‘We want people to shine’

K-Pop With You Club offers safe space for students to share love of Korean popular music

By California State University, Bakersfield

November 6^th, 2024

When Yunuen Paramo and Jimena Sifuentes first met at California State University, Bakersfield as freshmen in 2021, they both learned they shared the same interest: Korean popular music, or K-pop.

Thinking that it would be fun to share their love of K-pop with other students, the duo attempted to start their own club on campus. There was just one problem: they were told they could only start a new club if they were sophomores or higher.

After waiting a year, Garcia and Sifuentes finally founded the K-Pop With You Club in 2022, despite having some concerns about whether it would gain traction with students.

“It was scary at first. We thought ‘what if no one shows up to our meetings?’” said Paramo, president of the club. “After realizing there’s a lot of people on campus who like K-pop, we realized we made the right decision.”

Over the past two years, K-Pop With You has held meetings and hosted several on-campus events, including skate nights, carnivals, dance workshops and Maniac Frights, a Halloween-themed fundraiser. The club has more than 20 active members and major events draw upwards of 50 students.

The goal in forming the club is to provide a safe, welcoming space for students where they would feel comfortable sharing their passion for K-pop with others.

“I felt like a lot of people don’t feel safe being themselves and tend to hide themselves and be shy around each other. We want people to shine,” Paramo said.

Vice President Sifuentes said they “wanted to create a club where people could hang out, relax and make friends…to just make the college experience a little more fun.”

The pair had only recently become interested in K-pop before starting K-Pop With You in 2022. They not only fell in love with the music but also became inspired by it.

“The music is great and you also get to learn about a different culture,” Sifuentes said. “Just seeing how the groups are formed — you see them so young going into this career, wanting to achieve their dreams, which seem so far-fetched but they’re now achieving them. It’s helped me push through my studies.”

Prior to establishing the club, Paramo and Sifuentes often felt uncomfortable admitting to people that they liked K-pop. They said it would sometimes spark insensitive comments from people.

“There are a lot of the questions you get when you say you like K-pop like ‘do you even know Korean? Why are you listening to it?’” Sifuentes said.

“I feel people think if someone likes something a little different, that there’s something wrong with them,” Paramo said. “A lot of people think only children like K-pop, but that’s not true. People of all ages like it. K-pop artists do all kinds of different genres of music. They don’t just focus on pop music.”

Sifuentes said the club allows students to feel they can share their love for K-pop without feeling judged or criticized.

“It’s great being able to feel free where you’re not hiding anything about yourself or feel that you have to act a certain way,” she said.

The duo said a lot of club members are initially shy when they first join but that over time, they open up and develop strong friendships with each other.

“It’s great when we see them coming out of their comfort zone and laughing and talking amongst each other,” Sifuentes said. “We’ve seen students come to events by themselves and leave talking with a group of other club members.”

“I’ve heard from members thanking us, saying ‘I feel safe. I’ve made friendships I never thought I would have made without this club,’” Paramo said.

'A sense of belonging'

Engineering major Maryjane Chavez has been a member of the K-Pop With You Club since its creation. She had started to get interested in K-pop in high school but wasn’t very knowledgeable about it before joining the club.

“I was really looking to get involved with a community on campus. I wanted to have that college experience,” she said. “At the time, I wasn’t interested in a lot of the academic clubs, so I thought maybe it would be more fun to do K-pop. Even if you don’t understand what the lyrics are, they have really good beats and a more technical musical sense. It’s a lot of catchy music, stuff you can vibe to.”

As Chavez got to know other club members, she said she was able to learn more about K-pop artists and more of the context behind the lyrics of some her favorite songs.

“I think because of other people’s enthusiasm, I found myself getting drawn into it,” she said. “Even if I wasn’t inherently interested in whatever group someone was talking about, their enthusiasm was kind of contagious, and I ended up being more knowledgeable of whatever they were talking about.”

Sifuentes said it was important that the club be open to everyone, regardless of how long they’ve liked K-pop or how much knowledge they have about it.

“Even if you don’t know much about K-pop, we still want you to join us,” she said.

To attract a broader range of students, the club has been expanding its focus beyond just music to other elements of Korean culture. A group of students from the club attended the Korean Festival in Los Angeles in September, which featured a parade, exhibits, vendors and live entertainment.

“It starts with K-pop, but at the end of the day, you want to learn more about the culture and experience something new,” Sifuentes said.

While Sifuentes and Paramo have seen club members grow and become more open about their passion for K-pop, they have experienced growth themselves by leading the club these past two years.

“It’s something new for both of us. We both lean on each other,” Paramo said. “From my point of view, I never would have expected leading something like this. I never thought I would be able to get out of my comfort zone like that.”

The K-Pop With You Club was one of Sifuentes’ first leadership roles. While she considers herself to be outgoing and extroverted, she had never been in a leadership position prior to starting the club with Paramo.

“When we started, it was hard because we didn’t know a lot of club officials who we could ask for help. We struggled together and helped each other,” Sifuentes said. “It’s definitely helped me grow into a better person. It’s taught me a different way to be a leader, other than just giving orders.”

Chavez said she’s grateful for how much support she’s received from the club and how kind and accepting the officers were about her lack of knowledge about K-pop.

“It’s just been a really positive opportunity,” she said. “I’ve been able to meet a lot of people and share an interest I’ve had that’s been growing. As somebody who came to college with not a lot of friends from high school, I was able to feel like I was welcomed in their friend group. It’s good to have a sense of belonging.”

Sifuentes and Paramo both hope to see the club grow in the coming years, both in the number of students who participate and the variety of events and activities offered to members.

The pair would like to bring in K-pop fans in the community to talk to students, organize group concert trips and include more culture-focused events like the trip to the Korean Festival. They also hope one day a K-pop group or artist will visit CSUB.

Regardless of what happens in the future, both Paramo and Sifuentes are grateful for the experience they’ve had with K-Pop With You so far. They encourage students to get involved with any clubs that fit their interests.

“You should join clubs for your mental health. It’s about you having fun and enjoying your time on campus,” Paramo said.

While academics are important, Sifuentes said it’s also critical for students to broaden their horizons.

“I think joining a club overall is good to make new friends, learn new things and just experience what college has to offer,” she said. “Studying isn’t everything; you have to take yourself out from that sometimes and just live your college life.”