[WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD]
Hello.
For those of you who are new to the topic of fanfiction and Kpop, this is a post dedicated to you.
First things first!
What is 'Fanfiction'?
Let's start off by breaking the word into two: 'Fan' and 'Fiction'
The word 'fan' here doesn't mean an electrical appliance that you use to cool yourself off when you feel hot, nor is it the manual one. The word 'fan' in 'fanfiction' means a person who has a strong interest or admiration for a particular activity/thing/person. In this case, Kpop- a strong interest in Korean Pop.
Now the word 'fiction' just literally means 'fiction'. 'Fiction' means writing that describes imaginary events and people/things.
Now put the words together and you getttttttttt
Fanfiction!
Fanfiction means fiction stories about the particular subject/interest that are written/typed for a fan's entertainment. Most fanfictions (almost every) are written to share amongst a fandom.
A 'fandom' is what you call a group of fans that share the same interest. For example, Person A is a fan of Sherlock, and Person B is also a fan of Sherlock. Put them and other Sherlock fans together and you get a Sherlock Fandom!
Fanfictions come in different genres. They literally can be about anything. Usually however, fanfictions are written because the fan has too much 'feels' while 'shipping' one character/person with another and therefore has to create a fictional story to express his/her 'feels'.
Are you confused?
Okay firstly... 'feels'.
'Feels' basically means a wave of emotions that cannot be explained.
'Ship' or 'Shipping' or 'To ship' someone or something with another someone or something means you want them to become a pair- whether it be romantically or platonic, you just 'ship' them together.
So now that you understand (I hope) the meaning of 'ship' and 'feels', let me repeat. Fanfictions are usually written because the fan has too much feels while shipping one character/person with another and therefore has to create a fictional story to express his/her feels. A fan that has too much feels for his/her ship also finds and reads fanfiction to indulge even more in their feels.
Now that you get a basic idea of what Fanfiction is, on to the next topic...
What is 'Kpop'?
The word 'Pop' here is a genre of music. The 'K' in 'Kpop' is 'Korean'. So basically 'Kpop' is Korean Pop. In the Kpop fandom... there are many fandoms. Groups or solo singers that are produced in Korea and have made their debut are Kpop stars- basically Kpop celebrities. To be specific, groups or solo singers that sing/perform 'K-rock', 'K-trot', 'K-Ballad' or 'K-anything' are also called Kpop stars.
Just because,
Personally, I have a lot of respect for these Korean idols because the road to stardom for them (although also for others in other parts of the world) is a really difficult journey.
Korea is known for plastic surgery and some people have the view that every Korean undergo plastic surgery. To be honest, I feel that people tend to not care about what lies beyond them taking surgery in the first place. I did a research paper on the beauty standards of South Korea and I found so much information. In short, the importance of looking good in Korea is very, very, very serious.
Back to the topic! Why did I mention plastic surgery when I was in the middle of talking about Kpop? It's because they're related to each other (ohohoho of course).
I had an English project one time where I had to teach the class. I could teach about anything I wanted to teach and since I like Kpop, I thought hard on what 'Kpop subject' I could teach the class. I decided to go with 'Trainees'.
All actors, singers, comedians, announcers, and other people in the media in South Korea were all trainees. Trainees are people that train to become singers, actors, and so on. In this post, I'll just focus on the trainees that train to become singers -Kpop stars- and what I say here is for MOST of the trainees but not entirely all.
To become a trainee, one has to either be scouted or audition for companies that create these stars. They usually range from the ages of 11 to 19. Those who are scouted are usually in the good looking side because looks (like most of South Korea) is one of the main criteria of becoming a trainee. Since looks are already very important in South Korea, people expect Kpop stars to have a high amount of that. Now because of that, if the people that audition to become trainees do not fit the criteria for looks even if they have the talent (with some exceptions), they would be rejected.
However, if they see potential in a person (for example he or she sings or dances good and doesn't really cut in looks for the company but they see potential for that person to improve their visual appearance), they would take them in.
What I mean by that is that companies tend to have this vision of : 'Oh she just needs to lose this amount of weight and maybe fix her nose and eyes, she'll be fine.'
That is why, even though thousands of people audition each week (there are weekly and yearly auditions) not a lot of people get accepted because it's rare for someone to have what these companies are looking for, and that is also the reason why many trainees were scouted.
When a person gets accepted, he or she will become a trainee, and will start training. They will train in singing, dancing, acting, broadcast etiquette, and other things despite what they auditioned for. For example, Person A auditioned by singing, but he has to train in the previous lessons stated. Because, Kpop stars are supposed to be able to do everything.
The training ranges, depending on their ability and what their company has in mind, from just a few months to years.
Trainees are not automatically put into groups (unless the company has already planned for them to debut as a solo singer). Therefore, they come daily to the company to train without a stable future. This means that they are not certain whether or not they would someday be able to debut. Trainees go through what is called a monthly evaluation. A monthly evaluation means that they are evaluated on what they are strongest in (ex. singing) every month and this will continue even after they debut.
This is an example of a monthly evaluation of a trainee:
Nowadays groups and solo singers keep on coming. More and more debut. Back in 2010, around 40 stars debuted but only around 20 managed to get their name out there. From 2011 to 2014, more than a hundred have debuted and more and more are still coming (ex. Wendy just debuted a few weeks ago in a group)- only around 20 are well known. The groups who aren't successful usually disband after their debut promotions end. The ones who are successful often come from the major companies like 'SM Entertainment' and 'YG Entertainment'. (another heads up, Wendy is from SM)
My point is: Don't underestimate Kpop.
