These past few months my obsession for kpop group Infinite has skyrocketed more so than anything else, so much that majority of the Infinite songs I downloaded starting in late December have been played two, three, even four times as often as songs I had downloaded in September 2010. I have been so obsessed that I even watched the Google+ Album Release Press Event Hangout on Air at 8PM and the Google+ Hangout with Fans at 5AM despite having a final at 8:30AM. But it wasn't until the Google+ After Party with Fans Hangout that I had another revelation...
For those unfamiliar with Infinite's schedule, they finally made their comeback on March 21st (yesterday in KST) after 10 months of individual activities. Infinite first aired the press conference of the highly anticipated song, Man in Love, and corresponding mini album, New Challenge at 12PM KST. At 9PM KST, Infinite had a more personal video chatting session with 7 lucky Inspirits, one from each Inspirit community and I think two from the Korea community.
The chosen fans ranged from the quiet, cheering-from-the-sidelines type to full out Korean wannabe fangirl. Please note that I'm not bashing any degree of fangirling, but rather simply making observations.
I have always been more on the shy, self conscious side so I hadn't considered myself as a fangirl who threw herself out there. But then I started wanting to learn Korean, and immerse myself in their culture. I realized from my previous 'The Awakening of a Korean Wannabe' post that I'm not a Korean wannabe, but watching this Hangout confirmed it for me. Several fans were Caucasian and clearly were learning Korean. They understood Sung Kyu's questions when he spoke in Korean and they actually responded back in Korean! I was astounded at how dedicated they were and how they were actually able to communicate effectively. Another girl spoke in English but was very bold, always asking questions directly to specific Infinite members and even giving Hoya her heart. These fangirls had a much further degree of obsession than me, heading toward being a Korean wannabe if they're not already there. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong about learning and loving another culture, and being a "wannabe," I just don't want to go that far and shun away my own culture. I'm simply impressed at these devoted fangirls and how they're dedicated, bold and not afraid to show off their devotion and I know I'll never be like that. I'll simply admire my idols from afar.
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