During the How To K-pop With The Next Generation panel in 2018, we talked to parents of k-pop fans who didn’t know about it. The panel gave parents a chance to ask questions they might have had about k-pop without getting that frustrated feeling they might get when trying to learn from their children.

This year, however, things were a bit different. The Kpop Konverters and I were within the first few minutes of the panel when we realized that the people in the room in the room were all k-pop fans. Since it didn’t make sense to teach what they already knew, we asked what they wanted to talk about for the next hour. To hear “…how do we positively interact with newer k-pop fans?” was shocking.

You could have knocked me over with a feather. I had no idea this was an issue. You have to understand why I was clueless. I have been a fan going on 10 years now. In all that time, I’ve developed a personal taste and I like who I like. I can listen to new groups but I’m perfectly happy to listen to the same songs from the 2nd generation of k-pop that got me into it. There seems to be a lot of hate and anger that has been happening and I’ve been unaware.

Granted, it’s not every new k-pop fan but apparently it’s getting to be wild in these k-pop streets (lol). Check out the video of the panel below (thanks to The K-pop Konverters for posting this on their Youtube channel).

Hopefully next year we can have this discussion again. All our notes and powerpoint was based on parents not knowing what k-pop was so we all felt inadequate. The conversation was overall positive and I liked that we were discussing something that was concerning so many people.  I know we won’t be able to solve all problems in 60 minutes. Hopefully, we can give some ideas on how to coexist in fandoms positively.

Let me know what you think about the panel!