Vancouver K-pop fans find community through dedicated fan spaces

Like many 2020 high school graduates, Karina Kuzmiszyn missed out on her graduation and prom. She says she sought out something positive during that time of uncertainty and became "absorbed into" K-pop, or Korean popular music.

Social media drew Kuzmiszyn in. The TikTok algorithm did its job, and soon, she was hooked onwatching videos of K-pop artists dancing.

Kuzmiszyn is just one of many fans making connections with other British Columbians in a growing K-pop community.

Despite K-pop's popularity, Kuzmiszyn didn't talk about her interests much at the time.

"I was really private about how I liked K-pop because I felt a little ashamed of it," she said, drawing on her own experiences of peers looking down on the hobby.

LISTEN | HowKarina Kuzmiszyn has made connectionsthrough K-pop:

On The Coast10:08K-pop event planner talks about community bonding through fan-led events

Karina Kuzmiszyn, vice president of events at Simon Fraser University's K.Storm, and member of fan organization skzmprojects, talks about connections she's made through planning events for the local K-Pop community.

History

Judy Yae Young Kim, a K-pop fan pursuing her master's in communications at Simon Fraser University, describes K-pop as not just "Korean popular music" but as a style of performance. It doubles as a visual medium that also incorporates choreography and K-pop stars' clean-cut images.

Kim, who immigrated to Canada two decades ago, said many Asians relate to the music through a shared cultural identity, while many non-Asian fans feel drawn towards the "hybridity of K-pop."

"How K-pop tends to mix Western genres with Korean genres can really play a big role in how people find it familiar or find it interesting," she said.

K-pop has featured this mesh of genres since its modern iteration started in the 1990s. Since then, K-pop has evolved through what Kim refers to as "generations," distinct eras of styles and trends. The second generation, a period between the early 2000s and the early 2010s, saw K-pop gain popularity internationally.

The melting pot of a musical genre has found an audience here in Vancouver.

In 2019, 2022, and 2023, seven to eight K-pop soloists and idol groups performed each year. Three K-pop idol groupsperformed in Vancouver during the first half of 2024.

Though the concert numbers remain steady, the number of physical and virtual B.C.-based K-pop stores grew from three in 2019 to nine in 2024. Seven brick-and-mortar locationsowned by three companies selling K-pop-related merchandise are scattered across Metro Vancouver. This increased physical presence implies thatbusiness owners view K-pop fans as a growing consumer base.

WATCH | The explosion of K-pop in the last 10 years:

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Judy Yae Young Kim, a Simon Fraser University master's student, breaks down the Korean music genre and how flamboyant performances and marketing helped it explode across the world.

The aspiring "K-pop scholar in progress" also said that social media, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped K-pop gain more global attention.

"[People] had to stay on the internet," said Kim. "And they were able to explore outside what they usually see."

Perceived scrutiny

Now, Kuzmiszyn channels her passion for the music into her involvement at Simon Fraser University's Korean culture club, which became a place where her interest evolved into an opportunity to make new friends, gain new skillsand create a sense of community. It also helped Kuzmiszyn break away from the perceived scrutiny from being a non-Korean fan of the genre.

She said some former friends, who were Korean K-pop fans, worried that she would fetishize Koreans.

"I had a group of friends, and once I started liking K-pop, they dropped me," she said.

This led to anxieties about being open with her passion. Kuzmisyn said that perceptions of non-Korean K-pop fans from Koreans vary from feeling appreciative towards others' interest to saying, "If you're not Korean, you shouldn't like K-pop.'"

'Safe space'

When Anushka Srivastava, 26, opened her K-pop-themed business last fall, she wanted it to serve as a space for fans to unapologetically express their love for K-pop. Srivastava owns Butterfly Tea & Dessert, a K-pop-themed caf in Vancouver.

She sees her caf as a "safe space." "I want fans to be comfortable," she said, noting that there aren't many physical spaces dedicated to K-pop in Vancouver.

Srivastava originally wanted to open a book-themed caf, but the COVID-19 pandemic postponed those plans. This sudden free time helped rekindle her interest in K-pop, which she had once had as a teen in 2014. It was then she said that she decided to open a K-pop caf instead.

"There's almost, like, an endless amount of K-pop content that it only made sense that I pursued a hobby that I related to way more at that time with a caf."

Other than its interior decked out with pictures of K-pop idols and themed items, Butterfly Tea & Dessert hosts events to celebrate K-pop stars' birthdays and album releases. They choose the theme based on a "You vote. We host" basis, where fans submit their suggestions on social media. For every event hosted for a new music release, 70 cents to a dollar from each bubble tea purchase goes towards a digital purchase of the artist's single.

Srivastava encourages customers to view their time in her caf as a comfortable fan space. Fans don't just drink bubble tea; they also watch music videos and play games like "Guess the lyrics."

"It's never, like, you get your drink, you shop a bit, and then you leave," she said. "There's always some activity in the store."

The business doesn't just provide connections for fellow fans like Srivastava; it's also a family bonding experience. The caf is a family ventureowned by Srivastava and her parents, Deepa and Anil. Though Srivastava's parents aren't K-pop fans, they wholly support her interest.

"They're so cute about it, too," she said. Since the caf hosts events for all sorts of K-pop groups, they eagerly educate themselves about groups they may not be familiar with.

"They're 100 per cent committed to the cause," she said. "They're very happy to be doing this with me."