K-pop club’s cultural influence in Northview
The Northview K-pop team is influencing their culture through the newfound sense of enjoyment of the dance style
Photos by Gavin Chen, Staff Writer
Sydney Mulford, Staff Writer
For senior Sunny Park, president of the K-pop dance club at Northview, the K-pop dance team is much more than just the dancing. It is energy, choreography, and culture. Northview's K-pop team is a commitment-free club that teaches its members dances to Korean pop music.
Since her freshman year, Park has been a member of the club. Ironically, she began her career uninterested in the team, recalling as her sister dragged her to the meetings. Now, however, she has fallen in love with both the people on the team and the dance style they commit themselves to.
“I thought it was weird but [my sister] told me to join,” Park said. “Then, through that, I continued because I found the fun in performing.”
This year, Park runs the Northview K-pop club in addition to a separate dance group outside of school called XOXO. She teaches the members of the club choreography that––for the most part–– she makes herself. Then, she encourages the rest of the team members practice it on their own. When they come together at the next meeting, they perform it all together, and sometimes even record and post the finished product on social media. But Park says the fulfilling part of the club is not simply the finished product, but rather the energy, members, and choreography that makes it worth it to come to practice every week.
“The big thing about K-pop is not only their songs, but lately, the choreography because it trends, it goes viral, and it's super catchy. If you see Korean music videos, you can’t find one without choreography,” Park said.
The members bring a certain energy to meetings because they all know the songs and trends that go into the choreography. As they sing and dance the group is always lip-syncing, which keeps everyone moving and energized.
“I think K-pop is so bright and vibrant and just fun,” Megan Hart, the club sponsor, said. “It puts you in a good mood, it's just easy when life can be very hard.”
The K-pop team has had trouble finding time to practice because of COVID-19. They were always a flexible club, and often let people dance to whichever songs they wanted, but the risk of exposure to COVID-19 has brought these in-person practices to a halt.
“I think we’re just trying to be as safe as possible,” Hannah Yi, the social media manager for the K-pop club, said. “I think we are going to try to resume practice after February [of this year] and see how it goes.”
Even with COVID-19, the club has still grown in popularity over the last couple of years. They had attracted new members to join through Northview’s club fair and their social media page, and as a result, they typically have 15-20 people come to practices for each song. The dance style is not the only thing that comes out of joining the club. Park says that she has learned skills that impact her daily life.
“By having myself learn everything and teach everyone, it gives me a lot of leadership tips and skills [as to] how I should tie it [into my own personal life] because it’s definitely not easy to learn and teach in a week,” Park said.
Overall, for its members, the K-pop team is a family––one that teaches them life skills and helps them spread their culture. Its a way of deepening their cultural through a hobby, through a gorgeous art form.
“We spread that cultural aspect through dance, through the big industry that's going right now,” Yi said. “Just seeing how much it has influenced other people and how its grown globally has really impacted me that way in seeing how our cultural growth has improved.”
