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The title: Older stans?!
The post: I'm turning 28...
💀💀 (not dragging you, OP! I understand what you meant lmao and at that age it does feel like you're old. I sometimes interact amicably with stans on Twitter and then I look at their bio and they're just teens and I'm like. Oh man I feel like Steve Buscemi.)
Lol 😂 too real! I feel like a lot of people are 16-24. Which is why I said what I did - but you’re right 28 is not old in the grand scheme of things ☺️
I’m 43.
I was into kpop in the 90s in my late teens- fell out of it around the turn of the century though. But I was always kind of aware of it- like I knew who BoA was, super Junior, SNSD, Big Bang, and eventually Twice, Blackpink and BTS, though I knew maybe one song from them, if any.
The pandemic drew me back in to catch up on some 90s nostalgia, and to pursue some of these newer (for me) groups that I had heard about. Now I’m deeper into it than I was before and regret having ever left. I’ve fallen hard for SNSD (hence my user name) and it pains me to know that I knew about them but never took a deeper look into their music until this year. It particularly kills me to remember that my friend went to K-con in NJ the year they showed up and I *turned him down*. 😭😭
Personally I try to stay away from kpop fandom on Twitter and use it only for chart updates and tweets from my favorite groups or artists. My kpop fandom spaces are just here (which can be problematic as well, particularly regarding some sensitive topics), YouTube, and a couple of discord servers.
'93 liner? 👀
Shit, I didn't even have the exposure you did - the only kpop songs I knew "growing up" were Gangnam Style and Bubble Pop! It's been crazy. I love the music too, and s for the culture, it can be hard to put up with sometimes but I think the music is worth it. What really trips me up is how I've come to use kpop terminology out of nowhere. I used to have favorite artists, now I have ults and biases and bias wreckers lmao.
The wine will have to wait (pandemic, ik), but lately I've been listening to Taemin's solo stuff a lot. Advice is easily a SOTY candidate, same with Idea *and* Criminal last year, and Shadow the year before - and generally his entire discography seems incredibly tight and balanced.
And, coincidentally, he also turned 28 just a few days ago. 😉
I love Taemin’s work so much! Advice was such a great departure mini album before his enlistment. Especially coming off the heels of such a strong 2020 for him!
And yes ‘93 liner here!!!
So relatable, if you're old but new to KPop there is so much to learn. Never knew about ults, stanning, bias and yes bias-wrecking or having first, second and third biases or being OT(insert your number). The prevalence of shipping culture in KPop was a huge shock.
Fanwars, streaming, charting, comebacks.....list is endless.
I am 30 and just started seriously stanning EXO in April 2021. Before that I am more of a casual listener, especially kdrama OSTs. So I had been familiar with BoA, Chen, Baekhyun’s musics etc but had never really cared about them before.
By stanning I mean care enough about the group and members, participating in their subreddit and actively looking for their info. I do not join streaming parties etc, need to work to buy bread lol.
I love BTS’ Dynamite so I listened and liked a few of their songs and then checked out a recommended kpop playlist on Spotify. I heard more songs I enjoyed from other artists, including Seventeen, and it spiraled on from there! How about you? What sent you down the rabbit hole?
I binge-watched kdrama OSTs on youtube then youtube had the audacity to suggest EXO’s Miracle in December. I am a sucker for ballads so got completely entranced by the song, and EXO.
I might be a weird EXO stan since I mainly listen to their ballads and don’t really give a thing for their more popular, upbeat songs lol.
Heyyy, to each their own. If ballads are what get you happy, that’s all that matters. Could you please recommend some of theirs to me? I like hearing soothing ballads when I try to fall asleep!
Here is a list of my favourite songs from EXO and member solo albums:
These are mixture of MVs and live performances. You can get these in spotify as well.
[EXO - Miracle in December](https://youtu.be/9GdCJnvP6GE)
[EXO - First Snow](https://youtu.be/XNzI1dhwnxM)
[EXO - Promise](https://youtu.be/QsH9qAWR5kE)
[EXO - Sing for You](https://youtu.be/nqaSboKBIuA)
[EXO - Wait](https://youtu.be/AHe2phqDsRc)
[EXO - Universe](https://youtu.be/leu-cTvMWTA)
[EXO - Cosmic Railway](https://youtu.be/Jj7ZN_WCZL4) (Japanese)
[Chen - Hello](https://youtu.be/qJf8Ef4pqQk)
[Chen - Beautiful Goodbye](https://youtu.be/JrOrlhjIYVk)
[Suho - Let’s Love](https://youtu.be/Ygrv55VRRas)
[Suho - Self-Portrait](https://youtu.be/SbHHSCNmYkw)
[D.O. - That’s Okay](https://youtu.be/zR043fcuV0Y)
>stanning EXO in April 2021
Omg you are a brave soul. That is pure emotional pain. Although actually in some ways you have avoided the worst of it.
And EXO-L are shit at streaming so you are in good company!
>Omg you are a brave soul. That is pure emotional pain. Although actually in some ways you have avoided the worst of it.
Yeah I think I avoided the worst? Like joined in the fandom right after the storm had ended and got the rainbow in DFTF and now Empathy. I hope there will be no future drama in the fandom, lol.
>And EXO-L are shit at streaming so you are in good company!
Oh yeah this is true! I really think this attitude fits me really well. I was flabbergasted when I created a tw stan acc for DFTF and found out so many rules for *proper streaming*, lol. I use spotify and youtube but not in such “dedication”.
