Travelling the world of K-Pop

It's easy to see that K-Pop has taken the world by storm.

With its catchy tunes, dazzling performances and passionate fanbase, global interest in K-pop – that is, pop music from South Korea – continues to soar.

And as its popularity climbs, more and more international K-pop fans are packing their bags and heading to South Korea for concerts, festivals and cultural experiences.

One such travelling K-Pop fan is our friend Tara Skopp, who has travelled to South Korea from Australia multiple times to be part of the fever.

We sat down with Tara to hear more about the world of travelling for K-pop.

‍‍Tell us about your life as a K-Pop super fan – or 'stan'. What’s the journey been like?‍

I feel like K-Pop has been such a big part of my life, but I only became a stan in 2017/2018, so in some people’s eyes, I am a baby stan! 

(For the reader: 'Stan' is the term to describe a highly dedicated fan who actively supports a K-Pop artist or group.)

I actually got into K-Pop by watching K-dramas on Netflix, in particular My ID is Gangnam Beauty. The main actor is Cha Eun Woo, who is a member of the group Astro. 

My friend Vanessa and I were trying to find more TV shows to watch him in, then found out he was a K-Pop Idol as well as an actor.

Basically, the rest is history [laughs].

Seriously though, from there, I didn’t necessarily start to listen to K-Pop; I was still very much in my emo/rap era, but I slowly started to find more interest in K-Pop – especially the groups that were superstars in so many people’s eyes at the time. 

After Eunwoo, Vanessa dragged me into a band called BTS, and this is where I would light-heartedly say my K-Pop obsession began.

It was intense, but it has brought me so much joy, which I find extremely hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t experienced the K-Pop world. 

At present, I still mainly listen to K-Pop, but I dip in-and-out of my old faithful rap and emo groups. It’s funny … most K-Pop fans I meet had very similar music tastes to me prior to finding the genre.

Which K-Pop stars or groups should we be watching right now?

At the moment, K-Pop really is slapping hard, with not only strong groups, but talented solo members as well.

Most group’s members are producers, song writers and choreographers, and are involved in so much of the album process. 

Once you dip your toe into certain groups, it’s crazy how talented these guys are, and also, they all started as trainees from like 12 years old. 

My ultimate groups as of today, and I find new ones all the time, are BTS (though they are currently going through South Korea’s compulsory military enlistment process), NCT 127, NCT DREAM, ATEEZ, SEVENTEEN, P1HARMONY, ASTRO, TXT, ENHYPHEN, RIIZE, STRAYKIDS, WAYV and Lucas. 

Other that are insanely talented include Oneus, Zerobaseone, The Boyz, CIX and BOYNEXTDOOR.

What do you love about the world of K-Pop?

It sounds corny for a 30-something-year-old to say, but Korean boy bands have got me through so many depressive moments over the last few years – even if they are just a distraction, or something to look forward to. It’s a crazy world being part of the K-Pop fandom. 

K-Pop is a wild phenomenon, where fan service is at a heightened level, so at times it does create a delusional relationship between an idol and their fans. 

There is lots of news coming out at the moment, especially in Korea, about the treatment of different Idols, and also their management companies, and it gives a glimpse of the dark side of the genre. 

But for me, it has given me the opportunity to travel probably more than I would have usually. In the last three years, I have gone to Korea, Japan, Manila and Jakarta for to see music, and it’s also allowed me to meet so many people online and in person, and create new relationships. 

I also think now after I have been to K-Pop concerts, when I see a non K-Pop group perform, it doesn’t hit the same. 

It’s the atmosphere and the fans’ love of not only the group and its members, but the music and the stage performances. They put in so much effort to every aspect of a show. 

I also find it so hard to explain the fascination to people who don’t understand the K-Pop world, because before K-Pop, I don’t think I ever would have travelled overseas just to see a band, and I don’t remember ever being this invested in music band before. 

Like I recently went and saw The Getaway Plan in a small pub in Sydney, and they are one of my favourite alternative rock groups whom I was obsessed with in my early twenties.

