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Thoughts on Being Infinitely Inspirit, in Honor of INFINITE’s 10th Anniversary

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K-pop boy band INFINITE promotional image

When it comes to K-pop, I have a lot of love for fandom names and have self-identified by many over the years, but when it comes down to it I don’t think I’ve ever felt more of a connection than the one I have with INFINITE’s fandom, Inspirit. On the 10th anniversary of their debut on June 9, 2010 with “Come Back Again,” I couldn’t resist the urge of writing something about how this fandom name, this verb, has come to mean something truly special to me. 

According to Merriam-Webster, the word “inspirit” simply means “to fill with spirit.” Synonyms include words like “encourage,” “hearten,” and “embolden.” These are all feelings that my love of INFINITE has encompassed over the years, even though that flame of love that once burned so passionately now sits nestled in my heart like an ember steadily, only flaring occasionally in moments of intense emotion. 

What is it about INFINITE that I find, personally, so uplifting? It’s hard to put into words, but I wanted to try, so if you’re interested, please bear with me. If not, please go watch “The Chaser” music video, it will probably be enough of an explanation. 

If you’ve ever gotten yourself into a mess of your own making, you know that there’s no more of a disheartening feeling than recognizing you have to just deal with It. It is one of the hardest experiences in the human lifespan, I believe, when you have to take ownership of something you’ve done that has changed your life forever and impacted it in a negative way that cannot be undone. Unlike many bad situations, you can’t point to others when the impact of the decision hits, it is all on you and your poor judgement. Obviously there are outside factors, but in that moment, it is absolutely devastating. 

At the very tail-end of an experience like this, which I will not get into because honestly I don’t want to spend time thinking about that situation any more than I already did back then, I “met” INFINITE in 2010. Their First Invasion is such an innately bright and warm album, and it captured my attention. I didn’t necessarily go full-blown Inspirit until 2011, after INFINITE’s discography (“BTD!” “Can U Smile!” “Nothing’s Over!” Be Mine!” Paradise!” Shot!, the most underrated INFINITE song in my honest opinion) absolutely dominated my listening and their variety show Sesame Player landed the members, and their ragtag escape routes as they ran screaming in a game of tag of sorts with their managers, into my heart. 

Over the years, my relationship with INFINITE has grown and changed. I’m around the same age as the members, and a lot of my life’s milestones have happened alongside theirs as I progressed in both my academic and professional careers, always with their music guiding things in the background. 

Whether it was their bright summer concert videos or their poignant ballads or their oh-so-impactful choreography, I inevitably felt all the feels when watching them perform, and then turned to their variety shows where they inevitably did something really, really, really dumb and it was a mess that had at least one member shouting at the others about how ridiculous they were being. 

And, of course, the love of my life, “The Chaser” dropped in 2012. I remember exactly where I was in college, and in which seat I sat in and on which old oak table I banged my head on, when I watched its music video for the first time and knew I’d probably never find another song I liked more. Still haven’t, but who knows? Maybe someday! (Sorry, “Last Romeo,” you’re a close runner up though.) 

The next year, I studied abroad in Seoul as part of my degree and saw INFINITE several times, and witnessed in-person at One Great Step the members’ teary reaction to bombshell news that SM Entertainment was acquiring INFINITE’s company Woollim. It was emotional, and being in my early 20’s it became a moment I ended up thinking back to a lot when career paths diverged. Fittingly, when I started my first job I used an INFINITE lanyard, the one from the third gen fanclub membership kit, the only membership kit I’ve ever invested in from a K-pop group, and even when I was going to a newsroom at 2am it made me happy to think about the songs I love, and the warm-feelings the men behind them have given me, and it made me smile. 

I really wanted to write something more in-depth about my love of all that INFINITE stands for to me, but the words aren’t coming, as the capacity to turn those feelings to the prose I feel is appropriate has failed me. But I hope whoever is reading this still enjoys as I ruminate on how I’ve been happy with their songs, sad with their songs, and their music has more or less been what I turn to, even now ten years later, when I want to just put on music and enjoy in the background. It has more or less become the soundtrack of my twenties, and there’s something I find truly inspiriting about that. 

It wasn’t until the last month or so when I really actively thought about how INFINITE is so important to me. It’s one of the only fandoms I’ve ever been part of that none of my close friends enjoys as intensely as me, so it’s always kind of been this little K-pop room that I can sit in on my own when I need a break from everything. 