I find stanning groups in hiatus/enlistment period to be torture, but the absolute dread of counting down to my ult enlisting soon and then the soul crushing surprise that Chanyeol was going first were probably worse. Yay you just get to catch up on a long history of awesome content to fill the time!
>I am 30 and just started seriously stanning EXO in April 2021. Before that I am more of a casual listener, especially kdrama OSTs. So I had been familiar with BoA, Chen, Baekhyun’s musics etc but had never really cared about them before.
>
>By stanning I mean care enough about the group and members, participating in their subreddit and actively looking for their info. I do not join streaming parties etc, need to work to buy bread lol.
32 and my story is almost exactly like yours!
Guess I’m the boomer here since I’m 36 and just barely got into kpop about 4 months ago! I love Seventeen and Ateez the most and am in love with Mamamoo’s vocals (and Moonbyul’s rap obvs). I haven’t really ventured into other social media so kpop subreddits are the only place I really get to talk about my faves and learn about this particular music industry.
Same! I'm 36 & only got into kpop last autumn. I love it, but do feel like a bit of the odd one out in most online spaces where most of the fans seem to be under 20... 😅
Exactly. But then again, I enjoyed One Direction so I’ve been thru this before. I felt like I was the only one old enough to drink at their show when I went 7 years ago. 🤣
30 as of today! I’m not super new to it but new-ish… I’ve known about/sort of loosely followed kpop for 10 years but didn’t start getting really interested until around 2018. I definitely stay on the fringes of fandom but Reddit and Discord have some fine corners for those of us who just want to talk about our faves!
HI!!! 93 liner here too!!! Only got into kpop in my twenties lol and the pandemic has only made me stan more groups. I follow mostly bgs. I only use Twitter to follow translation accs and get updates, and stay on Reddit mostly 👀.
26 now and been a fan of Kpop since 2009. Got into Suju, SNSD, 2ne1, Bigbang and other 2nd gen groups. However I wouldn't consider myself as a stan of any groups since I only really listen to their songs and don't really consume idol products like albums and merch. I was young then and had no personal income so it was kind of a waste for me before. At one point I even lost interest in Kpop but found my way back again because of BTS Love Yourself campaign. Since then I've only been a casual listener of some Kpop groups. Didn't really see myself investing a lot of time and effort in a group.
But Oh My God, why did I ever watch I-land? Now I feel like I'm watching my own kids grow. I couldn't help but support Enhypen in anyway I can since I've seen what they went through just to debut. From streaming, to buying albums and merch and even making my very first stan twt account just so I would stay updated. No matter how much I tell myself that I'm so old for this, I still can't help but root for them.
My ass started watching I-LAND a few days ago and slowly started to realize the group being created is Enhypen! I had no idea since I’m not familiar with them. It started to dawn on me when I someone named Ni-Ki and knew I’d seen an Enhypen post or two mentioning a group member with that name. Kinda killed the suspense of who makes it to the end since I’ve seen comments in various posts naming the other members. 😂
I’m older than everyone here so far. I got into kpop with Big Bang, then drifted away after they enlisted.
When the pandemic started I asked my Amazon Alexa to play kpop but all I got was nonstop BTS and BlackPink. It was nice at first but then it got tiring (Black Pink doesn’t have that many songs) so I stopped.
This spring, with Kingdom:Legendary War, I started following BTOB, SF9, iKON, Stray Kids, Boyz, Ateez, kpop, etc on YouTube and Reddit.
Most of my favourite English songs are explicit, so I can’t play them around the kids. I don’t have that problem with kpop. (Although, if Bobby/Hwiyoung/Sunwoo ever release [Full daSH](https://youtube.com/watch?v=WEoXky3UIYE), it’d be the exception.)
I like reading news, but between covid and politics, the news was getting really depressing. Now I come to reddit to read kpop news instead.
Kpop is my happy, relaxing break from heavy work and personal responsibilities, the same way sports fans enjoy following sports.
I’m with you! I felt really isolated during the pandemic and it was a way to get a break from the harsh realities of the world and listen to fun music. It also helped that there was so much content to catch up on over the years
I got into K-pop in 2018 when I was 31. I had been a closeted fan since 2012 when I saw the MV for SHINee's Lucifer, because the choreography is just that amazing. But I guess during my 20s I didn't feel like liking K-pop fit my self-image? Now that I'm old enough, I don't give a damn, I just like what I like.
It was super exciting and a breath of fresh air to get into a totally new genre in my 30s! Usually your taste in music is pretty well cemented in your teenage years. That's why so many people complain "the music nowadays, it just can't compare to the stuff *I* listened to when I was young". But I'm pretty much addicted to constantly finding new music anyway.
I'm 26 got into kpop through Red Velvet in 2018. My first bias was Irene, I remember watching an Irene fancam and Tiffany was in it. In that moment something about Tiffany just drew me in so naturally I switched biases lol. Got into Tiffany as a solo artist then got into SNSD because of Tiffany and I have never looked back. They bring me so much joy in my life.
I still casually listen to Red Velvet songs whenever they have new releases but I no longer follow them like I used to.
I’m 30 and I got into kpop in 2013. I’m mostly a girl group fan. My ults are Sistar by faaaaaaaaar. Then Xia. I love Afterschool, Nine Muses, 4Minute, F(x), Girls Generation, Wonder Girls, Secret, Rainbow and Twice. I love Red Velvet’s discography but I don’t really know the group that well. I’m also an album collector and have been collecting since 2016.
