Ok, honest question time. Do you have something in your life that you might spend too much time on? And I’m not talking about the job you do to pay your bills, I mean the thing you do in your off hours, on weekends, and free of charge. It’s the thing that uses up your time, your money, and your energy.
I do.
If I am perfectly honest, when I got the writing prompt this week… it felt like someone knocked the wind out of me and my voice went all small and nervous as I *gasped* and exhaled the words “oh no.” Why so visceral a reaction to the idea of writing about my current obsession? Because I am still growing into it, if that makes sense. This multi-faceted obsession of mine is kinda new and I love it! It makes me excited, and happy, and I can’t quite get enough of it. So when people are dismissive of it, or look at me like I am weird or crazy because of it, it hurts. And I have to actively work at not taking the rejection of my passion, as a rejection of me on a personal level.
Alas, vulnerability builds community. So here we go!
In March or April of 2020, when everyone was making sourdough and watching Tiger King, my sister-in-law introduced me to Crash Landing on You, which is a South Korean TV Drama (Kdrama). I was enthralled. I think I watched all 16 episodes (which were about an hour and a half, each) in under a week. Each new Kdrama recommendation from my sister-in-law hooked me further. These stories had me laughing, crying, and sighing in anticipation as I eagerly waited with the characters to find out what unexpected surprise was around the corner. I spent so much time consuming these dramas, that I started to learn a few Korean phrases and now am trying to learn the language (Have I made a lot of progress? Not yet, but I’m working on it and will get there eventually). I would come across new favorite actors and actresses that I would Google to find out what other dramas they were in, and subsequently pray that I could find them on Netflix. I must have Googled a lot because by August, the “all-knowing algorithm” introduced me to the next facet of my obsession. KPOP.
Now, allow me to get real transparent for a minute. It was 2020. Every time I turned on the news, it was either about Covid-19 or racism and social injustice. So when I first heard Dynamite by BTS, my thought process went exactly as follows:
- Oh my gosh, I freaking love this song!
- Who’s this by?
- What’s the music video like?
- Who’s that cutie in the green suit?
- *Search BTS band members to find answer to previous question*
- *pause, squint in concentration, have terrifying realization*
“Sh**! I can’t tell who is who.”
Now, I don’t know how to properly express the wave of fear that bubbled through me, as a white American in 2020, when I realized I couldn’t entirely distinguish between all seven of these Korean men because their photos had different hairstyles, make-up, piercings, hair color, etc. than I had just seen in the music video. I can tell you that my very next thought was:
“Heck no! This is unacceptable, Amy. You will study their faces until you can tell them apart, regardless of hairstyle, hair color, etc.”
And study I did. I watched interviews, music videos, live performances, clips from their web series Run BTS. I watched whatever I could get my hands on until I knew their faces, their smiles, their sense of humor. Obviously, after pouring hours of my time into researching these guys, I became a fan. I listened to their older albums, solo albums, pop songs, rap songs, hip-hop songs, and the more I listened, the more recommendations I got for other KPOP groups. The more groups I listened to, the more I liked KPOP, and the more I looked for other Korean music to enjoy (Did you know that there is a genre called Trot Music? I love it, it is so peppy. Check out one of my favorite songs here).
Whether it is through music or dramas, each new discovery stirs up more curiosity. I’ll see a funeral in a drama and research the significance of their mourning clothes. Or I’ll hear a KPOP artist mention Kimchi Fried Rice and then look up recipes to try. And the best part is that Korean content is pretty popular right now, so new content is being added all the time. So from finding history books at the library to following creators on Instagram who post Korean Language tutorials, even though I live on the other side of the Pacific, in a different culture and country, I still get to experience parts of their culture and learn more about it all the time… and I freaking love it!
Ok, so now it’s your turn to be brave and share. What are you obsessed about? What are you passionate about and just can’t quite get enough of? Let me know in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear all about it.
Sojourn Nation 