Did I go too far ahaha? This is informational. Right? (I am sorry to the classmates who were present during my 'lesson' and have already heard everything I mentioned just now.)
Now that you know what Fanfiction and Kpop are, let me put them together once again.
Korea is known for plastic surgery and some people have the view that every Korean undergo plastic surgery. To be honest, I feel that people tend to not care about what lies beyond them taking surgery in the first place. I did a research paper on the beauty standards of South Korea and I found so much information. In short, the importance of looking good in Korea is very, very, very serious.
Back to the topic! Why did I mention plastic surgery when I was in the middle of talking about Kpop? It's because they're related to each other (ohohoho of course).
I had an English project one time where I had to teach the class. I could teach about anything I wanted to teach and since I like Kpop, I thought hard on what 'Kpop subject' I could teach the class. I decided to go with 'Trainees'.
All actors, singers, comedians, announcers, and other people in the media in South Korea were all trainees. Trainees are people that train to become singers, actors, and so on. In this post, I'll just focus on the trainees that train to become singers -Kpop stars- and what I say here is for MOST of the trainees but not entirely all.
To become a trainee, one has to either be scouted or audition for companies that create these stars. They usually range from the ages of 11 to 19. Those who are scouted are usually in the good looking side because looks (like most of South Korea) is one of the main criteria of becoming a trainee. Since looks are already very important in South Korea, people expect Kpop stars to have a high amount of that. Now because of that, if the people that audition to become trainees do not fit the criteria for looks even if they have the talent (with some exceptions), they would be rejected.
However, if they see potential in a person (for example he or she sings or dances good and doesn't really cut in looks for the company but they see potential for that person to improve their visual appearance), they would take them in.
What I mean by that is that companies tend to have this vision of : 'Oh she just needs to lose this amount of weight and maybe fix her nose and eyes, she'll be fine.'
That is why, even though thousands of people audition each week (there are weekly and yearly auditions) not a lot of people get accepted because it's rare for someone to have what these companies are looking for, and that is also the reason why many trainees were scouted.
When a person gets accepted, he or she will become a trainee, and will start training. They will train in singing, dancing, acting, broadcast etiquette, and other things despite what they auditioned for. For example, Person A auditioned by singing, but he has to train in the previous lessons stated. Because, Kpop stars are supposed to be able to do everything.
The training ranges, depending on their ability and what their company has in mind, from just a few months to years.
Trainees are not automatically put into groups (unless the company has already planned for them to debut as a solo singer). Therefore, they come daily to the company to train without a stable future. This means that they are not certain whether or not they would someday be able to debut. Trainees go through what is called a monthly evaluation. A monthly evaluation means that they are evaluated on what they are strongest in (ex. singing) every month and this will continue even after they debut.
This is an example of a monthly evaluation of a trainee:
(Wendy has already debuted; this was taken when she was still a trainee)
If what they performed is not up to standard, they would be kicked out. So, even if a person was accepted to be a trainee, if he or she does not perform up to their company's standard a month after or even if they have trained for 4 years, they would still have the possibility of getting kicked out and have their dreams crushed. This is why some trainees give up after a few years because they still have to study and need the assurance of a more stable future.
That is why most Kpop stars have undergone plastic surgery, be it minor like a double eyelid surgery, or major like nose jobs, either before or after becoming a trainee. And although some of them just agree to do it, think about it, maybe they're just forced by their desire of fulfilling their dreams.
My point is: Don't underestimate Kpop.
Now that you know what Fanfiction and Kpop are, let me put them together once again.
Kpop Fanfiction
Kpop fanfiction come in many genres (as stated before) and it also comes in different gender pairings. Girl and boy, boy and boy, girl and girl, girl/boy and OC(original character), or no pairing whatsoever. Most fanfictions are written in the normal girl and boy pairing, the boy and boy pairings come in second, the 'no pairing' third, while the girl and girl come in last. To be honest, the best fanfictions -in my opinion and not that I'm biased or anything- are that ones that have boy and boy pairings (and the 'no pairing').
Now that that is explained, here comes the last of my very long informational post.
Kpop Fanfiction trailers
I'm not entirely sure whether other fandoms have fanfiction trailers but Kpop Fanfictions tend to have them. Fanfiction trailers are basically trailers for the fanfictions, though usually made after the fanfiction is released. These trailers are made either by the authors themselves or the readers. The really good fanfictions tend to have a lot of trailers created by different fans.
Example of a girlxboy trailer:
(I have never read this.)
Example of a boyxboy trailer:
(THIS ON THE OTHER HAND <3)
Example of a girlxgirl trailer:
(I couldn't find a nice girlxgirl trailer so here is a girl trailer instead.)
Example of a 'no pairing' trailer:
(Never read this before.)
So that is all for the trailer examples. The best one was the boy and boy one and I am not being biased, really. Most of the Kpop fanfictions that I find good are of the boy and boy pairing. I have read fanficitons with all types of pairings but I found that the ones with boy and boy pairing have better quality plots and writings so I shall stick with that.
That is all for the 2nd post, see you on the third!
"I'm just a little different from the many people of the world, with different dreams. Different doesn't mean wrong, I don't want to be trapped in a typical border."
- Teen Top, Don't I
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