The importance of my bond with INFINITE, more as an idea than as a band, hit a few weeks ago. I saw a comment on social media by someone who I consider a friend and who considers themselves a K-pop connoisseur, saying that they feel rising acts, including INFINITE, are really gaining in popularity among international K-pop fans lately. I had to physically restrain myself from commenting, because I couldn’t really come up with a way to reflect how comically tragic that was, and my little freak out over it kind of honed in to me how my life has become better because INFINITE exists, which is honestly so cheesy I’m kind of laughing as I write that line but that’s the beauty of how we as humans interact with art, no? 

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I went through a variety of thoughts as I read the post. Were they really talking about INFINITE? The INFINITE who had raised the bar for synchronization in K-pop. The INFINITE that had brought forth their own distinct synth-pop, baroque-esque style of boy band songs that are best when played with a full orchestra. The INFINITE that has such good album introductions they may as well release them on their own album. The INFINITE that not only released multiple concert albums to show off both their expressive vocals and acknowledge the fan experience with Inspirit’s supportive fanchants honestly dominating some tracks, but also released instrumental versions of their discography onto an album because why the hell not when the music is so good? The INFINITE I always returned to when I needed to be uplifted? 

It wasn’t that this friend saw international K-pop fans discovering INFINITE,I realized. Rather, their perception came from how, I think, Inspirit have kind of been hopping back to life on social media now that Sungkyu’s back from the military (and throwing staff’s phones) and Woollim was pushing some content ahead of the tenth anniversary. But it hit home to me that INFINITE has, in a way, become removed from the consciousness of many K-pop fans currently in English-speaking spaces. Their music and their career is recognized, but the impact that INFINITE had in the moments that they were at their peak has kind of gone by the wayside, some of the moments that I almost can feel physically when I think back to that time of my life. Obviously this is to be expected that an older group feels some loss in popularity; change is fast in the world of K-pop. But the experience reminded me that even though INFINITE as I once remember it may be gone, the memories and the feelings aren’t. So maybe I’m not always talking about INFINITE, but the impact my moments with INFINITE have had on me is always there.

More recently, a few days ago, I was listening to “Still I Miss You” from the One Great Step Returns concert album, and it struck me how the song could apply to my relationship with INFINITE. As I was sitting there, singing along to the fanchant of the members’ names and the members’ voices, I thought “Ah, I guess I will always miss INFINITE as it once was” but then it hit me. Just because INFINITE isn’t always there anymore, just because INFINITE has changed and grown up a bit, the feeling of exhilaration their music, their career, made me feel throughout the past decade will likely never leave me. It’s not that I’m missing INFINITE, it’s that I’m still feeling their impact on me and my life even now. 

I guess, at the end of this ramble of my thoughts, all I really want to say is this: Happy anniversary, INFINITE, and happy anniversary to anyone else out there who has become infinitely inspirited by your bond as a fan with them and their music. I’m signing off to go watch the newly-released Begin Again fanmeet video!

What are your thoughts on INFINITE? Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

Two Years Later Sewol Ferry Accident Still Resonates in K-Pop Memory

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Sewol Wendy Red Velvet

April 16 marks the second anniversary of the Sewol Ferry catastrophe that resulted in the death of 304 people and sparked introspection of South Korea’s socio-political society. While two years have passed since the sinking, the pain is still raw and many South Koreans continue to demand recognition for what is perceived as an avoidable accident that took the lives of hundreds, many of whom were students at Danwan High School. The effect of any tragedy on art is profound but it’s particularly striking that fans are looking towards K-pop, a musical style that is often perceived as artistically shallow, to find some connection to the youth who passed away during the Sewol ferry’s sinking.

Just as media often reflects current events, K-pop and the general Korean entertainment industry are also still recoiling from the haunting event. While K-pop took a break once to remember those lost, now many Korean songs are being interpreted as memorials dedicated to the Sewol Ferry victims. As K-pop continues to develop into a more mature brand, audiences seek to find a deeper meaning in the musical releases of Korean pop culture. Red Velvet, INFINITE’s Kim Sungkyu, and Block B’s Zico are just a few of the K-pop acts who have been connected to the sinking.

Back in 2014, the entire South Korean entertainment world came to a halt following the tragedy. South Korea’s confucian, communal heritage came to light internationally for the first time in several years during the situation as the entire country came together to commemorate the accident. For more than a month, the Korean pop culture world creeped along trying not to break the tense situation nationwide with what would be deemed inappropriate during a time of mourning. The industry came to a stand still, with few television stations running their normal programming and other forms of entertainment putting off plans; between Block B’s release of “Jackpot” on April 14 and EXO reawakening K-pop on May 7 with “Overdose,” there was no mainstream K-pop music put out because the industry had come to a halt out of respect to the victims and their mourners.