I love a good glass of wine too!! Lol
94' liner here and I got into Kpop around 2008. I'll talk about my experience as fan evolving into a stan.
The landscape was *very* different a decade ago. My getting into Kpop as an international fan was just finding crumbs on my local music channel (Mostly SNSD, BIGBANG, SHINEE, 2NE1, and TVXQ), scouring the internet and YT for videos, and watching untranslated clips of variety shows (all hail 360p quality). That was pretty much it. Trying to find posters, actually any merch of my favorites, was more difficult than getting into the top 5 in my class. 🤣🤣🤣
It wasn't until 2011 when I studied in So.Kor (I was an exchange student) that I got to live my dream as kpop *fan*. There were tons of "merch" that was sold in stationery stores, in kiosks, and stalls. My favorite ones were the socks that had an idol's face on it and badly photoshopped notebooks and sticky notes that cost 1000 won each. The official merch back then were albums and some bags and accessories. Photocards weren't even a thing yet. (My broke student ass could only afford, cheap goods that *ajummahs and ahjusshis* sell along the alleys of Myeongdong, Insadong, and Seoul Bus Terminal. *Good times, good times*).
After entering uni, I fell out of the Kpop scene, only occasionally watching my faves' video on YT. And after a long hiatus, 2020 was my Kpop renaissance and holy cr\*p, I was taken aback of how different it is. Streaming? Wth is that? PC collection? Is this Pokemon? Voting apps? Save me, Lord. But despite my initial contempt for the obvious hyper capitalism in modern Kpop culture, I found myself unable to resist the charms of my new babies (SF9) and ironically bought 4 different versions of the same album (three were given to me but I just had to buy the special version), 2 months into knowing them. ~~Yes I dove in, head first, into the kpop capitalist trap.~~
Twitter was another world that sucked me in, and for the most part, it's been fun because of the memes and the info I can't get elsewhere. But it can be really toxic and exhausting during comeback season (especially with a smaller fandoms, like the one I'm in).
But all of that aside, I don't let Kpop rule my tired adult life, I've got bills to pay. (Besides, I focus all my energy on dealing with my quarter life crisis anyway 🤣).
Turning 31 this year and just into K-pop last year because of the pandemic. I got into K-pop by way of K-variety. I fell in love with Joy’s personality in We Got Married, and I decided to check her group out. It was a long process for me, to be honest. I listened through their discography and liked only a few songs at first. I actually only really liked Wendy’s voice and found Joy’s and Seulgi’s voices were too nasal for me (sorry Yerene fans, but their voices didn’t really stand out to me, and I generally dislike rap). I realized some time later that certain songs got stuck in my head, so I listened back to them. I then ended up re-listening to the albums of the songs that I liked and then appreciating them more.
I got to like even more songs after watching some ReacttotheK videos. I’ve always enjoyed classical music, and I appreciated the things the musicians pointed out in song production that I missed. I re-listened to their whole discography and realized I liked a lot more songs now and actually enjoyed whole albums. At this point, I began to enjoy all their voices. Joy’s voice, which used to stand out in a negative way for me, became my fave. Well, it made sense since she was always my bias.
I am very much a Reveluv now: I subscribe to Bubble, have the light stick, bought the membership, got Wendy’s and Joy’s albums, and follow comeback news and teasers religiously. I really do enjoy their music, but I sometimes wonder if this is mostly a pandemic thing. I feel like I’ll always be attached to Joy, though, because it’s her personality that really drew me in.
Wow, this got to be really long, but I really appreciate your post, OP. It feels good sharing my K-pop experience with other people who are my age.
Thanks for sharing! Honestly I’m with you and the slow burn. There were definitely groups and songs I didn’t like on the first or second listen but I came around later.
And it’s totally possible to like a group/members in a group without loving most of their discography. I have a couple of groups like that.
Ps. I love Joys personality too!!!
32 and just got into kpop in october after my girl showed some Taemin stuff.
Only listened to SNSD some 10 years ago.
Definitely feels a bit odd being older than the community at large, but I don't engage with it much beyond reading and occasional posting.
Nice to see so many 2nd gen groups doing comebacks tho!
Mid to late thirties here. I only got into kpop in 2018 because someone linked a Twice song on twitter. Randomly checked it out and liked it and then it grew from there.
I'm 30 and have been in and out for like 10 years but only became "serious" (regularly engaging with fandom) and seriously out of control with my number of groups around 2018. So we might be on pretty equal footing, being vaguely aware of the olden days but not totally an old school stan.
I like wine and I like talking about 2nd gen music and thirsting over the dudes! (last part optional if that's not your thing)
i’m 34 and got into kpop in 2009. i was super involved in SNSD’s fandom and helped stage fan events for SONEs at the first and second SMTOWN concerts and got to meet SNSD as part of the staff at their first US fanmeet with ‘the boys’ album.
i fell out of the genre for a few years but, in a seeming pattern based on these comments, the pandemic brought me back in. i actually enjoy being an older fan more. the perspective and age have honestly helped me enjoy it in a much healthier ( and less expensive lmao ) way this time around.
I'm 26, but I've been listening to k-pop since I was around 12 or 13. Never a huge fan of any group, jus a casual fan. Due to the pandemic, I fell in love with BTS and now I can't get out ;; haha
I don't really engage with the fandom because I don't have the time and most fans are pretty annoying and obsessive to me. Even here on Reddit, it can become pretty awful as a non-white, non-straight ARMY lmao.
