Korean Wave had entered my country, Indonesia, since year 2000. At that time, Indonesian were still not interested with Korean Pop or dramas. Not until 가을동화 [Ga Eul Dong Hwa] or Autumn in My Heart, or also widely known as Endless Love become a headline. People started to watch more Korean dramas, such as 겨울연가 [Gyeo Ul Yeon Ga] or Winter Sonata. If I'm about to list out the dramas, I could only list up the most popular ones, like Full House, 궁 [Goong] or Princess Hours, 대장금 [Dae Jang Geum] or Jewel in the Palace, 동이 [Dong Yi], and of course I should and must mention 꽃보다 남자 [Kkot Bo Da Nam Ja] or Boys Over Flowers which was the started of it all.
But when did Korean Wave started getting its well-deserved attention in this country?
Super Junior would be the first group mentioned if you ask 'Kpoppers' back then in mid 2000s, and even though there are so many groups known by now, Super Junior is still one of the popular one.
But I'm here talking about my Kpop life, so when did I started 'stanning' KPOP? I'll say, 2002 or so, and it wasn't cause by any Korean drama, in fact it was because a Taiwanese drama MVP 情人 [MVP Qíng Rén] or MVP Lover. The drama used some Korean song for its soundtrack, and that was the beginning. I started stanning BoA after I listened to No.1 and Waiting, and then Shinhwa for their Perfect Man and Shout, Fly to the Sky for their Sea of Love.
I got to know WAX after her songs 사랑하고 싶어 (I Want to Love) and 날 떠난 이유 (Reason Why I Left You) were used in At the Dolphin Bay drama. Also, Baby VOX, ever since I heard Coincidence.
That's how I became a Kpopper. The name 'Kpopper' itself is barely used now, usually people will call themselves as Korean Lovers.
I became a Cassiopeia (fan of 동방신기 [Dong Bang Shin Ki] or well known as TVXQ) in 2007, and that's when I started to learn about antis and about how toxic and dangerous they are. Then there were fan-wars between Cassiopeia and VIP (Bigbang fans). Even after Bigbang and TVXQ made a collaboration stage for SBS Gayo Daejeon, the fan-wars still happen here and there.
But the worst antis was Girls Generation's antis. The black ocean in 2008 was the worst and it should never happen to any performance.
And I was also a S♥NE (read: 소원 [So Won], means: Wish], that moment was really sad. I was mad.
Anyway.
There was this thing that we called as 'Gathering', it's an event where Kpoppers meet and shares our interest with each other, it was a thing until early 2010 before Korean Concerts started entering our country's venue. Of course, Rain was the first singer to held a concert in Indonesia, it was on 2009, but after 2010, there were a lot of concerts.
Not only concert, the thing we called 'antis' also started happening. They were already existed since 2000s, but back in that era, there were only antis of certain group, in this topic I meant antis of Kpopper. Ever since the Korean wave hit big in Indonesia, everything is Korean involved, even the towel in the market would be labeled as 'Korean towel'. I'm not surprised if people in general would feel irritated by that, even I felt irritated.
Back to my fangirling life. Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu decided to leave TVXQ in 2009, and I was sad, I chose to leave the fandom than to be torn inside being a Cassiopeia at that time. I've been to several Cassiopeia's gatherings, and I like being in that circle, but since JYJ is leaving, there was chaos.
I focused on Bigbang, 2NE1, and Girls Generation since then. But in 2011, I found the perfect fandom to join, and that is A+ (fan of MBLAQ), and all of it because I watched Sesame Player.
But my bias, Lee Joon, along with Thunder, left the group after their contract expired in 2014 (just two years after that unforgettable concert). That broke my heart, to the extent that I don't want to listen to Kpop anymore.
But in 2015, I finally find my last group I'll ever stan. EXO.
I know I was late like for 3 years long, but it's better than never.
I happen to stan EXO at the right time. EXO was there when I was alone, their songs kept my spirit when I was down, and when I was at the darkest side of my life, I have EXO to make me smile. This time, it's not just a fangirling thing, but I admire them as an adult. Some might say they grew up stanning EXO, but I am thankful that at least, in my life, I stan the right one.
I don't and won't regret stanning EXO whatever happen.