Black K-Pop Fan Confessions [IA]

Submissions: CLOSED | Admin Application: CLOSED | BKFCONFESSIONS is designed to be a safe space for black k-pop fans to confess some difficulties they have/had. Anyone wanting to destroy this safe space will be blocked. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

[bkfconfessions]

It’s 2018 and fans are still immature and willingly ignorant/racist to defend their faves. I really wish non-Black fans would stop telling us to shut up about the anti-blackness in this fandom. Don’t give us excuses either. I don’t care if your bias don’t know a lot of Black people or if they don’t get “American political correctness” (I really hate that excuse because it implies that “intentional” racism is only an American/western thing), it doesn’t mean their racism towards Black people is okay. At this point, it doesn’t even matter whether they grew up in Korea or North America or whatever.

[bkfconfessions]

Two “friends” (I’m quite sick of them, they’re basic White gays) keep making fun of me for liking K-Pop and K-Dramas, saying it’s “sin,” and they just make me feel horrible for liking it. Which is making me feel horrible because they just make disgustingly xenophobic comments about K-Pop/K-Dramas. And wanna know the sick part of it? One of those friends are the ones who introduced me to K-Pop. And now she says she’s an “intellectual” who’s “grown out of K-Pop”. Please pray for me that I can find better friends. Preferably BLACK friends who are girls and who can uplift me. I’m in college now and I see Black people hanging out with other Black people, and I don’t know how to join because I’m so shy.

[bkfconfessions]

Even though I’m light skinned and mixed race and I’ve never experienced colorism myself, some fans need to stop downplaying or excusing idols for being colorist. I, along with other Black fans and other POC already deal with racism in the fandom. But I could imagine and hear about how many dark skinned or monoracial Black fans would feel even more betrayed or hurt by their biases’ negative comments as if they’re personally insulting them; the fans.

Isn’t it bad that anyone, let alone idols, make such comments whether they’re making fun of a member’s skin tone (which most of the time isn’t that different from everyone else, at least to me) or saying how dark skin is bad in general, so why are you giving your faves excuses when it’s unacceptable for everyone else to you? Don’t give me that “iT’s ThEiR cULTuRe!!!!” either.

I really want to know their actual excuses.

[bkfconfessions]

I often catch myself when I’m feeling lonely or neglected, running back to K-Pop, falling so far to feed into the AMBW, only to snap out of it like a bad fever dream. When I’m in a good space I can be rational, see the straw man arguments, view K-Pop for what it is, but when I’m down-oh boy. It often stems from just wanting to be treated with respect that I don’t get often from the world and Black men. I think maybe we have another shot- a fresh slate. Maybe people who haven’t been exposed to our dark skin and kinky hair, maybe they will appreciate it. But I take a deep breath, connect back to reality and just remember that the only one really caping for me is me, and some idol thousands of miles away in a country who idealizes people who are the most different from me physically isn’t going to give me that. I hope I can have fewer of these cycles in the future.

[bkfconfessions]

Sometimes I genuinely want to stop liking K-Pop/Korean culture as a whole (as well as Chinese and Japanese) because of just how colorist everyone is. I feel like if they think someone who is lightly tanned is ugly, then I must look like a monster to them. I hate that they have a whole separate word for Black people. I feel inadequate and am constantly told to suck it up. I am constantly being hurt by my hobbies and feel ashamed to like them. They steal from my culture then call me ghetto. I sometimes just feel like it would be easier to just let go of all of it. I get enough shit from others and I don’t need it from people I want to like either. Is it even worth the heartache, and the money, and the self esteem decrease, the constant call outs and trying to educate even though I know they probably won’t even change?

[bkfconfessions]

❗An Update (& a Few Questions for You!)

Hey, Ari here. I wanted to give an update on this blog.

2 years ago, someone asked if we were still active. I didn’t create this blog, so I checked in with the creator to see if they had plans to continue on with BKFConfessions. It’s been a year and I haven’t gotten a response.

Personally, I’d like to get back to this, maybe do a revamp if you all desire that.

