K-pop, short for Korean popular music, is a South Korean musical genre that has reverberated around the globe over the past two decades. BTS is the most famous K-pop band, and Jaimie Abraham '25 has seen them in person, in the U.S., three times. But for a truly immersive K-pop experience...
Jaimie's family is from India and she was exposed to Bollywood at a young age. Maybe that's why she was always drawn to international art and music, which she sought out frequently on Netflix and YouTube. It was on one of those endless YouTube scrolls in high school that Jaimie discovered K-pop.
"I don't understand what they're saying, but that's also true with Indian music or Spanish music. But I can read their body language and how they interact. There's a lot of components to music: the beat, the rhythm, the melody. There's a lot to enjoy without knowing the words."
Jaimie went all-in on BTS, which led to a fascination with Korean culture. Then, when the Albany Med student realized she had a path to study abroad for a semester, choosing the destination was easy.
As a biology student, Jaimie is unable to take courses toward her major abroad, but that's perfect – she's instead taking Korean culture and and Korean language courses at Korea University in Seoul. She also has time for a personal spring concert K-pop series. Jaimie has seen ENHYPEN, Seventeen, and CIX perform live, and she has more shows planned. Plus, the music is coming to her as well.
"Korea University has a big festival at the end of the spring. They bring in really big artists. The past two years, PSY (of Gangnam Style fame) has performed. It's kind of like our Sienafest."
Early April is also cherry blossom season in Seoul, and like K-pop music, it's even more spectacular in person, in Korea. A fascination with South Korean culture gripped Jaimie in high school, and she wasn't sure she'd ever get to touch it, or truly hear the music. But now...
"I couldn't even believe it was real until I landed. I was supposed to come here in the fall, but then I got injured and had to delay the experience. Finally getting to experience all of it... this is the place I really wanted to be."
