There are K-Pop fans across the globe who share the same passion. But on online platforms, it is hard to know about each other’ stories and K-Pop life. Even if we are in the same fandom, it is hard to get to know each other. So at Kpopmap, we started the Kpopmap Fan Interview Project to get to know more about K-Pop fans from different countries: more about their K-Pop life and tastes and to give them the opportunity to share with our readers about their favorite group(s) and bias. Kimi from the US is the next fan to answer our questions. She is a fan of MONSTA X (OT7) and more particularly of WonHo! Check out how she entered the fandom, the songs and content she advises to new fans, and much more! Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from? I am Kimi. I am a 56 year old African American woman. I have 3 grown children and live in Southern California. I raised them on world music and on K-Pop. I don’t know of anyone my age that enjoys K-Pop like I do and not many black people. Being older I don’t fall in love and obsess over idols but I definitely see the beauty there and have my favorites. How and when did you enter the fandom? I am a multi stan which means I am part of more than one group. There are many fans like me. My ultimate group is MONSTA X and my bias is WonHo. WonHo was with MONSTA X and their fandom is MONBEBE and I have been one since the begining. WonHo went solo from MONSTA X and his fandom is WENEE. I have been one since the begining. Every MONBEBE who supported WonHo and MONSTA X before and through the hard times is now a MONBEBE/WENEE. MONSTA X is always 7 in our hearts. What are the reasons why you love your favorite group? I love my group MONSTA X because I watched them in the TV competiton online. “No Mercy” was brutal but KiHyun stood out with his iconic cover of JongHyun of SHINee song’s ‘Y Si Fuera Ella’ then ShowNu sang ‘All of Me’ by John Legend and I was hooked. There was so much good music on that show. Who caught your attention at first and why? Before MONSTA X got to debut it was JooHeon (JooHoney) who caught my eye. His versatility is insane but more than that is his passion. He overwhelms me with it. WonHo also caught my eye with his failed attempts at sexyness which only fueled his hunger and it was great to see. Who is your bias, and why? WonHo is my bias. He seems to be a humble, caring and talented man. Before debut when he was on Ulzzang he was very caring to other contestants then later on “No Mercy” when he spoke about his mom and the sacrifices made it shook me. I know many trainees sacrifice so there was something about him. With MONSTA X there is him talking to MONBEBE about a song then he tries to sign off but wants to say I love you MONBEBE but he can’t due to over flow of tears. As a solo he wrote the song ‘Losing You’ for us. He had been gone for while and MONBEBE worldwide tried to show him love, he felt it and wrote ‘Losing You’. He said in an interview that it would be easier for us to lose him than for him to lose us. I found that quite powerful. Can you recommend a title track and a B-side track for new fans? For newbies to MONSTA X music…B side would have to be ‘Lost In The Dream’. KiHyun’s solo in it is my ringtone. It’s just that powerful. The title song would be ‘Beautiful’ because it has my bias in it and the lyrics are a blessing for any female. Can you recommend a fancam, V Live, cover video, cover dance, or individual content video of your bias to our readers? I’m not a V Live person. I leave that to the young fans but I do love video edits and WonHo’s ‘Open Mind’ TikTok compilation is hilarious to me. You will want to watch the ‘Open Mind’ video afterwards if you havent already, linking! Can you also do the same type of recommendation for the group? Even for MONSTA X, I leave V Live for the young fans. The episodes of “MONSTA X X Ray” are funny but there is a clip that has WonHo bungee jumping and that is funny. I have never seen anyone more scared. Can you share with us one of your favorite lyrics? One of my favorite lyrics is from WonHo’s ‘Losing You’ and it goes like this: “Baby, I would go to war for you Build an army if you need me to, yeah ‘Cause losing me is better than losing you Don’t you know that I would die for you If I knew that you would make it through? ‘Cause losing me is better than losing you” These are the lyrics for the song he wrote to MONBEBE/WENEE. Simply stunning. Are there any words from the members you would like to share? “We can’t erase everything We can’t forget everything” ~ MONSTA X What is your favorite side of fangirling/fanboying? MONSTA X is special to me because: ShowNu is so strong, JooHeon is so passionate, I.M. is so unique, MinHyuk and HyungWon are beauty and grace, KiHyun is so powerful and WonHo is so determined. Also they hold my heart forever because when my daughter graduated high school we went to our first K-Pop concert and it was MONSTA X and they were worth every penny. Makes me cry when I think about looking at my daughter enjoying herself. Well there it is…tears. Such a great day. Do you feel there are any misunderstandings, things that are not well known, or any prejudices about your favorite group from other fans (non-fans)? Non K-Pop fans believe that WonHo took steroids. He did not and it took him years to build his body. About 2016 he spoke about how he felt about his body and wanted a change. MONBEBE watched him slowly build himself into what he wanted. The steroids? No just a lot of hard work. What type of concept do you prefer: cute, dark, sexy, etc? I prefer the sexy kind of concept. I love dance and sexyness produces choreo like WonHo and ShowNu’s ‘Mirror’ performance. Can you recommend words that your bias like to hear to new fans who don’t know yet about it? Some words WonHo likes to hear for new WonHo stans: 1) I love you. He is going to tell WENEE/MONBEBE this often. He may not be able to say MONBEBE but we know how deeply he loves us. Tell WonHo how much you love him, he needs to know. It keeps him strong. It keeps us all strong. 2) Do not quit. He did not. He will not and we have to do the same. With my recent life experiences I made a quiet promise to WonHo that I will not quit. He didn’t quit on us and I will not quit on myself or him. 3) Be the best you can be. Eat well. Live well. Sleep well. Love well. FIGHTING! What is a random fact that you think people don’t know about them? A random fact about WonHo is his physique is completely steroid free. He told us that he wanted a change and he went a about the business of doing just that. WENEE/MONBEBE watched him take care with his food, his workouts and his life. While his body was new to idols but it was not new to us. Can you describe your bias in only one word? The word I would use to describe my bias is strength. Yes physically he is that but I mean his emotion, fortitude, go getter attitude and ability to love. One must be strong to avoid the trappings of fame I would think. Strong to love and be loved. Strong to get your dreams and super strong to get up when life kicks you down and keep getting up. He has done that. Can you recall a moment where you cried/laughed with your bias? The time I cried for my bias was when he was accused of wrong doing. My heart wouldn’t allow me to believe it. I supported him 100% I cried again when the letter he wrote prior to his being cleared was released once he was cleared. No one wants to say “yea my home life was not the best and I was also not at my best BUT I didn’t do what I’m accused” for the entire world to hear. The final time I cried was when I heard ‘Losing You’. I still can barely make it through. Only those who walked with Wonho at that time understand how emotional the song is. We watched MX perform being the saddest I have ever seen. He feels it would be easier for us to lose him than him to lose us. He is wrong. Just plain wrong. Kimi’s message to MONSTA X (OT7): My message to MONSTA X and WonHo are the same and it is just thank you. Thank you for keeping me strong, making me sing in korean as I go to the market and around town even though I can not.. let me repeat I CAN NOT SING IN KOREAN and for helping to create one of the most beautiful and best memories of my entire life ~ MONBEBE/WENEE for life. I will end this by saying for all these reasons he is our bunny. He says he doesn’t know why but it is his combo of love and strength that makes him our bunny. Thank you for answering our questions, Kimi. If you are interested in joining Kpopmap Fan Interview Project, please get in touch with us at [email protected] Everyone is welcome to participate.
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