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Tuesday, April 12, 2016

AKF Five-Year Anniversary


This is a journey that started five years with this post. Five years is a long time, considering that when a person makes a site, they're very likely to give up very quickly. I had tried making sites when I was in middle school when GeoCities or whatever the fuck it was called was out. I probably gave up after three hours.




Many people also said that I would go the route of allkpop and change the site drastically in order to derive ad revenue from the site after we got a surge in readership in the summer of 2011. However, I found other avenues to do other things. Along the way, I have seen people write that they want Google to close down AKF (Google owns Blogger if you didn't know). At this moment, I knew that whatever happened, I would be on the winning side. If crazy fangirls were successful in getting Google to close down AKF because the fangirls don't agree with what is written on the site, wouldn't that prove the whole point as to why this site exists? Obviously it never happened, so I'm still free to write what I want.

As a trip down memory lane, feel free to read some of these articles:

100,000 views
1 million views
5 million views
10 million views
15 million views

Now I'll let some of the other authors chime in.

아저씨 says:
We originally started this site after often being forcefully pushed out of other communities for simply having normal opinions. Either from having both positive and negative things to say, or from not having the utmost purity in our affections for idols. There was this sort of all-pervading notion that everyone was trying to create a non-reality, or something better than real, and that being human in reaction to kpop was somehow spoiling it. That is, of course, absurd, and so we created this site as a reality check.

While in some respects we humans do indeed try to create a vision of a more beautiful reality with kpop, we are still just normal humans doing so. We get tired of mundane sounds, so we make nice music. We get tired of ugly ass fuckers on the street, so we get the hottest people to be idols. We get tired of polite moderation of expression, so we make elaborate dances and boldly expressed sentiments of all types. Kpop reaches into some things we all feel and desire and puts them on display, so it is kind of this part of ourselves we might stuff away and forget otherwise; it reminds us of some portion of what makes us human. That's great, but we can't confuse those who live out this manifestation as the source of all that stuff. It's really just stuff that's in all humanity, and the product itself is just normal human stuff.

For whatever reason we often want to pretend it is more, or should be more, or at least respected as more, or that there is some classification other than normal human expression it must live up to being. The thing is, there is a matrix of overlapping gradients and wherever you fall on it is still legitimately human and no greater than human and no less. We don't use van Gogh to wallpaper our houses, but interior design is still legitimate. We may not intentionally consider the artistry that goes into a hammer, but if you buy a hammer you'll intuitively think one is a bit awkward and another is wonderfully crafted. In these ways, art expresses itself through humanity in all ways. Sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, sometimes personal, sometimes deliberately crafted for a purpose. Different forms can be appropriate for different contexts of life and mind and mood, and none of it is lesser than the rest aside from how we receive it.

It's odd that people would forget these basic facts, that they would think kpop needs to be something specific or that they would confuse the performers themselves with the beauty or meanings of life the performers are merely trying to convey through their performances, but it does happen. So for both of these issues, this site exists as a reality check. Sometimes that is by just providing honest normal human opinions without any dressing, sometimes it is from deliberate trolling or mockery, but the basic idea is reminding ourselves that kpop is to serve people, people aren't to serve kpop. As we go on in years past the initial big hallyu wave, it may be more and more needed as people get used to kpop and start thinking of some specific way it is "supposed to be" rather than just being a world of potential for human expression to pour out into the world however it may for people to experience however they may.

I think in some ways we have continued this site even to be that check to each other as authors, and we have never been afraid to pull in new writers for fresh perspectives and give us more excuses to be lazy. I kind of want to apologize for that, but then again being lazy about making up opinions when you just want to jam to some good shit is kind of keepin it real, so maybe I'm not sorry that I haven't been up to date with all the latest bullshit spin as much. But while we may all have different feelings about all the different kpop out there, and while we may have many standing disagreements, I think we can all agree on two things: Yuna's boobs.


Yep. Those are her boobs. I love kpop.

Kpopalypse says:

 
Fany Pack says: 
I appreciate that AKF gives people a place to post a variety of opinions and not immediately get shouted down by batshit crazy fans. Kpop needs a place like that. We can enjoy a group or a song by its merit and not merely because we are part of said group's fan cafe and thus financially and morally obliged to support the group no matter how half-assed the majority of their comebacks have been for the past four-plus years.

It's been fun discovering new music with our readers and collectively experiencing kpop's biggest moments, like this one:



Zaku says:

Typical Zaku, procrastinating on these kinds of posts. From my first post to my last later posts, I've always had a great appreciation for this site and its commitment for telling it how it is without giving a fuck to what people think.

The whole point of the site was to provide (ironically now that I think about it) a safe space for people to say "___ fucking sucks" or "I want ____ to sit on my face" without being accosted by fangirls/boys for it. It's up to you to judge how successful we were at it, but any time we get mentioned by butthurt people who take Kpop way too seriously is a win in my book.

PS: Never Stop Loving Seohyun
Here's to 5 years of ugly yellow MS Paint dicks, borderline criminal descriptions of sexual bullying, and dank memes with many more to come.

49 comments:

  1. I can safely say that I've never thought about Yuna's boobs until right now

    Also, congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yuna's boobs are why she's my second favorite in AOA.

      Also, thanks!

      Delete
  2. Glad to see the site is still doing the lord's work for the kpop scene, though I thought you started this in 2010. Senility gets to all of us. Weird to think that you never would have started this if it wasn't for Nathaniel, so really everyone should send their hate mail to his twitter. Hope you are well, and that you will continue to be a check on unabated delusions for many more years.

    djschlotte

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 2010 was when all of us met at Diadem. It was early 2011 when Nathaniel drove us out of Diadem.

