Welcome! You have reached the first ever blog on my blog page. Today is 19 January 2024, 1 day after the last day at my job, about 6 months after booking my flight to South Korea and a flight back 3 months later, a bit over 3 years after my first contact with South Korea through K-pop band BTS. In this first blog I want to introduce myself a bit and this blog.
1. About me
Let’s start with me! Hi, my name is Anne. I am 25 years old and I will be the host of this travel and info blog on South Korea and a variety of K-content, called in summary: Hallyu (more on that in one of my future blogs).
1.1 How it started
I feel the beginning of this story would be in 2020. I will not go into full detail, but if you are curious, I do go into detail in my timeline, which is the starting point of my blogs, my story and all content you will see in the future on this blog, my Instagram and TikTok channel (and who knows what channels in the future).
2020 was the start of COVID restrictions in the Netherlands and just like everyone else, I had some extra time. However, I did not start my first business or become an influencer on TikTok like I saw many other doing, I started getting interested in K-pop, specifically BTS, but also playing big parts in this story are Netflix’ To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, a 3 part movie series (especially the last one, that came out in 2021), and the Blackpink: Light Up the Sky documentary.
1.2 How it got serious
However, things really took a flight when I had to choose a topic for the Graduation project of my Master thesis. I studied Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam at that time, with a specialization into Entertainment Communication. Long story short, my mentor convinced me to choose a topic I was really into and at that time it was K-pop.
So I decided on researching the role of fans in K-pop. And this is where it got interesting, because I found out about the origins of K-pop, which of course lay in South Korea and are heavily interwoven with its culture, language, customs, etc. But there is also a role for marketing techniques as K-pop and other K-content can be seen as somewhat of a means to an end to economically and socially benefit South Korea as a country. A phenomenon that was set in place by a variety of events by a war-torn South Korea after the Korean War that split the country into North and South.
1.3 How it got really serious
Honestly, all this knowledge about South Korea did not come overnight. It happened gradually over the course of the past three years, but my initial research made me keep figuring out more and more and I became more interested every day. So much so that even back then I decided to travel to Los Angeles to be able to go to a BTS concert, where under strict COVID regulations, this was possible again. Quite the experience and immediately afterwards I made the commitment to myself that I would start learning Korean and travel to South Korea for an extended period of time before I turned 25.
1.4 How it’s going
It didn’t quite happen like that. I graduated in February 2022, and started working in marketing. Maybe because of the last bits of the COVID restrictions in the Netherlands, I don’t really know what it was, but I didn’t dare to do it at the time. Maybe I just wasn’t ready yet. This brought some other opportunities like gaining some experience in the workfield and being able to get an apartment with my boyfriend.
In 2023 I turned 25, but of course my initial idea was still itching, so by then I had already accepted an adjusted version of the plans. I would travel to South Korea for that extended period of time before 26. I started talking to people at work and it was actually possible! I would be able to take some time off from March to May 2024. I finally booked officially in October 2023.
2. About the blog
So then it was final. I was going to South Korea from March to May 2024. And I would be traveling solo. Which meant I had to start saving, because I had an apartment and boyfriend in the Netherlands that also needed to… survive those three months. And another issue: how was I going to keep everyone updated? I quite quickly came upon the idea of a travel blog, which was both the best and worst idea.
Why the best? I have had an interest in writing ever since I was I think 10 years old, when I would write stories in random school notebooks and ask for books with writing tips for my birthday, and also sporadically did some amateur photography projects out of interest.
Why the worst? I had no experience in anything, making a website, writing blogs, making other content related to the blog or traveling on social media. Also I have a history of getting excited about projects, but never finishing them as I get too scared of other people’s opinion or convince myself I can’t do it.
2.1 What’s the plan?
But! Not only is this whole 3-month trip a leap in the dark for me, also everything around it with this blog, the website and the other various content ideas I have had around it. But I figured that if I would be able to do it any time it would be now, writing about something I am truly passionate about.
An addition to the travel blog was formed for explaining about South Korea in more informative blogs. I get a lot of questions about my trip, interest in South Korea from family and friends. Even though I could explain a never ending amount of details, so much pre-knowledge seems to be needed to fully understand certain topics and I feel western people are taught and therefore know so little things, which makes it almost impossible to make up a comprehensible story to someone that isn’t already interested in the topic or related topics.
2.2 What’s the goal?
I will be making a start of fixing the ‘knowledge gap’ described above with this blog, not only for talking to my family and friends, but everyone who will stumble upon my blog or social channels, with a specific focus on South Korea, K-pop and other K-content and marketing for the moment as these remain my personal interests.
Lastly, this blog provides me with the perfect opportunity to develop myself in the field I originate from: Entertainment communication, which is why I decided to add social media channels supporting my (travel) blogging activities. Where the Instagram page will be focussing more on the informative blogging side, the TikTok page will be fully dedicated to travel blogs and relatable content (with touchpoints to my informative blogging activities).
What to expect
And that’s how we have arrived here. At the first blog published on this page. To make it manageable to understand this blog a bit I will give you a quick overview of the categories in which you can expect content:
- My (K-related) Travel experiences – past and future: varying from travel blogs about my experiences to travel tips and my planning for my upcoming trip.
- The Korean Wave: in which I will be focussing on K-products, which includes not only movies, series and music, but also beauty products and fashion, among others. This is also where I will be focussing on some marketing aspects and techniques behind K-content and the global spread of it. I can provide some tips in this category by pointing out and visiting some Dutch hotspots for those interested in Korea and/or K-pop.
- K-pop: a category that cannot miss as it is my initial and most developed interest, I will be going into K-pop fan culture and provide in depth info on specific artists (probably a bit BTS focussed in my case) and music.
- Korea: some more general info about the language and culture, including food (which is a big part of the culture) and Korean holidays. Also expect some info on language/study programs in Korea here and other culture related programs for tourists. And apps! Apps for foreigners, cause those are a thing and life saving!
- Hotspots in Korea: this last category will be added when I am in Korea. Due to the fact that I am merely a foreigner with an interest in South Korea and not a local. I currently know of some hotspots, but don’t have the experience to really say anything on them. Some sub categories here are: cafés, shopping, (vintage & plus-size) clothing, beauty, food/markets, glasses, gyms / working out in Korea, locations, itineraries
By the end of this you will have a full overview of Korea through my eyes. Or how I would like to call it: my recipe to Korea, a ✨Kore-An Recipe✨. I will be posting new blogs and related social content 2-4 times a week from March 1st, possibly more before that. If you are interested, check out my story for full context on everything described in this blog and/or check out my blog page. For now you can only save the page in your browser’s top bar or follow me on social media (see buttons below) to stay updated as I will not yet be sending out a newsletter.
Let me know below what themes or topics you are curious about. I will try to highlight as much as possible from you comments in my future content!
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