While it was so nostalgic and I had the best time, it just felt extremely different to what I now feel at K-Pop concerts.

‍How many K-Pop trips have you taken to South Korea? How do you organise these?

In the last three years, I have travelled to Seoul once a year for a K-Pop concert, (NCT DREAM twice, and NCT NATION – which was performances by NCT DREAM, NCT 127, WAYV and NCT U).

This year, I’ve also been to Japan twice to see NCT 127, and also last month to see a solo Japanese member from NCT 127 YUTA NAKAMOTO debut as a solo artist. I’ve been to Manila to see NCT DREAM, and to Jakarta to see K-Pop Idol Lucas!

Vanessa and I – who are bad influences on each other when it comes to seeing NCT overseas – are very last-minute planners, because usually K-Pop dates only get released a month or two before the actual concert, then tickets are only onsite a month in advance, so you really have to manifest and pre-book flights, believing you are going to get tickets; or cop the expensive last-minute flights . 

Our first ‘Hot Gyal Seoul Summer’ (each trip has a title and vibe) was in August 2022, and we flew to Seoul the next month for a NCT Dream concert.

In terms of planning, TikTok was our best friend in terms of finding K-Pop-related venues or popups, aesthetic cafes, photobooths, restaurants and bars K-Pop Idols have been to, or shopping experiences.

We just pinned them all on NAVAR maps before we left, so we didn’t have to plan too much – but also, it was a very last-minute trip. 

I do still need to and would love to go to Busan and Jeju Island, as on most of my trips I have stayed in different areas of Seoul and its usually for five to seven days, but I love it: the food, the nightlife, the people, the fashion… and I think being a K-Pop fan, and being where K-Pop started and is everywhere, definitely makes it more special.

Any particular K-Pop trips or memories that stand out for you?

‍I have loved every trip, but would have to say my first trip, because everything was so new, and we jammed in so many cafes, K-Pop adventures, places we had seen online, K-Pop stores , food places we had been wanting to try.

Even just being in Seoul was beyond anything I had imagined. The NCT DREAM concert was not our first K-Pop concert – we had been to one weekend K-Pop festival in Sydney a month beforehand, but being in the stadium with so many more K-Pop stans was so insane.

Everyone with their favourite member’s plush dolls, they had picket signs, and everyone’s curated outfits was everything. 

On our last day, we managed to go to a Korean BBQ restaurant BTS members used to frequent when they were trainees, and it happened to be one of the member’s birthdays, so they had a cake and we all sang Happy Birthday to him, which was so cute to end our first Seoul K-Pop trip. 

What are three things K-Pop lovers visiting South Korea shouldn’t miss?

‍Depending on what K-Pop groups you stan, I think always pinning the locations of where your favourite groups have filmed content or eaten is always iconic, as you can see their signatures on the entries or inside on the walls, and you’ll always be able to meet and find other K-Pop stans around, which is cute. 

There are also so many cafes that host K-Pop Idols' birthday events. If you happen to be in Seoul on a member’s birthdays, there are always photo cards, giveaways and so many photo opportunities.

Beyond that, K-Pop stores there stock so many albums and so much merchandise – and it’s so much cheaper than Australia

My go-to K-Pop stores are KTown4U in Dongdaemun and COEX, Bututturak in Myeongdong, I Doll Look (little outfits for your baby plush idol dolls) in Mapo-gu, Kwangya (SM Entertainment) in Seongsu,  Line Friends (BTS) in Hongdae and Withmuu in Myeongdong . 

Also, at Lotte Star Avenue, you can find certain idol’s handprints, which are popular to take photos with and compare your hand sizes [laughs].

On KSTAR road in Gangnam, you can see some of the K-Pop group bears too (BTS , Shiner, Super Junior, EXO). 

If you also lucky, which I haven’t been so far (there’s always the next trip!), you can also apply to be in the audience for a K-Pop music show, where groups who are promoting their new songs will perform onstage (Show! Music Core, M Countdown, Inkigayo and Show Champion).

Hero image 📸 Free Malaysia Today, Creative Commons