One Year in the K-Pop Fandom with KARA!!

The Girls that started it all for me: KARA!

It was exactly one year ago this week that my love of the K-pop genre went from a passing interest (where I primarily liked the Japanese versions of songs released) into a full blown mania, and, looking back,  I can trace it all back to the power and all around awesomeness of DSP Media Girl Group KARA! 

As I’ve recounted many times before, I’d already heard and liked the Japanese versions of songs from KARA like Jumping, (as well as Mr. Taxi and Genie from SNSD) since I was primarily into J-Pop, but it was my first glimpse of their stunning MV for “Mister” that captivated my attention and piqued my interest into examining things further- The song was catchy, the girls were insanely pretty, and the dance moves were simply hypnotic!!!

That Mesmerizing PV for MISTER

Wanting to explore things further, I managed to acquire their first Japanese album GIRL’S TALK (through a K-pop and J-pop forum) and my world was completely rocked! Listening to this album, I was SO blown away by the happy, catchy pop-perfect tunes that I remember walking around listening to the album over and over again! I went back to the forum and began grabbing everything I could find of their and began locating all the live performances and videos featuring the girls in a frenzy! Over the weekend, I immersed myself in their goodness, just being impressed and blown away by every aspect of their output- from the catchy songs, witty variety show banter, and beautiful, beautiful looks, by the time the weekend was over, I knew I had turned a K-pop corner forever when I realized KARA had become my favorite group!!!

My Very First K-Pop Purchases! Girls Talk was on its way...

Making my first K-pop purchase was intimidating and I knew once I made it there was no going back- but MAN, I just HAD to have these KARA albums! Girls Talk, Super Girl, STEP, Pretty Girl, Honey, First Blooming, Revolution, they were too GOOD and I just had to have them ALL! And MAN, I remember when those babies came in, running my hands lovingly over the beautiful, unusual, oversized packaging, flipping through the glossy photo booklets and blasting out the CDs over my stereo, realizing I had officially become a K-POP FAN!

KARA on Star Golden Bell

And it didn’t stop there- through my love of KARA, I was to slowly get into every other aspect of the Korean  Entertainment scene- It was because of KARA’s appearances on Star Golden Bell and Come To Play that I fell in love with the SNSD girls, additionally, it was through a KARA forum that I saw my first SNSD video “Echo”, and though it was sort of low-budget vid, that song and video to this day is a HUGE sentimental favorite!
  It was because I saw KARA as the guests that I downloaded my very first RUNNING MAN show, and as you all know well, that show has gone on to become the guiding light of my Korean Entertainment weekly fix, introducing me to UNCOUNTABLE other Korean celebs and artists! It was because of KARA that I began watching INVINCIBLE YOUTH2, where I would get introduced to members of Rainbow, FX, and SISTAR…When you combine that show with Running Man, you can see why I was so instantly overwhelmed with PASSION for this whole new K-pop world!

SeungYeon and an exhausted Jaesuk on Running Man

Gyuri and  Lee KwangSoo

Seeing my interest exploding, my K-pop friends began introducing me to all the other treasures out there- T-ara, Rainbow, Brown Eyed Girls, Afterschool, etc, and to this day my interest is still expanding out further! 2NE1, Secret, 4Minute, SISTAR, FX, I would find more and MORE K-pop groups to love and obsess over!  And though Girls Generation would eventually go on to become my all-time favorite K-Pop artists, KARA is still up there in my Top Five faves, and whenever I get out the Girls Talk album, the strains of it’s pop perfect tunes just takes me back, and I’m immediately inundated with the feeling of wonderment I had when K-pop was this new and exciting thing!

"It's All Too Much!" Laughing SeungYeon

PS: Funny thing about the KARA Girl’s Talk album is that though it technically could be considered a J-POP album since it’s all their songs sung in Japanese, I like to think of it as a mix of J-pop and K-pop that was (and is) just PERFECT for easing a J-pop fan into the new world of K-pop. It’s still my most beloved KARA album to this day! The whisper that started a BANG! More on Girls Talk and KARA Below!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com