‘You need to listen to this,” said my friend Helen over her birthday lunch in 2018. “Have you ever heard of K-pop?” I hadn’t – I didn’t know it was short for Korean pop music, or about K-pop “idols” (stars). She played me songs by the South Korean boyband SHINee and I was instantly captivated. It reminded me of the pop music I loved in the 00s, when I was growing up: the bombastic music videos, the repetitive electro-pop hooks, the bands where each member has a distinct role, like a family. It was pure escapism.
Gradually, I started listening to more and more K-pop, until I took the plunge and did something I’d previously dismissed as “cringe”. With my twin sister, Hannah, I went to a K-pop-themed “cafe event” at the Gaza cafe in Soho, London. The get-together marked the birthdays of three members of the boyband GOT7. Their music videos played on TV screens and their album sleeves were displayed on the stairwell walls. Mounds of bingsoo – a Korean shaved-ice dessert – were served.