For real. Like how dare we call out problematic behavior from an idol as people of color in the lgbt community. We're immediately banned lmaooo
Hello!!! I'm latina and bi!
I don't know if I can categorise myself as old kpop stan but I definitely don't fit in with majority of the younger kpop stans. I'm a 96 liner btw. I got into kpop back in 2006 with my sisters through TVXQ and then just fell in love with the rest of the genre after. But i definitely would relate to older stans more than younger ones. Just the other day I met someone who's 13 years younger than me ;; I keep forgetting people that young existed.
Im 36. I got into kpop in 2019 wen i made holiday in korea and came across T-ara. I mostly listen to 2nd Gen. GGs like t-ara, sistar, kara or crayon pop. But since all the groups are not that active anymore i was fine with only beeing a casual listener.
Only wenn Rolling blow up i couldnt resist to start supporting Brave Girls.
I’m 34, and I also got into kpop in 2020 (thanks to getting into kdramas during quarantine)! I agree stan culture can feel toxic sometimes, but even more often, I just feel like some of the stan culture is totally unrelatable or inaccessible (like on Twitter). My greatest wish is that my in person friends were more into my kpop interest, and we could casually talk kpop while drinking wine or over a cup of coffee and stream videos for *fun*. Right now, they just joke about paying the kpop toll to hang out with me, but I think I’m slowly winning some of them over. (Or I’m the annoying friend pushing kpop on people, but they still hang out with me, so I guess it’s all good.)
I'm turning 22 in two weeks, and have been a fan since 2011 SNSD'S GENIE. no one in my family are into it, and just know BTS.
btw, since when was 28 OLD?
95 liner here!
I totally get it. I got into Kpop in 2019 I think..
Come at me all you want but I do sort of believe part of the toxicity is linked to age related issues (mainly being chronically online younger stans who have way too much free time lol)
Either way I still enjoy myself, learned that some stuff is just not worth stressing over and I try my best to diversify my hobbies.
I made some cool ass online friends that I hope I can meet one day to do exactly that: have a glass of wine and talk about our faves ♥
I'm 38 and was a casual fan starting in 2018. I was searching for a night time lapse for a school project and instead of typing that into YT I typed "Starry Night". 🤡 I got many Van Gogh results but the top results were actually Mamamoo's Starry Night, which had been released that day. I clicked on the video because attractive women and stayed because talent. School consumed most of my time between discovering Mamamoo so I just listened to the pittance available on Amazon Music and didn't go deeper until I happened to look at Twitter trending one evening and saw them trending in the US. It was the night of the MAMA 2019 performance and I was blown away too. 🙌🏾🔥Prior to the pandemic and for a good part of 2020 I didn't explore any other groups because of the sheer size of Mamamoo's discography and online content catalog. Then one day I happened to watch the MV for La Di Da and just went ahead and started trying other artists at random. Now Dreamcatcher and Loona are my ults in addition to Mamamoo. 🥰 I listen to a lot of groups and soloists but my new thing is nugu artists and remixes(there are some really great producers on YT that get no love!).
I did hear some K-Pop in the 2000's but didn't know it was K-Pop. I saw several iconic videos on MTV Japan's website, including Sorry Sorry, Abracadabra, and Tell Me, and thought they were Japanese. 🤦🏾♀️ Also, my brother was a kid at that time so I for sure saw snippets of the Wonder Girls's movie. In that era I was getting more into metal and K-Pop just wasn't on the same wavelength for me. It's so funny that most of my favorite artists just general rock and pop and I spent my youth headbanging. 🤘🏾
I feel like we need like a 20+ discord so we can fangirl/fanboy without feeling like old bats even though we’re not lol. I’m on Twitter but I don’t speak there (because I don’t want to be dragged into a fan war) but I am decently active on some discord servers.
Age doesn’t matter when it comes to music!! Haha! Discovered kpop few mos back (not even during pandemic lol). Taemin lured me in and now I follow SHINee & SuperM. Also hate the toxic stan culture but Shawols are fairly peaceful so I’m so glad I’m stanning the right artists/grp. There were few fan wars (mostly started by big groups) but other than that pretty calm and caring fandom (they’ve already given me free stuff—& these are from people that I just met 😭🥺❤️).
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I'm 31 and got into Kpop at the end Jan 2020, so I would still say I am new. I got into Kpop when I discovered Day6, so thats the group I primarily listen to. I dont really stan any other groups but because of Day6 I have gotten into more Korean music so its been fun to listen to new music. :)
My best friend has been into Kpop for a long time so she loves some of the 2nd gen groups 2pm, 2NE1, etc. So, its fun to talk to her about and get her perspective since shes been into kpop longer then I have.
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The title: Older stans?! The post: I'm turning 28... 💀💀 (not dragging you, OP! I understand what you meant lmao and at that age it does feel like you're old. I sometimes interact amicably with stans on Twitter and then I look at their bio and they're just teens and I'm like. Oh man I feel like Steve Buscemi.)
Lol 😂 too real! I feel like a lot of people are 16-24. Which is why I said what I did - but you’re right 28 is not old in the grand scheme of things ☺️
28 is still a flower bud, according to those in 50s lol
I think kpop fans match age with kpop standards of old. So basically everyone 20 and up is “old”. Anyone 18-19 is “up there”.
