8 CHAPTER 8: South Korea

After the talk with my family on entering the kpop industry, my mother called my grandparents to entrust me on them on my stay in South Korea. South Korea is a place where idols are born in my memory from 2020. It is the place where many kpop groups gather and compete to be the best and perform in a worldwide stage.

It was my first time coming to South Korea so I am quite nervous and fearful of the unknown. Yet I am also excited since this will be the start of my dreams coming true.

K-pop is still on the growing worldwide phase currently in 2012. It is still growing each day not just in South Korea but in Asia. Overall, at this time of the year, around Asia, kpop is explosive. Furthermore, at this time K-pop Entertainment companies are reporting all-time high profits so they keep developing them since kpop groups are on the road of getting global exposure.

It was with the help of various Korean artists and kpop idols that the kpop industry became famous. It accumulated from the debut and development of kpop with the start of Seo Taiji as he and his group formed a new genre or style of music that is different from ballad etc., after they disappeared from the media's eyes, the big 3 of South Korea's entertainment agency or company(SM, JYP, YG) was formed with competitions with each other as they form various girl groups, boy bands and mix groups. And with songs like nobody by wonder girls which became a sensation, then kpop groups and idols like 2NE1, Girls Generation, TOP, GD, Infinite, Miss A, IU, Super Junior and many others. Kpop idols became the focus in fashion and trend that people follows. There was also the influence of Korean dramas that were loved worldwide that made South Korea a place where the entertainment industry is flourishing. It was when Gangnam style of PSY became a worldwide sensation that the world begun to notice that there was a place called South Korea.

With the next years and so on, kpop would enter the world's eyes on the year 2012 to 2020, group like EXO that aimed global expansion became popular in Asia like Korea, China, Japan, Thailand. It also followed by many other kpop groups like 2NE1, Blackpink that became famous for its most views in YouTube, Twice, Momoland, Red velvet, ASTRO, Seventeen, GOT7, NCT, MonstaX and many others. But it was not until BTS performed on SNL which made them the first Korean musical performer on the show and also when they topped on Billboard awards 4 times in a row in United States that kpop industry truly became a worldwide phenomenon of Korean wave. They were featured on various magazines, news, win on various awards like billboards, AMA, performed on Grammy, etc. It also helped that their songs focuses on unspoken things on their lyrics like social issues, mental health, youth problems and loving yourself that differentiated them with other idols making them a huge success. It also helped that communication became easier with the help of internet that it was easy for kpop idols to communicate with their fans around the world. With the help of social media, kpop has become a truly global phenomenon thanks to its distinctive blend of addictive melodies, slick choreography and production values, and an endless parade of attractive South Korean performers who spend years in grueling studio systems learning to sing and dance in synchronized perfection.

Therefore, Korea's main asset still continues to be K-Pop as K-Pop Entertainment companies continue to find new talent. People all over the world want K-Pop more than ever.

K-pop is a blend of electronic, hip-hop, pop, rock, R&B, and even rap. And it is my time to contribute to the development of Kpop and become famous around the world with kpop not yet being ripe, develop my foundation and fanbase through constant practice, progress and exposure.

Eventhough Kpop is not yet known worldwide, it was only a matter of time before it is acknowledged. And as someone having part Korean blood like me, I will make my name known across many countries, be unique among many other artist, and help the kpop industry be accepted and acknowledged to the world. I will not use my widely known name Ellatrise this time as i am known as the only female heir of Lavendula Kingdom and the genius who graduated early with flying colors. I will start at the bottom in Korea with only my looks and talent to compete without the influence of my name and family to help me. Well, with the help of my elder brother's assistant, I successfully hid some details of my birth, family and education. And I will use my given name Czarinne and the stage name Z to achieve my dreams and meet future famous Korean idols as connections.

First thing to do when I settled in the house of grandma is to familiarize myself with my surroundings, go to famous tourist spots and go to various places to consolidate my researched knowledge about South Korea. I learned Korean language but I still need to apply it into practice so I traveled to different places, ask Koreans for directions and questions. Trying to ingrain my new learned language into a habit so that I will become like a native and not a foreigner in this country. I also tried all kind of foods, clothes and places. Foods like bulgogi, samgyeopsal, japchae, ddukbokki and many others; brands of clothes like Beyond Closet, Style Nanda, KIE, Hyein Seo, Lie, etc and places in South Korea like Busan, Gyeongju, Changdeokgung Palace, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok village, Lotte World amusement park, Bukhansan National Park, N Seoul Tower and many others I heard, seen a lot on the internet and other famous attractions in South Korea. I wish to throughly be able to know South Korea deeper and in due time, I won't look and act like a tourist. Surely, I will love this place and learn a lot by staying here through the years. And hopefully, there won't be accidents in my stay here. I'll keep my fingers crossed.