Teens swarm against the stage at DAR Constitution Hall, holding their cellphone cameras aloft, ready to fire. In nervous anticipation, a girl squeals, unleashing a torrent of Oh my Gods! and a wave of synchronized bouncing.
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Born and raised near Los Angeles, Danny Im is among a growing cadre of Korean Americans who have broken into the Korean entertainment industry and now serve as K-pop stars to be exported globally.
Some hail from the suburbs of Northern Virginia: Chart-topper Micky Yuchun of boy group TVXQ attended Chantilly High before he became famous in Asia for his baby-face good looks and Justin Timberlake dance moves; Lee Ming Young of the best-selling pop duo As One is a graduate of Fairfax High School.
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"You grow up hearing all kinds of music, languages and sounds growing up in America," says Danny, an eight-year veteran Korean singer and rapper. "Those experiences make you open to more things and more versatile. "
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Micky Yuchun grew up in Seoul, where he was known as Yuchun Park. He immigrated with his parents, middle-class small-business owners, in the sixth grade. He watched Korean dramas on satellite TV and listened to the CDs of K-pop bands. At Holmes Middle School, Chantilly High and among friends, he soaked up the Backstreet Boys, Eric Clapton and MTV.
Three years ago he was plucked from talent contests in Northern Virginia to join one of Asia's hottest boy bands. He uses his American moniker, Micky, as his stage name.
"I felt 50-50 American and Korean," Micky, 21, says in a telephone interview from Seoul. "I think most Korean kids in America feel that way these days."
One in five residents of the Washington area is foreign-born, making imports like manga (Japanese comics) and bhangra (Punjabi music) part of the cultural vernacular of the youth. Global travel is more accessible. So is entertainment. In the world of teens, K- pop, J-pop and Taiwanese pop music and movies are a click away. Even some K-pop band names mean more than Americans realize: TVXQ, for example, is a transliteration of the name in Mandarin Chinese -- the group is also seeking a market in the Communist mainland.
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Just as baby boomers once fought over which Beatle would be their "boyfriend," teens Elaine Park, Joanne Kim and Christina Oh argue over who gets to "claim" Tae Yang of boy band Big Bang.
They are sophomores at Lake Braddock High and self-described BFFs -- best friends forever. All born and raised in Fairfax, the three have attended the same schools and churches since childhood. They've shared countless hours lounging in each other's bedrooms, the walls decorated with posters of Korean boy bands, memorizing lyrics and scouring Korean entertainment forums like Soompi.com for scraps of gossip.
At the concert at Constitution Hall, the three stake their claim to a small section in front of the stage. Elaine says she will go home happy if she can give Big Bang's Tae Yang a personal memento - - maybe her student ID.
As performers come on, one by one, the friends sing all the lyrics -- Korean and English -- to songs performed by Se7en, Gummy and Lexy. Arms interlaced, they sway side to side.
"I like American music too, but sometimes I find it too sexual," says 16-year-old Christina. "Korean music is more innocent, but still really fun."
Suddenly the stage falls dim. With a buildup of smoke and flashing lights, the six members of Big Bang come out to the heavily synthesized dance beats of the song "La La La."
The BFFs lose it as the music inspires a hormonal storm. The floor shakes. Fans jump and scream. "Musheesuh!" a girl in back yells. You are so handsome!
Elaine presses forward, trying to get as close as she can. Her moment arrives; Tae Yang comes to her part of the stage. She frantically grabs for something to give him: a water bottle. He takes it and smiles. She floats to another world, but a very familiar one.
Credits: Cecilia Kang - Washington Post Staff Writer. (2006, November 26). Riding the Seoul Train; Korean American Teens Embrace a Pop Music Hybrid :[FINAL Edition]. The Washington Post,p. N.1. Retrieved October 7, 2009, from ProQuest National Newspapers Core. (Document ID: 1168284401).