Jimin Kim

"Coming here [to the U.S.] I felt very invisible and alone... but what really rooted me and to be more confident was my family and the music I share with them."

dailylife.mov

What was music like in your daily life before coming to the United States?

성시경

Sung Si-kyung

김동률

Kim Dong-ryul

이문세

Lee Moon-sae

Some artists that Jimin mentions listening to before coming to the United States. These were some of her mom's favorite artists, who was a big influence on her music, especially back then.

What song would you say reminds you of your life in Korea?

koreasong.mov

"Someday" - S.H Project

This song just brings Jimin back to the time she had in Korea and the memories she had with her family, especially because she would listen to this song with her sisters and watched the K-drama with her family. After she moved to the United States, she lived with her parents, but not her sisters so it would bring her back to a time when they all were able to be together.

What sort of music were you listening to when you first arrived in the United States?

americanmusic.mov

Jimin didn't initially listen to a lot of music when she came to the United States because she was spending a lot of time trying to just adjust to her new life in Elementary School. But, she vividly does remember that the bus driver would always play the radio which would be playing popular songs at the time.

Justin Bieber

Ariana Grande

Adele

needmusic.mov

Was there a point in time when you felt like you needed to hear music from home?

박진영

Park Jin-young (JYP)

윤하

Younha

빅뱅

BIGBANG

As she says, these songs and artists brought Jimin a lot of much needed nostalgia and feelings of Korea. She was constantly looking to go back to Korea, especially in her first few years in the United States. These songs helped her stay connected to Korea in many ways and that she wasn't "falling behind" socially or culturally. Additionally, for example, her sister really enjoyed 윤하 (Younha) which influenced Jimin a lot. Most importantly, these songs really brought her back to Korea and the times she spent with her family.

needmusic2.mov

musicinpublic.mov

How do you feel when you hear Korean Music playing, especially in public?

BTS

BLACKPINK

Jimin describes how she feels a level of excitement and nostalgia hearing this music in public. These K-Pop groups have changed the ways Koreans are often perceived. She talked about how there was this switch (when K-Pop started getting popular) where people wouldn't ask "are you North or South Korean" but rather "do you know ____ K-Pop group?" which she started to appreciate a lot.

How do you still stay connected with the music and trends of Korea today, being in the United States?

stayconnected.mov

choice.mov

Was there a time or period when you started consciously making a choice of playing America music over Korean music?

Is there a song you would say you now connect with your experience in the United States and coming here?

americasong.mov

This song resonated with Jimin because it outlines how his how family immigrates to the United States to chase this "American Dream" and he wants to make his mother proud. This felt similar to Jimin's experience and how parents decided to immigrate so that she and her sisters could get a U.S. education and fulfill this American Dream.

What are some other things about your experiences with music that you haven't already mentioned?

extras.mov

What are three songs or pieces of music that have been meaningful in your life and experience as an immigrant?

song1.mov

song2.mov

song3.mov

I

태연
(Taeyeon)

Regent's Park

Bruno Major

Whistle

BLACKPINK

The lyrics of this song stuck with Jimin a lot, especially when she felt challenged by something or stuck. One of the lyrics translates roughly to "the world that you meet might be cruel, but strong girl, you know you were born to fly." It served as a reminder to Jimin that she could make it through her challenges and to keep going.

This was a song that both Jimin and her mom really enjoyed. Whenever she would fight with her mom, she would play this song to make the both of them feel better and to make up. For Jimin, family and music are hand-in-hand and very interconnected. Listening to this song really brings her back to the time she spent with her mom.

This was the first K-Pop music video that Jimin really loved. This music video made her feel so proud to be Korean. She would go to school and tell her American friends to go listen to the song and to watch the music video - one of the first sources of pride she had in being Korean and Korean music/media.

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