KPOP FAQs

What exactly is KPOP?

The term became widely used in the early 90’s and has become almost a household staple. But despite it’s name, KPOP is not just pop music. It draws inspiration from hip-hop, R&B, EDM, and Rock. The lyrics are typically a mix of Korean and English- so you can still find parts to sing a long too! Typically split into all boy or all girl groups, there a few coed groups as well. Within each group are different positions (rapper, vocalist, dancer, etc) and have a designated “leader”. The videos and concerts are big productions that include a story line, lots of dancing and sometimes even deep and complicated lore!

Often thought of as only pop groups, there are many artists who are put under the KPOP label that might be just rappers, crooning vocalists, or even rock groups (that play their own instruments and do not have dancing as part of their repertoire). If you like catchy music it doesn’t matter the genre we probably have something for you in KPOP!

Is everyone in a KPOP group from Korea?

It might sound like a silly question- but in fact the answer is NO! Members can audition from far and wide, and many groups have “international” members from a every part of the world! Many idols hail from Thailand, China, Japan, America, Australia and Canada just to name a few! Sometimes, members might not even be fluent in Korean before joining as a trainee.

Do they use stage names?

YES! Many artists will pick a stage name to go by either for personal preference or if there is another established idol with the same name. When getting into KPOP it can be hard to keep who is who straight as many fans and the other group members will often use their stage name, government name, or even nicknames. After all, this obsession always starts with “I just wanted to learn their names”

I’m confused about certain words I’m seeing a lot….

Getting into Kpop often means learning a lot more than just the groups and their members. Every group has it’s own fandom- and each has its own specific name. For example, BTS fans are called ARMY. So if you hear someone say ‘I’m ARMY’ you know they are a BTS fan. Each group also has its own dedicated color(s). Individual members can even have their own fandom name (and usually have an emoji or animal that represents the idol). Each group also has a lightstick- arguably the most Kpop thing to have. Each lightstick- is a handheld flashlight at its simplest, but has been decorated and designed to fit each group. With the help of the specific lightstick app on your smartphone, you can pair it to change color along at home while you hold your own concert, and will light up in tandem with others when you’re at the show! (and no, it’s no taboo to bring another groups lightstick to a show- I have yet to be at a concert where I don’t see a Neobong (NCT lightstick) or a Candy bong (TWICE's lightstick).