A Love Letter To K-Pop And The RPF Community

[theemeraldgirl23]

snowflake_challenge 2026, challenge 3- write a love letter to fandom.

a love letter to k-pop and the k-pop rpf community

I don't think I'd be the person I am today if I hadn't found k-pop. I remember watching a Teens React episode at my uncle's old house back in 2018 where they reacted to BLACKPINK's music. I used to be really into react content back in the day and would watch anything. When I watched the video, I thought the group's music sounded interesting and added them to my playlist along with some other recommended songs I thought sounded good. I appreciated the music but didn't really think about the people behind it.

It wasn't until a random day in 2021 when I watching sapphic ship edits, that I stumbled across videos about kpop girl group "gay" moments and others shipping two group members together. I knew the concept of shipping idols, even saw a copious amount Jennie/Lisa fanfiction on Wattpad when I was first getting into BLACKPINK, but at that time, I still felt weird about RPF and slightly uncomfortable with how much smut I saw, so I didn't engage with it. However, these video introduced me to groups like Red Velvet, Mamamoo, and TWICE and I learned about the members through their questionable, for a lack of a better word, interactions with each other.

From then on, I started following more groups and appreciating the faces behind the voices, finding out just how lovable so many of them are. I fell in love with what I saw. The close interactions, the laughs, the drama, the vulnerability, the trust, all of it. I also learned to embrace RPF for what it is and see the fun in it. I started writing and engaging with the community of k-pop writers and readers. I wrote my longest fic to date, and overall started feeling more confident in my abilities.

Many people still demonize RPF, and I get it. I used to the in the same boat. Now, I just look past posts like that, because I know I can't do anything to change people's minds about it when they're made up. Instead, I make company with the people who do understand it, who engage with it.

I'm grateful for my corner of the k-pop fan community. I'm glad we're all able to participate in good faith jokes and shipping, while also being able to separate fiction from reality. A giant thank you to all the great groups for creating concepts and music that we fans can bond over as well. It's a gift that I'm thankful is being shared with us.

I'm so glad to be a part of this fandom! Thank you for being so welcoming.

Comments

[whereismiko]

"I'm glad we're all able to participate in good faith jokes and shipping, while also being able to separate fiction from reality. A giant thank you to all the great groups for creating concepts and music that we fans can bond over as well. It's a gift that I'm thankful is being shared with us." this is my fav part ! what a lovely letter emerald <3 thank you for sharing