This is just a short post to all Kpopalypse readers, to say thank you for 2020!

Although this “thank you” post is a regular annual occurrence, It feels odd for me to make this post this time around, because I’m sure few people feel very thankful for the calamity that 2020 brought to the world.  It was truly a difficult year for a large amount of the human population, and hopefully you lovely readers and the people you care about came out as well as possible given the circumstances.  If not, please accept my condolences, and in any event I think that whatever your personal circumstances are, we can all feel some commonality in that we can be grateful to finally put 2020 behind us and move forward onto hopefully better things.

Kpopalypse had a challenging year in 2020.  I had to give up the k-pop radio show which spawned this blog in the first instance, due to the radio station not being able to provide a suitable remote working facility.  While radio stations are considered an “essential service” by the government here which meant I could have kept broadcasting if I wanted, I decided that the risk was too great.  Also, exactly 100% of my live concert work vanished literally overnight when the virus first made its presence felt in Australia, and concerts remain to this day a very sketchy proposition.  However this didn’t mean I wasn’t busy – much the opposite, as various other non-music work that I had been doing (also in government-designated “essential service” categories) suddenly became now more in-demand than ever! 

Of course the sum total of this means that while I am still more fortunate than many, there has been a necessary decline in the amount of time that I’ve been able to spend on providing content.  This makes me sad as I wish I could have posted more for you this year, but I’ve opted to move to a slower schedule and keep the posting consistent, rather than burning myself out.  This way readers can still enjoy the most valued content (roundups, lists and satirical posts) while still getting a smaller helping of the other stuff (the various serialised niche posts) as well as a few oddities when I have the time (computer games and other weirdness).  While I could technically still do this without any readers, it wouldn’t be nearly as rewarding and worthwhile without you, so whether you’re a regular reader, a Patreon subscriber or just someone who drops in from time to time just to check out what’s going on and have a laugh or be entertained/informed, a heartfelt thank you to all readers who have supported what I do in whatever way, and continued to make this possible!

Kim Nayoon, ex-Starship trainee and Kpopalypse interviewee in 2020. Interview here.

Of course, the changes in content didn’t stop Kpopalypse from being controversial in 2020 – the site’s reputation has now spread far and wide across the kpoposphere, with the net result being that it’s now very difficult for anybody to share my content anywhere on k-pop focused websites and have that content actually stay up and uninterfered with.  This is despite (or maybe because of?) me promoting my own site almost never outside of my own social media accounts.  Of course regular readers don’t need me to explain my true aims, and that my blog is really just all about fun times, good laughs and enjoying k-pop with friends while also being honest about the industry’s many shortcomings, but that’s not a message that is universally understood by all.  In the increasingly humourless, politically correct and religious-cult-like world of k-pop fans where extreme compliance to the prevailing party line of “everything [insert group/idols here] does is fantastic always” is mandatory, few are ready for the message that there’s a better and more mentally healthy way to enjoy music and culture than following the Pied Piper of corporate consumerist peer-pressure into the rat-infested pond.  Kpopalypse salutes the brave people who continue to discuss and promote Kpopalypse content among their peers – I appreciate each and every one of you! 

Cheska, ex-Fiestar and Kpopalypse interviewee in 2020. Interview here.

So what’s in store for Kpopalypse in 2021?  I have no plans at this stage other than to continue roundups, continue my live streaming and all my regular features, and continue to occasionally throw an odd spanner into the works of the world of k-pop media.  If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s that it pays to be flexible and not set plans too firmly into stone!  However I certainly look forward to another year of bringing you honest content that hopefully provides a good antidote to all the “fake-positive everything-is-fine” bullshit out there!  Thank you to all readers and Kpopalypse supporters and I’ll see you in 2021!