People have been hopping on the K-pop hate train since its rise in popularity.

A majority of hate comes from racism and ignorance.

I have been a K-pop fan since late 2017. 

During these last four years, I’ve constantly been asked how I can listen to music in a language I don’t understand. These comments come from the same people who listen to Spanish music without knowing the language.

As a fan online, I have seen many racist and hate comments made towards K-pop idols for unnecessary reasons. These comments can range from the typical, “They can’t sing or dance,” to death threats. Some of my family members even thought I was weird for listening to music in a different language.

When I first started listening to K-pop, I kept it to myself and to my close friends. I knew my family was very judgemental and would make fun of me if they found out. Eventually, my family did find out and they weren’t being very positive about it. My sister and dad didn’t care and left me alone, but my mom and aunt often made fun of me and said ignorant things. My aunt would call them “Chinese” even though they were Korean. I would tell her repeatedly that they are Korean, not Chinese, but she continued to make ignorant or racist comments.

Many times, I would see people say they refused to listen to K-pop just because it’s music that isn’t English. This shouldn’t be an excuse because there is nothing wrong with listening to music that is in another language. 

Other times, people would say male idols “look like girls”  just because they wear makeup. There’s nothing wrong with men wearing makeup and people shouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

Much of the hate and xenophoic comments also come from K-pop fans themselves. Many K-pop fans on social media, especially​​ Twitter, have no filter and are known to be absolutely ruthless. The amount of racist comments I’ve seen is unbelievable. I often think, “How can these people be racist towards Asians when they stan a Korean group?” and I still don’t have an answer for that question. 

One particular hate comment I’ve seen that stuck with me is how someone said they wanted to throw acid on a K-pop idol’s face just because they thought they were ugly. Other social media users laughed at this, but they don’t realize how much damage they’ve caused. Even if the idols themselves don’t see these comments, they’re still very disgusting.

Liking K-pop shouldn’t be a bad thing and no one should be villainized for liking it either. It’s weird how other people are bothered by what kind of music you listen to. 

Being into K-pop has led me to many fun experiences. Within one year, I was able to go to four K-pop concerts and meet two K-pop groups. My goal is to see my favorite group next time they go on tour. They say money can’t buy happiness, but that’s a complete lie because in this case it did. 

You can create friendships out of being a K-pop fan because you meet a lot of other people that are interested in the same things as you.  In the end the only thing this unnecessary hate is doing, is keeping people away from making lifelong bonds.