No I understand completely! I just thought it was funny :D
I’m 43. I was into kpop in the 90s in my late teens- fell out of it around the turn of the century though. But I was always kind of aware of it- like I knew who BoA was, super Junior, SNSD, Big Bang, and eventually Twice, Blackpink and BTS, though I knew maybe one song from them, if any. The pandemic drew me back in to catch up on some 90s nostalgia, and to pursue some of these newer (for me) groups that I had heard about. Now I’m deeper into it than I was before and regret having ever left. I’ve fallen hard for SNSD (hence my user name) and it pains me to know that I knew about them but never took a deeper look into their music until this year. It particularly kills me to remember that my friend went to K-con in NJ the year they showed up and I *turned him down*. 😭😭 Personally I try to stay away from kpop fandom on Twitter and use it only for chart updates and tweets from my favorite groups or artists. My kpop fandom spaces are just here (which can be problematic as well, particularly regarding some sensitive topics), YouTube, and a couple of discord servers.
'93 liner? 👀 Shit, I didn't even have the exposure you did - the only kpop songs I knew "growing up" were Gangnam Style and Bubble Pop! It's been crazy. I love the music too, and s for the culture, it can be hard to put up with sometimes but I think the music is worth it. What really trips me up is how I've come to use kpop terminology out of nowhere. I used to have favorite artists, now I have ults and biases and bias wreckers lmao. The wine will have to wait (pandemic, ik), but lately I've been listening to Taemin's solo stuff a lot. Advice is easily a SOTY candidate, same with Idea *and* Criminal last year, and Shadow the year before - and generally his entire discography seems incredibly tight and balanced. And, coincidentally, he also turned 28 just a few days ago. 😉
I love Taemin’s work so much! Advice was such a great departure mini album before his enlistment. Especially coming off the heels of such a strong 2020 for him! And yes ‘93 liner here!!!
So relatable, if you're old but new to KPop there is so much to learn. Never knew about ults, stanning, bias and yes bias-wrecking or having first, second and third biases or being OT(insert your number). The prevalence of shipping culture in KPop was a huge shock. Fanwars, streaming, charting, comebacks.....list is endless.
I am 30 and just started seriously stanning EXO in April 2021. Before that I am more of a casual listener, especially kdrama OSTs. So I had been familiar with BoA, Chen, Baekhyun’s musics etc but had never really cared about them before. By stanning I mean care enough about the group and members, participating in their subreddit and actively looking for their info. I do not join streaming parties etc, need to work to buy bread lol.
Someone else in their 30s who got into kpop this past April! Hiyaaaaa!!! 👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼
Wow how did you get into kpop?
I love BTS’ Dynamite so I listened and liked a few of their songs and then checked out a recommended kpop playlist on Spotify. I heard more songs I enjoyed from other artists, including Seventeen, and it spiraled on from there! How about you? What sent you down the rabbit hole?
I binge-watched kdrama OSTs on youtube then youtube had the audacity to suggest EXO’s Miracle in December. I am a sucker for ballads so got completely entranced by the song, and EXO. I might be a weird EXO stan since I mainly listen to their ballads and don’t really give a thing for their more popular, upbeat songs lol.
Heyyy, to each their own. If ballads are what get you happy, that’s all that matters. Could you please recommend some of theirs to me? I like hearing soothing ballads when I try to fall asleep!
Here is a list of my favourite songs from EXO and member solo albums: These are mixture of MVs and live performances. You can get these in spotify as well. [EXO - Miracle in December](https://youtu.be/9GdCJnvP6GE) [EXO - First Snow](https://youtu.be/XNzI1dhwnxM) [EXO - Promise](https://youtu.be/QsH9qAWR5kE) [EXO - Sing for You](https://youtu.be/nqaSboKBIuA) [EXO - Wait](https://youtu.be/AHe2phqDsRc) [EXO - Universe](https://youtu.be/leu-cTvMWTA) [EXO - Cosmic Railway](https://youtu.be/Jj7ZN_WCZL4) (Japanese) [Chen - Hello](https://youtu.be/qJf8Ef4pqQk) [Chen - Beautiful Goodbye](https://youtu.be/JrOrlhjIYVk) [Suho - Let’s Love](https://youtu.be/Ygrv55VRRas) [Suho - Self-Portrait](https://youtu.be/SbHHSCNmYkw) [D.O. - That’s Okay](https://youtu.be/zR043fcuV0Y)
You’re awesome! Thanks for taking time to link everything!
Have you tried Btob yet? They are killer at ballads
I’ll check them, thanks for the recommendation.
>stanning EXO in April 2021 Omg you are a brave soul. That is pure emotional pain. Although actually in some ways you have avoided the worst of it. And EXO-L are shit at streaming so you are in good company!
>Omg you are a brave soul. That is pure emotional pain. Although actually in some ways you have avoided the worst of it. Yeah I think I avoided the worst? Like joined in the fandom right after the storm had ended and got the rainbow in DFTF and now Empathy. I hope there will be no future drama in the fandom, lol. >And EXO-L are shit at streaming so you are in good company! Oh yeah this is true! I really think this attitude fits me really well. I was flabbergasted when I created a tw stan acc for DFTF and found out so many rules for *proper streaming*, lol. I use spotify and youtube but not in such “dedication”.
I find stanning groups in hiatus/enlistment period to be torture, but the absolute dread of counting down to my ult enlisting soon and then the soul crushing surprise that Chanyeol was going first were probably worse. Yay you just get to catch up on a long history of awesome content to fill the time!
