RACHEL
Hi, my name is Rachel Eunjung Shim and this is my last year, majoring in Theatre production and design. K-pop has always been my favorite style of music. Covering K-pop dances and hearing news about my favorite idols through media helps me stay optimistic. Although I’ve admired a variety of different K-pop idols before, BTS has always been my “ultimate bias” group. The way they write meaningful and hopeful lyrics never fails to amaze me and so, in a way, their songs are therapeutic every time I listen to them. Hopefully, ASIA 327 will teach me more about K-pop history and provide me with a more profound knowledge about my loveable culture! You are more than welcome to check out my dance group on Instagram: @s2let_official.
SHANNON
Hey! My name is Shannon and I am currently in second year majoring in Psychology. My first exposure to K-pop was from Hyuna’s solo work back in 2011. After being introduced to the diverse styles of music that K-pop has to offer, I have become more invested in K-pop and the Korean culture that is promoted alongside. As I used to dance quite a bit, I was also very interested in the choreography that K-pop had to offer. Although I have not immersed myself into K-dramas yet, I hope I will give myself sometime to do so soon, since I enjoy their OSTs so much!
– Favorite girl group: Apink
– Favorite boy group: BtoB
– Best song 2018: Zico – “SoulMate” Ft. IU
AMY
Hello, my name is Amy. I’m a 3rd-year exchange student and this is my second aka last term at UBC. The first time I listened to K-pop was 10 years ago although I can’t exactly remember which song. But it was not until 2015 that I became fully in love with K-pop and listen to it every single day. K-pop, along with K-drama, not only bring me a great source of entertainment, but also make me cultivate a huge interest in Korean culture and language. That simply explain why I am more than excited to take this course. Here is my bio related to K-pop that I’d love to share:
– My most favorite girl group: SNSD
– My most favorite boy group: BTS
– Best song 2018: BTS – “Fake Love”
– Underrated song 2018: BTS – “Trivia 承: Love”
FRANSIS
Hello! My name is Francis and I am currently majoring in international relations along with a minor in commerce. In my free time, I work as a freelance and independent photographer and filmmaker. The world of K-Pop was introduced to me in 2009 with Super Junior. My music taste for the next few years centered heavily around K-Pop and even went on to even influence my artistic work. Wanting to expand my horizons and understand more about the Korean culture, history, and language, I’ve enrolled in the ASIA 327 class at UBC to fulfill this curiosity.
ZOE
Hi there! My name is Zoe and I’m a 2nd year Theatre Production and Design student with a minor in Asian Culture and Language studies. I was first introduced to Kpop and Korean culture through a fantastic group known as 2PM in 2012. Ever since then, Kpop music has been a big part of my life as well as a healing method for me even till this day. I’ve gotten to know and support a lot of K-pop groups as well as K-drama and movies. It eventually helped me in my interest for Korean language, history as well as its culture. Hope you enjoy our website!
DIEGO
Hello, my name is Diego and I am a 3rd-year Psychology major. My friend showed me “Haru Haru” by Big Bang back in 2009, and from there I found other great artists like SHINee, Girl’s Generation, 2NE1, DBSK, and so forth. Nowadays, I’m more into KRnB and KHip-Hop artists like Zion.T, Jay Park, Dean, Penomeco and Rheehab. I’m also a part of two K-pop dance teams, UBC K-Wave and Black Core, and have been in other covers with other Vancouver-based K-pop dance teams like Yours Truly, Leg4cy, and K-City. Listening to Korean music over the years and recently doing dance covers has given me an appreciation for Korea and Korean culture, and I hope to learn more throughout this year in ASIA 327.
My favourite song
My favourite dance cover (I’m in the back-left lol)
My most recent cover
My favourite K-Drama
LUCIA
My name is Lucia. I’m a 1st-year student at UBC. The first time I listened to K-pop was 6 years ago and I fell in love with the culture and the sense of community immediately. The first group that got me immersed in the scene was Big Bang. Their vibe and energy was something that I have never seen on the North American music market. I am super thankful for the friend that introduced me to K-pop because it not only opened up a new genre of music for me but also educated me to become a global citizen and have the ambition to explore different cultures. Since falling in love with K-pop I have been to Korea four times and I have adapted my entire skincare routine to Korean skincare, taught myself to understand a little Korean and cook amazing Korean cuisine.
Block B 