If you asked 18-year-old me what's on my playlist, it would mostly be songs composed by bearded men who like saxophone solos and The Diary of Anne Frank. If you also asked me about my opinions on K-pop, I would scoff and say something hyper-pretentious, like how manufacturing the music takes away the "music" of it.

Fast forward to my present-day playlist (or YouTube history) overflowing with K-pop. Clearly, something had happened recently.

My debut as a K-pop "stan" happened one night when my friend decided to show me some of her favourite EXO fancams. Before that night, I had begun to dip a toe into the K-pop world with some cheery girl group songs. But one particular Kai fancam marked my point of no return. I had to devour more.

It started mildly enough, with me looking at fancams and listening to the songs. Then came the infamous "crack" videos and I was a goner. Since then, my Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube feeds have all been filled to the brim with K-pop content.

Now that I have (almost) fully integrated into the K-pop world, I tried to understand why I was so against it in the first place.

One of the reasons could be that the Western media had my world in its grip for most of my life. I grew up with predominantly American/British shows, music and books, which made me look at Asian media through a Westernised lens. This made K-pop seem too campy and kitschy. From my perspective, the genre was closer to the overdramatic Bollywood songs rather than the cookie-cutter American music that I was habituated with. Even though songs from "the West" could be cheesy, too, I was kinder to them compared to K-pop.

Another reason for my unjustified hatred would simply be how everyone disliked K-pop, so I did, too. There really is no other way to explain it. On top of that, I had convinced myself that the only valid genres were either classic rock or anything that sounded remotely alternative.

Post-rock music made entirely of beeping combined with the sound of an old generator? Yes.

Pop music originating in Korea? No.

The general hatred towards pop music in general could be a contributing factor as well. People who were inclined to enjoy rock or alternative music generally expressed distaste towards pop music by calling it inauthentic, manufactured and soulless. Combine that with a distaste for Asian campiness and you have a super annoying music elitist on your hands.

As an adult, I can acknowledge how my thinking process was completely biased and unfair. Moreover, it made me disregard the hard work the idols and pop stars in general put into their craft. They have the immense pressure of being entertaining and charismatic in every single show.

Regardless, I am extremely glad that I grew out of being a hater. It feels like I unlocked a whole new world and found great music.

If you're still adamant about listening to K-pop, I understand. Nonetheless, I would still encourage you to give it a try. Just remember to have an open mind and contact me when you stan Loona.   

Fatima Jahan Ena likes complaining about capitalism and her forehead. Find her at mail2ena@gmail.com