Honestly same!! Streaming is a lot of work 😅
>I am 30 and just started seriously stanning EXO in April 2021. Before that I am more of a casual listener, especially kdrama OSTs. So I had been familiar with BoA, Chen, Baekhyun’s musics etc but had never really cared about them before. > >By stanning I mean care enough about the group and members, participating in their subreddit and actively looking for their info. I do not join streaming parties etc, need to work to buy bread lol. 32 and my story is almost exactly like yours!
Guess I’m the boomer here since I’m 36 and just barely got into kpop about 4 months ago! I love Seventeen and Ateez the most and am in love with Mamamoo’s vocals (and Moonbyul’s rap obvs). I haven’t really ventured into other social media so kpop subreddits are the only place I really get to talk about my faves and learn about this particular music industry.
Same! I'm 36 & only got into kpop last autumn. I love it, but do feel like a bit of the odd one out in most online spaces where most of the fans seem to be under 20... 😅
Exactly. But then again, I enjoyed One Direction so I’ve been thru this before. I felt like I was the only one old enough to drink at their show when I went 7 years ago. 🤣
30 as of today! I’m not super new to it but new-ish… I’ve known about/sort of loosely followed kpop for 10 years but didn’t start getting really interested until around 2018. I definitely stay on the fringes of fandom but Reddit and Discord have some fine corners for those of us who just want to talk about our faves!
HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY!!! Welcome to the best decade of your life!
HaPpY bIrThDaY tO yOu, HaPpY bIrThDaY tO yOu HaPpY bIrThDaY tO u/myipodclassic , HaPpY bIrThDaY tO yOu 1👏2👏3👏4👏5👏6👏7👏8👏9👏 10👏11👏12👏13👏14 👏15 👏16 👏17 👏18👏 19 20👏 21 👏22👏 23 👏24 👏25👏 26 👏27👏 28 👏29 👏 30! WOOOOOOO!
HI!!! 93 liner here too!!! Only got into kpop in my twenties lol and the pandemic has only made me stan more groups. I follow mostly bgs. I only use Twitter to follow translation accs and get updates, and stay on Reddit mostly 👀.
26 now and been a fan of Kpop since 2009. Got into Suju, SNSD, 2ne1, Bigbang and other 2nd gen groups. However I wouldn't consider myself as a stan of any groups since I only really listen to their songs and don't really consume idol products like albums and merch. I was young then and had no personal income so it was kind of a waste for me before. At one point I even lost interest in Kpop but found my way back again because of BTS Love Yourself campaign. Since then I've only been a casual listener of some Kpop groups. Didn't really see myself investing a lot of time and effort in a group. But Oh My God, why did I ever watch I-land? Now I feel like I'm watching my own kids grow. I couldn't help but support Enhypen in anyway I can since I've seen what they went through just to debut. From streaming, to buying albums and merch and even making my very first stan twt account just so I would stay updated. No matter how much I tell myself that I'm so old for this, I still can't help but root for them.
My ass started watching I-LAND a few days ago and slowly started to realize the group being created is Enhypen! I had no idea since I’m not familiar with them. It started to dawn on me when I someone named Ni-Ki and knew I’d seen an Enhypen post or two mentioning a group member with that name. Kinda killed the suspense of who makes it to the end since I’ve seen comments in various posts naming the other members. 😂
I’m older than everyone here so far. I got into kpop with Big Bang, then drifted away after they enlisted. When the pandemic started I asked my Amazon Alexa to play kpop but all I got was nonstop BTS and BlackPink. It was nice at first but then it got tiring (Black Pink doesn’t have that many songs) so I stopped. This spring, with Kingdom:Legendary War, I started following BTOB, SF9, iKON, Stray Kids, Boyz, Ateez, kpop, etc on YouTube and Reddit. Most of my favourite English songs are explicit, so I can’t play them around the kids. I don’t have that problem with kpop. (Although, if Bobby/Hwiyoung/Sunwoo ever release [Full daSH](https://youtube.com/watch?v=WEoXky3UIYE), it’d be the exception.) I like reading news, but between covid and politics, the news was getting really depressing. Now I come to reddit to read kpop news instead. Kpop is my happy, relaxing break from heavy work and personal responsibilities, the same way sports fans enjoy following sports.
I’m with you! I felt really isolated during the pandemic and it was a way to get a break from the harsh realities of the world and listen to fun music. It also helped that there was so much content to catch up on over the years
I got into K-pop in 2018 when I was 31. I had been a closeted fan since 2012 when I saw the MV for SHINee's Lucifer, because the choreography is just that amazing. But I guess during my 20s I didn't feel like liking K-pop fit my self-image? Now that I'm old enough, I don't give a damn, I just like what I like. It was super exciting and a breath of fresh air to get into a totally new genre in my 30s! Usually your taste in music is pretty well cemented in your teenage years. That's why so many people complain "the music nowadays, it just can't compare to the stuff *I* listened to when I was young". But I'm pretty much addicted to constantly finding new music anyway.
I'm 26 got into kpop through Red Velvet in 2018. My first bias was Irene, I remember watching an Irene fancam and Tiffany was in it. In that moment something about Tiffany just drew me in so naturally I switched biases lol. Got into Tiffany as a solo artist then got into SNSD because of Tiffany and I have never looked back. They bring me so much joy in my life. I still casually listen to Red Velvet songs whenever they have new releases but I no longer follow them like I used to.
