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Saturday 1 December 2012

BIGBANG heads to.. Wembley???

Five years ago it'd be completely unheard of - a major Kpop band selling out in London?! But the Hallyu wave is at it's peek, and sure enough, BIGBANG managed to sell out a concert at Wembley stadium within 10 minutes.

In fact, it was so popular, there will be ANOTHER another concert at the same venue the day after! And guess what, that sold out to.

And how much were these tickets?

£60.

Yup, fans are crazy enough to fork out for massively overpriced tickets, because the option to miss the opportunity of seeing one of the biggest Korean bands was unacceptable. Is this the start of a happy future of kpop bands visiting the UK, or is this the highest peak the Hallyu wave can ever reach?

Lets consider the moment, when Korean music hit the UK media with the famous 'Gangnam Style'. Love it or loathe it - it reached number #1 in the UK charts, and has been the subject of international attention. Celebrities, politicians, and general media has been keen on associating themselves with the dance. What effect has this on the general public in regards to Kpop music? Well, there are two sides you can take for that question.

The Optimistic View
 Because of Gangnam style, people are more likely to look at other sources of kpop.

The Realist View
 Because of Gangnam style, people will associate ALL kpop with Gangnam style, and still won't break into the Kpop market.

Will Kpop ever be taken seriously? Predictions can only be made on sketchy grounds. Here's another; Do we want Kpop to be taken seriously by the public? Think carefully on this one.

 

Am I the only one cringing? No?
It's not that I want kpop to not be enjoyed with international success.
But this Hallyu wave is brewing an issue here that is quite unsettling.
Greed. The craving for blood. Total insanity.

Kpop fans are turning into monsters.
Ooo, did I just say that?
Please don't kill me yet and let me finish.

Lets take Britian for example.
Kpop obviously has a lot of fans for two Wembley Big Bang concerts. And that's great! The sheer mass of fangirl and fanboy brings the bands to the UK, bands I never thought I'd ever see.
But a lot of these fans don't really get kpop, and treat this as normal pop.
There is a reason why I don't like normal pop.
Okay, several reasons.
But the sheer idolism and fanbase is a massive turn off.

And while Korean idolism can be crazy, British idolism can be just as insane. Screaming at their idols in public, even hugging them - which is considered completely out of order in South Korea. You do not glomp members of Exo-K, even if they're you're bias. At least ask. These girls didn't.


A lot of people in the western world do not understand or get the culture behind the music, and that's well... Quite embarassing. I'm not Korean, nor have I been to S.Korea. At the end of the day, I don't even know much about the culture. But something doesn't sit right when I hear people talk to kpop as if they know and understand it well.

Am I just being touchy that my hidden gem has been discovered?

I'll leave you with this:
Do we need an understanding of culture to enjoy and appreciate music, and go to concerts? Or is it unfair to ask the public to mould themselves to the rules of other cultures, and that it is the arriving culture that must mould themselves to their audience? What do you think?

2 comments:

  1. This is quite an interesting essay... Frankly, I think that being too otuchy-feely with the artist is kinda creepy even if he's not from SK (at least here), so all the fangirls (fanboys) need is a bit of common sense, I guess? In my view, I'd consider the artists as guests, and in that case, I'd expect them to know some basic etiquette in Europe, and at the same time, I'd expect the fans to try to reach a helping hand to them and probably learn something about the culture so that they won't at leats do a complete faux pas (as seen by the groups). I mean, I'd expect an expat from SK to try to fit into Britain, but not really a visiting artist. Duh, but I guess it's quite complicated anyway...

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    1. Wow o_o; Thanks very much for taking the time and effort to read and write a comment; I really like your blog, so I am really happy but a little bit embarrassed you've read mine xD

      True, it is quite complicated, But aye, fans learning enough about culture to avoid doing a faux pas would only be a good thing.

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