This is me, with fandom: Ignorance is Bliss

As a korean pop fan in a country where citizens understand nothing to zero Korean except for the most common conversational phrases, I get weird looks, sometimes verging on judgmental, for liking a musical genre that is not accepted by the norms of the society I belong live in. They think I'm outlandish for listening to what they wittily like to call as "ching-chong music" and I've been asked too many times the question, "Why do you listen to kpop when you can't even understand the lyrics?" and I dread those moments because I can't just explain it all in a single sitting for they will always fail to understand my point.

But right now, I will try to redeem myself.

Primarily, I can just simply say that unless you're living under a rock, there is such a thing called as the Internet where you can search up your favorite song's English lyrics and then contemplate on the Korean metaphors that you inevitably cannot understand most of the time. Or I can also say the cliche "music is a universal language and that even though I can't understand the lyrics, I can understand the music" and all that shit (although there's a point here). But no, there's more to it than not just understanding the lyrics and letting the music speak to you and touch you instead. There is such a thing called as ignorance and another thing called as ignorance is bliss.

Usually, when I listen to Korean songs, I don't focus on the lyrics because of course I can't understand most of them. Even if I'm a seasoned listener of 5 years (and counting), I can only catch familiar words and phrases but those are still not enough to make me fully understand the true essence of the song. But then...so what? I don't listen to Korean music for the lyrics, I listen to Korean music for the music. If I want to contemplate on lyrics and get all emotional over them, I turn to music with lyrics I can understand on a deeper level. It's so simple really. I listen to Korean music because it brings about emotions of nostalgia, love and that familiar swell in your heart each time you hear the voice of your bias singing.

And anyways, I only search up the English lyrics of a song if I already know beforehand that it's well-written since most Korean songs tend to deduce the quality or the role of their lyrics to cater to an international audience and instead, focus on the beats and the rhythm.

Bottom-line is I listen to Korean music to relax and since I don't know whether the lyrics are nice or not, I can't/don't care. Sometimes with American music, senseless, disturbing, and degrading lyrics can ruin the experience and can get in the way of enjoying the musical quality of the songs.

And let's not forget the fact that I love how Korean syllables fit into the most tender parts of ballads. I've grown an affinity to the way Korean songs are sung and the way the words roll in a song. It's weird and I don't think I can explain it well any further.

I hope you get my drift but if you don't, that's okay. I stopped making sense a long time ago.

Next on the list: Songs by Korean artists with meaningful lyrics