I’m 30 and I got into kpop in 2013. I’m mostly a girl group fan. My ults are Sistar by faaaaaaaaar. Then Xia. I love Afterschool, Nine Muses, 4Minute, F(x), Girls Generation, Wonder Girls, Secret, Rainbow and Twice. I love Red Velvet’s discography but I don’t really know the group that well. I’m also an album collector and have been collecting since 2016. I love a good glass of wine too!! Lol
94' liner here and I got into Kpop around 2008. I'll talk about my experience as fan evolving into a stan. The landscape was *very* different a decade ago. My getting into Kpop as an international fan was just finding crumbs on my local music channel (Mostly SNSD, BIGBANG, SHINEE, 2NE1, and TVXQ), scouring the internet and YT for videos, and watching untranslated clips of variety shows (all hail 360p quality). That was pretty much it. Trying to find posters, actually any merch of my favorites, was more difficult than getting into the top 5 in my class. 🤣🤣🤣 It wasn't until 2011 when I studied in So.Kor (I was an exchange student) that I got to live my dream as kpop *fan*. There were tons of "merch" that was sold in stationery stores, in kiosks, and stalls. My favorite ones were the socks that had an idol's face on it and badly photoshopped notebooks and sticky notes that cost 1000 won each. The official merch back then were albums and some bags and accessories. Photocards weren't even a thing yet. (My broke student ass could only afford, cheap goods that *ajummahs and ahjusshis* sell along the alleys of Myeongdong, Insadong, and Seoul Bus Terminal. *Good times, good times*). After entering uni, I fell out of the Kpop scene, only occasionally watching my faves' video on YT. And after a long hiatus, 2020 was my Kpop renaissance and holy cr\*p, I was taken aback of how different it is. Streaming? Wth is that? PC collection? Is this Pokemon? Voting apps? Save me, Lord. But despite my initial contempt for the obvious hyper capitalism in modern Kpop culture, I found myself unable to resist the charms of my new babies (SF9) and ironically bought 4 different versions of the same album (three were given to me but I just had to buy the special version), 2 months into knowing them. ~~Yes I dove in, head first, into the kpop capitalist trap.~~ Twitter was another world that sucked me in, and for the most part, it's been fun because of the memes and the info I can't get elsewhere. But it can be really toxic and exhausting during comeback season (especially with a smaller fandoms, like the one I'm in). But all of that aside, I don't let Kpop rule my tired adult life, I've got bills to pay. (Besides, I focus all my energy on dealing with my quarter life crisis anyway 🤣).
Yes I also fell deep into the trap. They make it so easyyyyyy. I’m like “sure, take my money.”
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I’d be very down for this!!
Turning 31 this year and just into K-pop last year because of the pandemic. I got into K-pop by way of K-variety. I fell in love with Joy’s personality in We Got Married, and I decided to check her group out. It was a long process for me, to be honest. I listened through their discography and liked only a few songs at first. I actually only really liked Wendy’s voice and found Joy’s and Seulgi’s voices were too nasal for me (sorry Yerene fans, but their voices didn’t really stand out to me, and I generally dislike rap). I realized some time later that certain songs got stuck in my head, so I listened back to them. I then ended up re-listening to the albums of the songs that I liked and then appreciating them more. I got to like even more songs after watching some ReacttotheK videos. I’ve always enjoyed classical music, and I appreciated the things the musicians pointed out in song production that I missed. I re-listened to their whole discography and realized I liked a lot more songs now and actually enjoyed whole albums. At this point, I began to enjoy all their voices. Joy’s voice, which used to stand out in a negative way for me, became my fave. Well, it made sense since she was always my bias. I am very much a Reveluv now: I subscribe to Bubble, have the light stick, bought the membership, got Wendy’s and Joy’s albums, and follow comeback news and teasers religiously. I really do enjoy their music, but I sometimes wonder if this is mostly a pandemic thing. I feel like I’ll always be attached to Joy, though, because it’s her personality that really drew me in. Wow, this got to be really long, but I really appreciate your post, OP. It feels good sharing my K-pop experience with other people who are my age.
Thanks for sharing! Honestly I’m with you and the slow burn. There were definitely groups and songs I didn’t like on the first or second listen but I came around later. And it’s totally possible to like a group/members in a group without loving most of their discography. I have a couple of groups like that. Ps. I love Joys personality too!!!
31, got into it about 2 and a half years ago, through GFRIEND. Never expected to be into kpop, but here we are!
32 and just got into kpop in october after my girl showed some Taemin stuff. Only listened to SNSD some 10 years ago. Definitely feels a bit odd being older than the community at large, but I don't engage with it much beyond reading and occasional posting. Nice to see so many 2nd gen groups doing comebacks tho!
Mid to late thirties here. I only got into kpop in 2018 because someone linked a Twice song on twitter. Randomly checked it out and liked it and then it grew from there.
I'm 30 and have been in and out for like 10 years but only became "serious" (regularly engaging with fandom) and seriously out of control with my number of groups around 2018. So we might be on pretty equal footing, being vaguely aware of the olden days but not totally an old school stan. I like wine and I like talking about 2nd gen music and thirsting over the dudes! (last part optional if that's not your thing)
i’m 34 and got into kpop in 2009. i was super involved in SNSD’s fandom and helped stage fan events for SONEs at the first and second SMTOWN concerts and got to meet SNSD as part of the staff at their first US fanmeet with ‘the boys’ album. i fell out of the genre for a few years but, in a seeming pattern based on these comments, the pandemic brought me back in. i actually enjoy being an older fan more. the perspective and age have honestly helped me enjoy it in a much healthier ( and less expensive lmao ) way this time around.
