Llama. 496 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 So I was at work yesterday, and was talking to one of my co-workers. We came onto the topic of music, and I was rhyming off music i like, which is mostly rock and punk post-hardcore stuff, and I mentioned I also really enjoy Japanese rock and Korean Pop music. She gave me the most blank stare I have ever received and said "But you're white". and I'm just like I am!? I never noticed. Anywho, I was like 'umm yes.....' and she goes "well how do you understand it? isn't kpop for like korean teenage girls." so I give her the look. So i continue to tell her that in fact when It comes to j-rock I do understand some of it as I am learning japanese. and as for kpop, i look up the lyrics to know what the song is about, if it's catchy af why does that mean I can't enjoy it? and then she stars a little chuckle, and is like. 'But why don't you just listen to english music? not asian music. you know that you can actually understand' at that point i just Anyways thought I'd share that story and get some opinions from both Korean speakers and non korean speakers. Korean's, do you think it's strange that people listen to music they don't understand? English speakers, what would have you done in this situation. Have you ever had a confrontation like this over someone finding out you enjoy kpop or any other foreign language music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janiedee 4,766 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I mean I listen to Sigur Ros and their lyrics are literal nonsense. At that point I consider vocals as a percussive instrument Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyLyte 177 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Of course it's not weird to listen to songs that you don't understand. Music has no language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riy911 89 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 but she didn't say kpop was only for koreans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belle. 3,407 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Nnnnnnn She doesn't know that kpop concerts could be bigger than any other concert ww Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dovah Bitch 1,152 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I consider vocals as a percussive instrument Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acute 965 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 i don't know why people torture themselves by listening to only a limited amount of songs just because of the language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuhaMe 5,391 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 "But you're white" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Substation 1,388 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Millions of people who don't understand English well listen to English music... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromiscuousBunny 3,686 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Music knows no boundaries. You're co-worker seems very narrowminded. By that logic, no one other than English speaking countries should be listening English music, but that isn't case at all, and no one seems to think twice about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirurun 2,019 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 that's silly music is international and shouldn't be exclusive to one race/one nationality or to people who speak that language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama. 496 Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 "But you're white" I know literally me. And I'm glad to see we all share the same views. I thought this conversation was one of the dumbest one's I've ever had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lufffy 434 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 The whole World is listening to American Pop Music yet so many don't understand English. But they enjoy what they are listening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocumentaLy 6,033 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I haven't had a conversation like that in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha 209 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I'd tell her to be more open-minded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riveneve 106 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 As a Korean, I can assure you that it's not strange at all. American music gets played all the time on the radios over there, and nobody cares about the language difference. I'd say your coworker is very close-minded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hi im ken 159 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I thought this conversation was one of the dumbest one's I've ever had. Not at all. If anything, the dumbest conversation you've ever had was brought up by your co-worker. I'm sure there are a lot of people who listen to metalcore-screamo songs like old the BMTH and don't understand shit. It's basically the same principle. As someone else mentioned; music has no language. In fact, music itself is a language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
양 지 10,015 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 honestly music is so diverse all around the world. like even with how much inspiration kpop takes from jpop and american music, there is always that distinct kpop feel to it. same with jpop and all other entertainment industries. by not allowing yourself to explore, your basically making way for ignorance. plus as a kpop fan, I've learned so many weird and interesting stuff over the years (how music chart system works, not just in korea but billboard/oricon too. different foods, not just korean but thai and japanese too because of intl members. exposure to the chinese entertainment scene and their mechanics. learned about sampling and producer rights and chart manipulation. experienced different view points on topics like immigration, china's land policies, colorism/racism and ignorance. I've also learnt about the history of Korea and the creation of hangul (which actually helped me get two extra points in my history final lmao). also learnt about child labor laws, nationalism in comparison to the US and the laws that (dis/)allow entertainment companies from abusing their artists. also I learnt more about ww2 and the affects of japanese colonization (and comfort women esp) among other things). not everybody needs to like kpop but they shouldn't disregard music just because of the language and the many learning experiences that may come along with it ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aneira3019 1,017 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 People in other countries listen to American and UK music so why can't we listen to music from other countries? Apparently because we already have English music, but so what! It's quite obvious that South Korea has many amazing artists and groups but they still listen to some American music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NINI 16,268 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Well, I've always listened to English music, even when I was a little kid and English was a mystery to me, so... No, it is definitely not weird :") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakurahanabira 6,633 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 as incredibly ignorant as her statement is, how does and she goes "well how do you understand it? isn't kpop for like asian teenage girls."translate to "Kpop is only for Koreans"? your co-worker said "Asian teenage girls," not "Korean teenage girls." Koreans aren't the only Asian so I'm not sure how you interpreted Asian to just mean Koreans. anyway you should ask your co-worker why some people like listening to opera or classical vocal music in German, Italian, French, or Latin if they're not native speakers of those languages/speak those languages fluently and don't understand what's being sung. besides if people from non-English speaking countries can enjoy American or Western music why can't people from English speaking countries enjoy foreign language music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limima 110 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Is it the first time she's ever heard of it or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicent 343 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Sad that so many people are missing on awesome music just because of language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
________________ 1,779 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Music knows no boundaries. You're co-worker seems very narrowminded. By that logic, no one other than English speaking countries should be listening English music, but that isn't case at all, and no one seems to think twice about that. English is also the global language and is a symbol of status and education. I don't think you can compare the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama. 496 Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 as incredibly ignorant as her statement is, how does translate to "Kpop is only for Koreans"? I'm sorry that was my error when I was typing. I was really frustrated over the whole thing. She said Korean. i edited the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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