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After life returned to relative normality in South Korea and as the country demanded answers to difficult questions, Korean pop culture still retained its connection to the tragedy. As one of the most defining events in the past few years of South Korean history and an incident that particularly struck young adults, the Sewol accident appears to be rearing its head in a variety of places. While some instances of commemoration were intentional, other instances appear to be coincidences that were discovered by South Koreans still struggling with the horror of what happened on April 14, 2014 as they look for meaning in the art.

Red Velvet “One Of These Nights”

With recurrent water motifs, Red Velvet’s latest concept demands a further look. The song, ostensibly about lovers separation and longing, features a music video that shows the five members of Red Velvet in a variety of scenes that fans thought were meant to symbolize the Sewol Ferry’s sinking and the ones they left behind. Fans drew together a variety of ideas relating the music video concept to Sewol, beginning with the concept pictures which featured paper boats, similar to ones used to commemorate the deceased.

Throughout the music video, the members are seen in a variety of scenes surrounded by water; Joy is perceived as a survivor as she alone climbs away, up a ladder. Wendy, soaking wet, climbs under a table as a representation of the children stuck on the boat who crawled. There are also scenes filmed in a hallway that appears similar to that of those on boats, and a sign with the words “AIS on 15-16.” The AIS, or the Automatic Identification System that helps track ships, aboard the Sewol ferry is suspected of not having functioned properly on April 15 and 16.

To further the idea, Joy is the sole member who wears yellow, the color of the ribbons that memorialize the Sewol Ferry victims, while the other members wear white hooded outfits. In traditional Korean culture, white represents death. Joy sings the haunting line, “It’s okay if I see you in my dreams, so let’s meet again” as the rest of the members disappear into darkness.

Neither Red Velvet nor SM Entertainment, the group’s company, commented on the perceived connections, but the abundance of imagery (especially the AIS sign) makes it very plausible that “One of These Nights” was purposely a memorial to Sewol’s victims.

Sungkyu “Kontrol”

The plot of the music video for “Kontrol” features Sungkyu searching for his younger sister and remembering how they lived happily together while creating a home in an alleyway. Yellow ribbons and life jackets also appear in the short video, leading to fan speculation that that video was somehow related to those who who perished aboard the Sewol ferry.

Like “One of These Nights,” there is an ample amount of water imagery, but “Kontrol” also features the passing of first the girl and then Sungkyu followed by the two of them finding one another in heaven while she is soaking wet, alluding to drowning. Throughout the music video, Sungkyu remembers the pair’s happier times together while wandering alone before presumably walking in front of a car. At the end, Sungkyu gives his sister a small plastic house in a toy to symbolize the home that they, and the students aboard the ferry, once had no longer return to.

Some interpreted the song’s title as condemnation towards the crewmembers and adults who were in charge who took control improperly of the sinking, leading to unnecessary loss of life.

Although Red Velvet have remained quiet about the alleged connection, Sungkyu publicly revealed that the deeper meaning had not been intended but that there are different ways to interpret any sort of art.

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The Ark “The Light

Like the aforementioned songs, the debut song of (reportedly disbanded) The Ark was released only a few days before the first anniversary of the Sewol disaster. The heart wrenching music video features the loving relationship of a mother and a daughter, and the tragic moment when the mother discovers through a news report that her daughter died in an accident. Although the music video featured a bus accident as the cause of death, the timing of the video’s release and the depiction of a parent sending her daughter on a school trip draws on the emotions connected with Sewol.

Zico “Tough Cookie” & “Well Done” feat. Ja Mezz

Block B, the only K-pop group to release a song the day of the tragic event, has a particular connection to the sinking and Zico took the event and immortalized it with these songs. While the previous songs mentioned in this piece all require speculation to make a connection between Sewol and the music or music videos, Zico made it extremely clear that his songs “Well Done” and “Tough Cookie” were dedicated to Sewol’s victims. Both songs have run times of four minutes and 16 seconds, symbolizing April 16. Prior to the release of both, Zico tweeted about the time codes so that fans were aware of his song’s created as memorials.

Zico also commemorated a Block B fan lost at Sewol by attending her funeral and dedicating a rap to her at a concert she had planned to attend prior to her passing.

Are there any other references to the Sewol Ferry you know of? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.