Keep reading

[bkfconfessions]

I feel like K-Pop fans literally don’t give a damn about how black people are affected by the things they say. Like all the non-black K-Pop fans calling certain male idols “light-skinned kings,” or “they’re half black leave their dreads alone,” or that they excuse anti-black behavior because of supposed “ignorance” as if we haven’t been calling it out for years. If everyone and their mama has been called out in your profession for anti-blackness, there’s no way you haven’t seen it at least once.

[bkfconfessions]

BKFConfessions Top 10 Confessions of 2018

10. #127: No More Idol & Black Artist Collabs

9. #123: Do They Like Black Girls?

8. #143: The Acceptance of White Folks

7. #125: Not All ARMYs!

6. #163: Constructive Criticism

5. #142: Only Black People Understand

4. #126: Not All ARMYs = ______

3. #165: Putting Down Others to Lift Up BTS

2. #161: Not Buying It, Namjoon

1. #166: Excluding Black Women From Their Culture

[bkfconfessions]

I really like K-Pop, but I feel like it’s probably an unhealthy input for me as a young dark-skinned girl. My school (both in high school and now in university) is mostly small Asian girls, and it’s obviously not their fault. But I feel like I’m being fed these impossible beauty standards no matter where I turn? I can’t make myself Asian, shorter, cuter, or lighter so I’ve been trying to find positive black influences. But with the media portraying black people as they do, and so many black public figures somewhat feeding into the stereotypes/only being accepted by feeding into stereotypes, it’s been super frustrating. For example, I really like college vloggers (ex: Kris Hui, Anna From Indiana) but I can’t find any black ones that I relate to (of course that’s not to say that they’re not out there, but all the same, a google search for black vlogger/youtuber/etc. comes up almost entirely with beauty-centric channels).

[bkfconfessions]

I’m glad BTS didn’t get a Grammy nomination for IDOL. I dislike any nominations or awards for Afrobeat songs going to anyone not African, and particularly a gqom song that wasn’t even made for South Africans.

[bkfconfessions]

After my primary reactions, I confess that it’s pretty cool that Jason Derulo had Ethiopians and other black people prioritized in “Shut Up and Dance”. As well as a significant showcasing of East Asians. The backgrounds were amazing. This MV is a great lesson to everyone, especially in K-pop on representation done right, and not for diversity™.

[bkfconfessions]

I was looking for some information involving Jay Park, and found him posting about Dr. Sebi, and Nipsey Hussle (rest well). And I’d like him and his people to explain if he’s just deep into Black US cultures, or friends with these people. Because it’s making me wonder if he’s really not a usurper. He’s been coming off like a hotep, personally.

[bkfconfessions]

BTS fans should be correct in their trends and replace BTS with black culture, and PSY when trending about paving the way.

[bkfconfessions]

❗An Update (& a Few Questions for You!)

Hey, Ari here. I wanted to give an update on this blog.

2 years ago, someone asked if we were still active. I didn’t create this blog, so I checked in with the creator to see if they had plans to continue on with BKFConfessions. It’s been a year and I haven’t gotten a response.

Personally, I’d like to get back to this, maybe do a revamp if you all desire that.

Keep reading

[bkfconfessions]

YG Entertainment went ham with the black and foreign culture aesthetics even after the world tour, either because they decided Lisa being a hit on the world tour gives them a free pass, or their equivalent of black friends ™ told them to go for it.

[bkfconfessions]

I feel that black K-Pop fans largely exclude black Africans… I’ve been a K-Pop fan for 12 years now, and I still feel like our voices are never heard, or that no one ever includes us in the conversation when things like cultural appropriation happen.

[bkfconfessions]

❗An Update (& a Few Questions for You!)

Hey, Ari here. I wanted to give an update on this blog.

2 years ago, someone asked if we were still active. I didn’t create this blog, so I checked in with the creator to see if they had plans to continue on with BKFConfessions. It’s been a year and I haven’t gotten a response.

Personally, I’d like to get back to this, maybe do a revamp if you all desire that.

Keep reading