      Delete
  3. Yikes, I'm a freshman majoring in accounting (just read the 5 million-view post) any advice for me senpai? And congratulations by the way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'll learn what the Big 4 are if you stick to accounting.

      Delete
    2. (Just searched "big 4 accounting" in google) Isn't that dream to start off my career in the Big 4 a little bit.. unrealistic?

      Delete
    3. I work at EY. They hire fresh grads every year.

      Delete
    4. But most likely they hire grads who graduated from a specific school or region right? Because I live in a third world country, so I doubt they'd even consider me.

      Delete
    5. The Big 4 have offices all over the world.

      Delete
    6. Oh, okay. Thank you so much AKF <3 Last question, was choosing accounting as your major worth it?

      Delete
    7. Yeah, I have a job. I live in an area with a depressed economy because our local economy was so concentrated around manufacturing, and accounting is one of the few guarantees of getting a good career where I live.

      Delete
  4. That's a damn great Victoria picture. Damn it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congratulations.

    By opposing fanaticism and censorship, AKF made Kpop fun again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks.

      That's why I don't even moderate the comments, except to clean up spam. I don't believe in shutting down someone's opinion just because it conflicts with the opinion of the author of the article. That would lead to groupthink, which we see plenty enough at other sites.

      Delete
  6. The only site involving Kpop that doesn't make me cringe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks.

      I'd say the same, but AKF is really the only K-pop site I have time to go to, except for Soompi to get stuff to write about.

      Delete
  7. We don't use van Gogh to wallpaper our houses, but using dickpicks.jpg is still legitimate.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congratulations! Even though I don't really listen to Kpop too much nowadays, I still venture to read this blog every so often just for the variety of news and also humorous articles that may come by! Thanks peepz at AKF

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I have a similar situation with Japanese, in that I don't listen to it nearly as much as I used to, but there are still some sites I go to to find some good songs. As long as you find a good song here and there that you like, it'll all be good.

      Delete
  9. Happy 5th Anniversary! I want to thank this blog mainly for being something I really appreciate which is - being a breath of fresh air and actually being honest instead of just forced niceness or being overruled with bullshit. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot! I try to make the site one that I would want to come to several times a week assuming that I was just a normal reader instead of the guy running the site.

      Delete
  10. Great anniversary. And great Queen Victoria picture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! And almost all of Victoria's pictures are great.

      Delete
  11. Happy anniversary!! Congrats on being one of the few kpop sites left that's good for everything and not just the embarrassing lulz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot! Yeah, even if I didn't have the excuse of limited time, there's a lot less Kpop sites that I follow compared to before.

      Delete
  12. on a side note did y'all know that a few years ago I was a complete and utter femnazi cunt who tried to make a post against this site? then I snapped out of my sjw phase, grew some backbone, now I love this place. ohhh how times changed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you the same girl who was blaming me for promoting anorexia?

      Anyway, everyone goes through such phases because they want to fit in with the general trend of the time.

      Delete
    2. oh my god you remember it?

      I'm so sorry in hindsight, that was a humiliating phase in my life. Actually did lose 20 lbs once I stopped my feminist whining and griping.

      Delete
  13. Happy 5th anniversary AKF!

    I am very, very happy to see my AOA bias (thank you 아저씨) and ultimate bias Seohyun (thank you Zaku) in one post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With the Playstation VR, just run the Seohyun.exe program and you get to bang her.

      Delete
    2. Now why didn't think of that all this time?

      Delete
  14. Congrats you faggots. <3 Been here since 2012 but only very recently started commenting. May you have another 5 awful and awfully good years!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll be 30 in another 5 years. Let's still hope I have time to run the site then!

      Delete
    2. I'll be 25 in 5 years. Help.

      Delete
  15. Congrats on five years but a bigger one for thanking me for my semi-milestone. Actually more impressed with you hitting 15+ million views plus the fact you mentioned in one of your milestone posts about not doing any advertising here. Personally don't like ones that have a blog to make some $$, feel a blogster should be in it for the enjoyment and not the money such as what you're all doing here. Sorry that this is only my first comment but do make an effort to come here every day and really have been enjoying scrolling back through all of your older posts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot Nao. Your site got me back into Jdramas since we share the same ultimate bias.

      I agree about running a blog for enjoyment. If I had tried to monetize the site, I would have written about so many things I didn't care about and would have toned down my writing to suit a more general audience...which would have made me hate writing for my own site. I tried writing for other sites and didn't really like it. My other site is a translation site (Hallyu Interview https://hallyuinterview.wordpress.com/) that I did purely for fun. I figure once I have time and improve my rusty Korean and Japanese that I'll get back to that site as well.

      Delete
  16. Congrats. From the early silent-reader-but-sometimes-posted-perverted-comments-as-anon days till now, it's been really fun. Here's to many more years to come.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As long as there are still hot girls debuting with good songs and morons to make fun of, this site will still be around.

      Delete
  17. Thanks, maybe in another five years I can have Victoria nudes to share (with myself).

    ReplyDelete
  18. Congratulations! Ive been a long time lurker here ever since I first started getting into kpop and I want to thank you for helping me see the more rational side of kpop rather than be a rabid fangirl. I hope you have many more sucessful years.

    ReplyDelete

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