K-pop, between love and escape — Episode 29: Questioning idols’ political neutrality

I used to love the strangeness of K-pop. My mom and teachers despised it as music of disobedience and unfiliality. For many teens, the act of loving something strange and flawed is a habit of resistance.

Friends who loved rock and hip-hop tried to tell me that there is no music as compliant with the system as K-pop, hoping to set my mind straight. Yet I believed that the soggy love—fans in raincoat-like outfits even on days when it didn’t rain—was the true rebellion of adolescence.

In December 2024, when a misogyny-based regime threatened Korea’s democracy, the weapon to topple it was none other than the K-pop cheering lightstick. The hatred that the lightstick absorbed only made it a more powerful symbol for me.