My Opinionated Rant: Expectation vs Reality: Arirang and BTS
On March 20, 2026, BTS most anticipated comeback with their 5th studio album Arirang was released. This would be their first studio album in more than 6 years following a pause due to the 2020 global pandemic, and then an official hiatus due to compulsory military service. In between the two, they released a string […]
Clothing Beyond Fashion: Aligning Outside of Your Culture
There has always been a greater conversation about appropriation vs. appreciation, a conversation that I find to be important, yet exhausting. There are instances where there is a clear line of what can be considered an inappropriate representation of someone else’s culture. Whether it is to mock or cosplay to appear cool or hip is […]
A Journey into Becoming ARMY and Beyond
Author Talk: A Conversation with Elondra Birchfield author of Purple Hearts: Maya’s Journey With BTS We all have an origin story of how we started our journey as fans of K-pop and Korean culture. For some, it was a way to connect to a culture and community that we were already familiar with. The journey […]
The Most Misunderstood N-words in KPop!
For many new to the world of KPop and Korean entertainment the following words are often misheard and misunderstood. When trying to understand a language that is not native to you, it’s easy to mistake a word or two for something else. I know when I first heard these words a few years ago it […]