Music, culture and community all come together every week at LSU’s K-Pop Club.

The K-Pop Club was founded in 2022 to provide a space for students to bond over their shared appreciation and interest in K-Pop music. This club allows members to learn more about Korean culture. Marianna Mickey, junior psychology major and president of the K-Pop Club, recognizes the importance of having a space for students to enjoy K-Pop music and culture.

“It’s definitely a safe space for people,” Mickey said. “We always hope that our members, and even our members’ friends, come and they enjoy themselves. That’s always our goal, to come and have fun in this common space of K-Pop.”

The group meets every Thursday for activities like game night, ramen night, karaoke and anything else K-Pop themed. The club also ends each semester with a potluck where students can bring food they enjoy, whether it be Korean, American or anything else. These potlucks hold a special place in Mickey’s heart.

“I remember looking around and just seeing all these friendships that were made through the club,” Mickey said. “And it’s our very last event of the semester, so it’s almost bittersweet, especially when it comes in the springtime when there’s some seniors that have to go.”

The club also has its own dance team called the Tiger Love Dance Team, which performs cover dances of K-Pop songs at various events, such as Fall Fest, homecoming, Culture Fusion Fest, the Lunar New Year Night Market and other involvement festivals on campus. Many of the members’ favorite memories come from their experiences on the dance team.

“One was when we did ‘Drama’ this year for Divas Live,” Asiya Jones, junior kinesiology major and club historian, said. “We did it in three days. It was a lot of fun. We were at the UREC all night trying to make sure we had the dance down.”

However, the group still faces many challenges and misconceptions. Jones said the biggest misconception about the club and entire fandom is that everyone who likes K-Pop is a “Koreaboo,” meaning a person obsessed with K-Pop who exhibits parasocial relationships with idols and shows little interest in anything else.

“This is honestly a big misconception I feel like people have,” Jones said. “If you talk to us outside of the club, we’re actual people instead of just somebody obsessed with this one thing.”

These misconceptions can make it hard to gain members or get the word out about the club. Mickey said that people often give them weird looks or make off-handed comments whenever they talk about K-Pop, making it difficult for the club to be taken seriously. Despite the misunderstandings the club faces, the valuable memories and sense of community the K-Pop Club creates is immeasurable.

“I would say it doesn’t really matter if you don’t speak a different language,” sophomore marketing major and club treasurer Talise Beverly said. “I feel like music is universal. It just transcends everything.”

Mickey echoed this sentiment, explaining how she always leaves the club meetings feeling happy and rejuvenated. She also said how much she loves seeing other people experience the joy that comes with such a community.

“I would say a good reward is also seeing other people in our meetings enjoy themselves, have fun and just really be who they are,” Mickey said.

The club meets Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Union. More information can be found on the club’s website here.