#2 You say things like “jinjja/진짜” “pabo/바보” “hajima/하지마” in everyday speech when no one can understand you. Don’t be that person who is all of a sudden Korean. I don’t know why you would want to do this. #1 After being introduced to Korean culture, you are all of a sudden Korean. READ VOXCast: Are School Counselors Helping Teens With Our Mental Health? Admiring only certain parts of a culture (which most of the time are completely fake) can be insulting to Korean and Japanese people. Koreaboos idolize Korean life from K-Dramas and Weeaboos take from anime. Both of these terms are problematic because they insist on taking make-believe aspects of Japanese and Korean culture and making it real. It actually stems from the word “Weeaboo” which is used to describe a person who completely disregards their nationality and claims themselves as Japanese. If you’re going to use the word Koreaboo to describe someone, at least make sure you’re using the word right.Ī lot of people don’t even know where the term Koreaboo comes from. So, I hid the fact that I listened to K-Pop from other people except those who listened to it as well. I also knew that people were using the word wrong and their definitions were something that I knew I was not. It hurt because people were making fun of something that actually made me happy. To be honest, when people started to call me a Koreaboo, it used to actually hurt my feelings a bit. People even have ways of making their eyes into monolids * using “non-toxic” glue. We need to get rid of this stigma that’s attached to listening to K-Pop.įirst off, what is a “Koreaboo” (K-Boo)? Contributors from Urban Dictionary describe a Koreaboo as “someone who is obsessed with Korean culture so much they denounce their own culture and call themselves Korean.” Yes, there are non-Korean people out here who are claiming themselves as Korean. Tiny Disclaimer: Please don’t be embarrassed to listen to K-Pop.