My Name is Megan Gleason. I graduated from Weber State University with my bachelor's in creative writing and have since been writing locally for the Davis Journal and editing novels for EGlobal Publications. I started my K-pop journey back in 2012, and have since fallen in love with the genre and related media.
My first ever K-pop song was actually Gangnam Style (because what nerd didn't hear it blasted everywhere back then?) but my official "start" to K-pop was Big Bang, Fantastic Baby. Yup. That crazy video with all the colors and hair is what somehow made me keep clicking on videos until I was neck-deep in metallic pants, way too many gyrating hips, and the over
all glitz and glamour of K-pop. 2012 was a crazy year for K-pop as far as 2nd gen goes, and somehow that madness made me stick around.
It was very early into my K-pop journey, around the middle of 2013, that I discovered EXO and decided "Yeah, I'm just going to stay here forever."
And so I have. Over the years there have been many groups that come and go, and some still going strong after the 11 years I've been around. In that time K-pop has changed a lot, and the K-pop community has expanded to far greater heights than I could have ever imagined. No longer was it just me rocking out to Monsta X in my car by myself. Now I can be at a stop light and hear Black Pink bumping in the car next to me. Or at the grocery store and have BTS play over the speakers. The K-pop community in Utah has grown and will continue to grow as more people become aware of it. It's because of this rising trend, that I decided to start Fanfare.
For years, K-pop was not a thing that seemed to exist in Utah. It always seemed like all the cool fan events always happened somewhere else. There wasn't much happening here if you liked K-pop. But in recent years that has begun to change. Now we have cup sleeve events, club nights, RDP pop-ups, photo card trading vents, and special anniversary parties. The K-pop fans of Utah are coming out in force, eager and proud to tell the world all about their favs.
Fanfare is meant to be an outlet for these fans who have spent too much time in the woodwork, to express themselves and connect to the community. Fans are always overflowing with love, right? And that love drives us to make something, to do something, to create a visual or physical representation of that love. That's what Fanfare is to me. I love K-pop and have for a long time. But I also love the community. The way people come together and are free to be a little sill, a little dramatic, but honest in something they love. I want to showcase that. I want people to appreciate what fandom can do; alone and together.
My greatest wish is for Fanfare to grow into a regular serialized publication. For fans, by fans. Something just for us to cherish and appreciate.
I would love for you to join me in making that dream come true.
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