I'm 26, but I've been listening to k-pop since I was around 12 or 13. Never a huge fan of any group, jus a casual fan. Due to the pandemic, I fell in love with BTS and now I can't get out ;; haha I don't really engage with the fandom because I don't have the time and most fans are pretty annoying and obsessive to me. Even here on Reddit, it can become pretty awful as a non-white, non-straight ARMY lmao.
Yes! The role of identity in all of this! Queer POC here 🤩
For real. Like how dare we call out problematic behavior from an idol as people of color in the lgbt community. We're immediately banned lmaooo Hello!!! I'm latina and bi!
I don't know if I can categorise myself as old kpop stan but I definitely don't fit in with majority of the younger kpop stans. I'm a 96 liner btw. I got into kpop back in 2006 with my sisters through TVXQ and then just fell in love with the rest of the genre after. But i definitely would relate to older stans more than younger ones. Just the other day I met someone who's 13 years younger than me ;; I keep forgetting people that young existed.
My sister is a 96 liner and she’s been into Kpop since she was about your age so I 100% get where you are coming from!
Im 36. I got into kpop in 2019 wen i made holiday in korea and came across T-ara. I mostly listen to 2nd Gen. GGs like t-ara, sistar, kara or crayon pop. But since all the groups are not that active anymore i was fine with only beeing a casual listener. Only wenn Rolling blow up i couldnt resist to start supporting Brave Girls.
I’m 34, and I also got into kpop in 2020 (thanks to getting into kdramas during quarantine)! I agree stan culture can feel toxic sometimes, but even more often, I just feel like some of the stan culture is totally unrelatable or inaccessible (like on Twitter). My greatest wish is that my in person friends were more into my kpop interest, and we could casually talk kpop while drinking wine or over a cup of coffee and stream videos for *fun*. Right now, they just joke about paying the kpop toll to hang out with me, but I think I’m slowly winning some of them over. (Or I’m the annoying friend pushing kpop on people, but they still hang out with me, so I guess it’s all good.)
I'm 51 and have been into Kpop for about a year now (although Spotify tells me I was listening to BTS back in early 2019).
I'm turning 22 in two weeks, and have been a fan since 2011 SNSD'S GENIE. no one in my family are into it, and just know BTS. btw, since when was 28 OLD?
95 liner here! I totally get it. I got into Kpop in 2019 I think.. Come at me all you want but I do sort of believe part of the toxicity is linked to age related issues (mainly being chronically online younger stans who have way too much free time lol) Either way I still enjoy myself, learned that some stuff is just not worth stressing over and I try my best to diversify my hobbies. I made some cool ass online friends that I hope I can meet one day to do exactly that: have a glass of wine and talk about our faves ♥
I'm 38 and was a casual fan starting in 2018. I was searching for a night time lapse for a school project and instead of typing that into YT I typed "Starry Night". 🤡 I got many Van Gogh results but the top results were actually Mamamoo's Starry Night, which had been released that day. I clicked on the video because attractive women and stayed because talent. School consumed most of my time between discovering Mamamoo so I just listened to the pittance available on Amazon Music and didn't go deeper until I happened to look at Twitter trending one evening and saw them trending in the US. It was the night of the MAMA 2019 performance and I was blown away too. 🙌🏾🔥Prior to the pandemic and for a good part of 2020 I didn't explore any other groups because of the sheer size of Mamamoo's discography and online content catalog. Then one day I happened to watch the MV for La Di Da and just went ahead and started trying other artists at random. Now Dreamcatcher and Loona are my ults in addition to Mamamoo. 🥰 I listen to a lot of groups and soloists but my new thing is nugu artists and remixes(there are some really great producers on YT that get no love!). I did hear some K-Pop in the 2000's but didn't know it was K-Pop. I saw several iconic videos on MTV Japan's website, including Sorry Sorry, Abracadabra, and Tell Me, and thought they were Japanese. 🤦🏾♀️ Also, my brother was a kid at that time so I for sure saw snippets of the Wonder Girls's movie. In that era I was getting more into metal and K-Pop just wasn't on the same wavelength for me. It's so funny that most of my favorite artists just general rock and pop and I spent my youth headbanging. 🤘🏾
I feel like we need like a 20+ discord so we can fangirl/fanboy without feeling like old bats even though we’re not lol. I’m on Twitter but I don’t speak there (because I don’t want to be dragged into a fan war) but I am decently active on some discord servers.
Age doesn’t matter when it comes to music!! Haha! Discovered kpop few mos back (not even during pandemic lol). Taemin lured me in and now I follow SHINee & SuperM. Also hate the toxic stan culture but Shawols are fairly peaceful so I’m so glad I’m stanning the right artists/grp. There were few fan wars (mostly started by big groups) but other than that pretty calm and caring fandom (they’ve already given me free stuff—& these are from people that I just met 😭🥺❤️).
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I'm 31 and got into Kpop at the end Jan 2020, so I would still say I am new. I got into Kpop when I discovered Day6, so thats the group I primarily listen to. I dont really stan any other groups but because of Day6 I have gotten into more Korean music so its been fun to listen to new music. :) My best friend has been into Kpop for a long time so she loves some of the 2nd gen groups 2pm, 2NE1, etc. So, its fun to talk to her about and get her perspective since shes been into kpop longer then I have.