My KoreanMy Korean Wave JourneyWave Journey My Korean Wave Journey

Time Spent Money Spent not much... zero! The first time I ever consumed Korean content was when the KDrama "Oh My Ghost" starring Park Boyoung was airing on a local Philippine TV channel. I loved the drama but I did not yet get hooked into watching or searching for other Korean content. I also watched "Love in the Moonlight" a year or two after since it also aired on Philippine TV.201520152015 1

Time Spent Money Spent When I was in Grade 6, I was first introduced to KPop. A classmate showed me BTS' Blood Sweat & Tears MV and I really liked the song to the point that I listened to it repeatedly when I got home and tried to memorize the full song's Korean lyrics even without understanding a word and not knowing a single member of the group. Since then, I started to get into BTS and even bought a handful of their albums. 2016 to 20202016 to 20202016 to 2020 much more! most of my free time just a bit! maybe...? 2

Time Spent Money Spent By 2020, my interest in BTS waned and I just became a casual listener of K-Pop songs. Most of the time, I listened to various Korean ballad singers (e.g. BEN, Choi Yuree) and also other idols like IU, Mamamoo, Day6, BTOB, and TXT—who I discovered because I was intrigued that Bighit was finally creating a new group. I became an avid fan of theirs for a few short months. However, I spent more time watching K-Dramas, Korean variety shows, and Korean Youtube content (i.e. Nothing Much Prepared and Lee Mujin Service) during this period. 2020 to 20242020 to 20242020 to 2024 less now, but still a lot (more on K-drama) amost none 3

Time Spent Money Spent 2024 to 03.20262024 to 03.20262024 to 03.2026 I often watched Lee Mujin service and I came across the episode with Sung Hanbin (ZEROBASEONE). I watched it the day after it was uploaded and instantly fell in love with his voice. I then watched Zhang Hao’s episode who also appeared on the show before, which then led to me watching their other content and eventually becoming a ZEROSE. This is when I realized why people got into collecting merch, photocards, albums, etc. I even went to cupsleeve events almost every week and also attended my first ever KPop concert (I saved up for so long to be able to buy VIP Soundcheck tickets). ALLLL DAY, EVERYDAY!!!! i don’t want to say (SO MUCH!!!) 4

Time Spent Money Spent PresentPresentPresent After four members left ZB1 due to their contract ending, I became less involved and again more of a casual listener who sometimes watches their Youtube content. I still support both groups—ZB1 and AND2BLE (the members formed this new group with an additional member)—but I’m not an avid fan anymore. I stopped buying albums and rarely buy photocards anymore. The most I do is stream their songs. But I did become a fan of an actor and another group because of the K-drama “Perfect Crown”. I watched it because I LOVE IU and I’ knew Byeon Wooseok is a good actor from having watched “Lovely Runner”. Once I finished watching Perfect Crown, I became a huge fan of his and less time, again more on K-dramas not as much anymore 5

Time Spent Money Spent PresentPresentPresent even bought the drama’s script books and a ticket to his fanmeeting this coming October because it was announced right as I was watching the drama. I also came to like the actor who played his friend Baek Inhyuk in the drama. I discovered that this actor, Lee Sunghyub, is part of an idol band called N.flying. I started listening to their songs and now I listen to their songs everyday and watch their content on Youtube. Aside from YouTube content and K-dramas, I also sometimes watch variety shows like Running Man and Fresh Off the Sea. This is where my story ends for now! less time, again more on K-dramas not as much anymore 6

I was really stingy before and would never spend money on subscriptions, but now I’m subscribed to Google Drive (to store my fancams), Spotify (so I can stream on Stationhead), and even Plus Chat (ZB1 Park Gunwook) and Weverse DMs (Byeon Wooseok). I have an X fan account which I’ve been using for around 10 years now (I just change the username and layout whenever my ult changes) and I used to never post anything on there. I just used it to scroll through my timeline and repost because I was extremely shy. Since I became a Zerose, however, I really think I’ve become much more comfortable with talking to and approaching people, especially if I know they’re a fellow Zerose. I even now have a number of friend groups on X. I never went out alone before because: (1) I’m very shy; (2) I’m not very independent; (3) I was very intimidated by commuting through public transportation and; (4) I like staying at home. But because of ZB1, I’m now comfortable with going out on my own because I pushed myself to start going to their cupsleeve events. Changes in behavior and norms 7

Learned how to read Hangul and basic Korean words and phrases Started using Korean expressions instead of English or Filipino (e.g. 귀 여워, 어머, 헐, 어떡해, 뭐지) Learned how to use chopsticks Increased my tolerance for spicy food (I never ate anything spicy before, but now I came to love kimchi and tteokbokki) Changes in behavior and norms 8