although it may not be perfect in the beginning, it’s the fact that we are starting which is more important.

Is there something that you have been putting off but really want to try? I hope that this week you are able to gain strength through this post and give what you have been putting off a try. Hwaiting! Hwaiting and wishing you all the best!

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Okay, so back to the topic of the first post – my Kpop journey and how it has manifested in my life (in a good way of course). Also, what an appropriate day to share what I love with you…on Valentine’s Day <3 Happy Valentine’s Day to those celebrating and to all the singletons out there like me, Happy Friendship Day too <3<3<3

My introduction to Kpop started in 2009 when I was watching one of my favourite Taiwanese variety shows called 100% entertainment (娛樂百分百) hosted by Show Luo and Alien Huang whom I am a huge fan of. The special guest for that episode was none other than Super Junior M (The subunit of Super Junior that sings in Chinese). I was honestly captivated by their talent and general energy, it made me want to learn more about them. Who is Super Junior M? Where do they even come from? What other songs do they sing? Which other variety shows will they be promoting on? These were some of the questions that came to mind because I was so curious. I was honestly in complete awe. One of the highlights of that episode was Henry Lau performing on the violin whilst doing his signature moonwalk. (Still my favourite video by the way, though Youtube 240p/360p looked a lot clearer 11 years ago when there wasn’t 1080p video quality to compare to).

So from watching Super Junior M, I was introduced to Super Junior and started listening to all their music and watching them on all sorts of variety shows and in some ways fell in love. There’s just something about Kpop, seeing the Kpop idols put so much energy and hardwork into doing what they love and watching them living their dreams when they get to perform on stage is amazing. (Don’t get me wrong, there is a dark side to Kpop too but for this post we are keeping it to positive vibes only).
Another thing that is so special to me about Kpop is that one moment the Kpop idols are performing on stage (and slaying it, might I add) but the next moment, they are so relatable, like the friend-next-door when on variety shows. This allows them to connect with fans on another level and that’s where I got to be introduced to more Kpop idols and groups. I absolutely loved watching variety shows, especially when my favourite groups were on the show because it would cheer me up after a long day or a day where I wasn’t feeling great. I could be emotionally drained before watching the show but feel so cheerful and happy after watching it 😊 this really got me through some difficult times.

After fan-girling over Super Junior M, I learnt about their main group Super Junior… from there, I learnt more about other groups from the same company like Girl’s Generation, Shinee, F(x), TVXQ, BOA etc and learnt about groups from other companies like JYP with 2PM, Miss A, Wondergirls, YG with 2NE1, Bigbang etc etc and the rest is really history….

Before I knew it, I was only listening to Kpop music and watching Korean variety shows.
(A little obsessed? Maybe…but for me, it felt like I found my happy place. \^.^/)
This soon evolved to watching Kdramas (trust me… I watched A LOT of Kdramas when I was in school – Most of Netflix’s Kdrama selection has been watched >.<” but luckily they have added current dramas to their library~).
Through watching Kdramas and Kvariety shows, I wanted to learn more about the culture, history and food (my friends know that if they want to spoil me, all they have to do is take me to a Korean restaurant). Korea is my default “want-to-visit-destination”(look out for future blogs about travel)… and just like that Kpop and the Korean culture manifested itself into my life (in a good way😊).

Thanks to Kpop, I have met some amazing friends, life-long friends.
I’ve also gained the confidence to perform Kpop dances on more than one occasion and uploaded a few Kpop dance covers here and there ^^,

Hope you enjoyed reading the first blog post and looking forward to reading more. I am definitely looking forward to blogging more and sharing general lifestyle stories and tips (not just about Kpop) with you all. This is my platform to share all that I love with you.

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How has Kpop changed your life and what is your Kpop journey?
I would love to hear your stories too.

Happy Valentine’s Day <3
and have an incredible Friday ^^