Kpop Struggle with Culture

Nowadays, all the things that could bring a child and her parents together, Kpop (Korean pop music) is the last thing on anyone’s mind. I admit, this may seem like a shallow genre of music grounded in popular culture, but Kpop has opened my eyes to a world I’d thought I’d never understand.

Having been born and raised in America, there have always been strong differences in the way that I think and the way my Korean-born parents think. The cultural differences always confused and irked me. I longed, however, to be able to relate to my parents and enjoy something with my whole family. Kpop, then, became my link to the Korean world and thus the key to my parents’ hearts.

My perspective of Kpop changed in my sophomore year when one day I was singing one of my favorite singers’ new releases. This singer, BoA, had remade a renowned Korean oldie- and it apparently used to be my mom’s favorite song. Imagine the surprise on my face when I heard my mom humming along. Delighted at this rare harmony with my mother, I avidly searched for other famous songs from the 70’s and 80’s to find that, hey, they weren’t so bad. My mother and I then proceeded to listen to these tracks; while she reminisced, I listened and marveled at the bonds that music can form so instantly. I had been so frustrated with the cultural barriers that had been so difficult to overcome between me and my parents, and yet just one song had battered them down.

After that instant, the connections that Kpop helped make between me and my parents became more and more numerous. My Korean improved so dramatically that my parents began to worry that I’d forget how to speak English; still, I could now converse freely with them. While discussing Psy’s “Oppa Gangam Style,” I learned that Gangnam is a rich, Beverly Hills-like neighborhood in Korea that Psy satirizes in his song. Such insights into Korean culture that Kpop has brought me have made me grateful to Kpop for opening the gates to my parents’ and my...