I like K-pop.
There, I said it. I don’t go around advertising this fact, but I’ve been a fan of Korean pop music since I was a middle schooler. I listened to Girls Generation, 2NE1, Kara, Shinee, the Wonder Girls*, Brown-Eyed Girls… the list goes on. While I recognize that listening to music in a language you don’t understand isn’t for everyone, I’ve never been one to care about that. If the music is good, I’ll listen to it. A bop is a bop.
I didn’t get as into the fan-side of things back then, but I continued listening to K-pop music on and off through high school. Then, one fateful day in my sophomore year of college, I messaged one of my oldest friends about the genre. I knew she was a fan; she’d attended BTS concerts in the US back when they were performing at small venues, and she listened to a lot of different groups, from Mamamoo to VICTON. My friend and I made playlists for each other, and she added some of her favorite Korean groups to the list. Among those groups was Loona.
I listened to an Odd Eye Circle song first–I was admittedly confused about all the subunits and soloists within the group, but the song was catchy (if memory serves, it was Girl Front). And then, I took to YouTube to watch some of Loona’s music videos. The first one I happened to click on was this.
Kim Lip’s solo music video (or MV for short), Eclipse, blew me away. The combination of the synth-filled R&B track, the entrancing cinematography, the beautiful choreography, and of course, Kim Lip’s distinctive voice, overwhelmed me in the best way possible. I didn’t understand anything about the Girl of the Month system, the subunits, or the lore, but I was hooked. I had to know more.
And several music videos, Loona TVs, and lore explanation videos later, I was a bonafide Loona fan. This was in 2018, around the time Loona/yyxy released love4eva (featuring Grimes, because why not), so the official fan name Orbit hadn’t been revealed yet. I just barely fall into the pre-debut Orbit category, something that I’m both honored by and slightly in denial of the fact that it’s been 4 years since I learned about this group. Throughout those 4 years, Loona has been there for me through:
- My first love (story)
- My first heartbreak
- My first spring break trip with friends
- A polar vortex
- My 21st birthday
- The start of the Covid-19 pandemic
- Graduating college at the start of said pandemic
- Adopting a cat
- The death of a friend
- Moving to a new state
- Moving in with my partner
…and so on and so forth. You get the point: Loona has been with me through a lot of life events, both good and bad. When I was heartbroken, depressed, or in disbelief, I could listen to See Saw or rewatch my favorite Loona TVs to feel a little better. When I was joyful, excited, or in love, I could blast Hi High in my car or try to learn the dance to love4eva to express my happiness. I distinctly remember sitting in my college twin bed after my first breakup and glancing over at the Loona poster I had hung up on the wall. And just thinking to myself through the pain and the tears, “Well hey. At least I always have Loona.” People have come and gone in my life over the past 4+ years, but not Loona.
And Loona themselves have been through a lot. There’s a reason that memes saying “kill BBC” and “fuck KakaoM/Jaden Jeong/Mnet” are commonplace on Orbit Twitter. The droughts between comebacks cannot be overstated. Orbits were starved for content. When the group did have a comeback, KakaoM massively underestimated how many albums would be preordered, which meant far lower first week sales than there should have been. Vlives were only done through staff members. The girls had their diets restricted to the point where they snuck food into the dorms. Jaden Jeong, Loona’s former creative director, left and took the highly anticipated La Maison album with him, deleting the tracks so that no one else could have them.
Additionally, while it might seem outlandish to newer Orbits, there was a long period of time where the members had no control over social media and we’d be lucky if we got one selfie or post on their socials over a period of several months.
These days, we’re blessed with daily social media posts from the members themselves, plus Bubble and Fab apps to communicate directly with the girls. And now, Loona (minus Chuu, because once again BBC is garbage) is on their first world tour, with stops in North America and Europe. We’ve come so far, and I am so proud of these 12 girls. Now and always, I’m grateful to be an Orbit.
Fly like a butterfly, Loona.
*Fun fact: I saw the Wonder Girls live in middle school while attending a Jonas Brothers concert.