00:00Hello. My name is Aryaratna.
00:03When did you first listen to K-pop?
00:06Basically, during COVID-19, I happened to watch one of the Korean dramas first.
00:14I was introduced to the dramas and gradually I started listening to the music.
00:21That was during the COVID-19 only.
00:23That was the wave when Korean culture actually started impacting the Indian society.
00:30What drama did you watch?
00:31My first drama was Goblin, the Guardian of Angels.
00:36It was a very long hit. It had around 25-28 episodes.
00:40And each episode is about one hour long.
00:43But it was so interesting that I watched it all and I loved it.
00:47And after that, I think I've watched more than 50 dramas now.
00:52So what kind of Korean music do you listen to and what are your favorite bands?
00:57The most famous band is BTS, the Bangtan Boys.
01:01The group is called ARMY. They are known by the ARMYs.
01:05And Blackpink is another.
01:07There is this one more group called EXO-XO.
01:10And what are your favorite songs from these bands?
01:16As I mentioned, I don't listen to music as much.
01:20But after when they collaborated, BTS started collaborating with Hollywood singers also.
01:28So that's when I started listening to some of the music.
01:34They collaborated with Charlie Puth.
01:38Their song is Left and Right.
01:40So that's one of my... I love that song basically.
01:43Can you tell me a little bit about your look firstly?
01:47Can you describe what inspired your look?
01:51Actresses are mostly wearing pastel colors.
01:54They do not wear bright colors at all.
02:00So I'm wearing the beige dress.
02:02And they wear very comfortable clothes actually.
02:06And Korean girls actually cover their upper body.
02:11That's the thing.
02:12So they don't wear sleeveless.
02:14There's a myth that they wear...
02:16I don't know. That's not a myth actually.
02:18It's a fact that they can show their legs and all.
02:21That's why they wear miniskirts.
02:23You must have seen girls wearing miniskirts and all.
02:25Like when you were putting this look together,
02:27if you have to think of a K-drama character,
02:32who were you thinking about when you were dressing up?
02:35The drama I watched first started in Poland.
02:38She was wearing this dress almost somewhat like this in her first look
02:43when she was first seen in the drama.
02:46So yeah, that's what I kept in mind.
02:50Can you tell a little bit about what are your other fashion inspos from other K-dramas?
02:56Yeah, there is this another drama, Nevertheless,
03:01that is totally fully based on fashion designing and all this.
03:07So almost all the girls in that drama,
03:12they were wearing such dresses.
03:14And their fashion was totally very minimal and pastel colours that involved.
03:22So yeah, Nevertheless was one.
03:24And there's a whole list.
03:26There's this one, the Tale of the Nine-Tailed.
03:29She was a businesswoman.
03:30She was mostly dressed up as...
03:32She wore blazers and mostly that.
03:35But I chose this look first.
03:37Can you tell me a little bit about how you made a Korean dress
03:42from your father's old clothes?
03:44Yeah, I had this...
03:48My dad's pants.
03:50It was his...
03:51He was wearing it on his marriage, the blazer.
03:54And so the colour, again, the colour was beige and it was long.
03:58It was like a fully office wear trousers, high-waisted.
04:05So I altered it according to my size.
04:08And it went well with the tank tops and all.
04:12So I wore it around.
04:13I wore it a lot.
04:15And I kept it at home because it was not suiting me now.
04:20You made friends with 10-12 other girls who you started interacting with
04:26because of all of your love for Korean culture.
04:30Can you tell me a little bit about your girl gang and how you guys came together?
04:35Actually, they are my school friends.
04:37They introduced me to K-dramas.
04:39I was not a fan at all till 2020.
04:42Then they forced me, actually.
04:44They literally forced me to watch it
04:45because the storyline of that drama is too good, too good.
04:50And so, yeah, all of them are my school friends.
04:54They're from Shimla.
04:55When you guys would hang out together, would you watch K-dramas together?
05:00Like, was it an activity that, you know, you kind of did together?
05:03Yes, yes, absolutely.
05:05We had such a craze of watching K-dramas that in my, I think, 11th or 12th,
05:13we did not go to school much because of COVID only.
05:17So we took phones and also whenever we got time, we used to watch.
05:22We just sat on the ground and watched K-dramas during our breaks.
05:27Any drama that you watched together and any scene
05:30where you guys cried a lot or laughed a lot, like something like that?
05:35Yeah, so my friends were written.
05:37I was at a night out with my, at my friend's place only.
05:41So we had decided to watch this drama only.
05:44The drama is Tale of the Night.
05:46It is also a very emotional storyline.
05:48That was one drama we watched together or we binge-watched it whole night.
05:56Yeah, we cried, we laughed.
05:58It was a very great memory I had of school.
06:00And any particular scene from the drama you guys,
06:04you remember discussing with your friends?
06:06Because Goblin was my first drama, I discussed a lot.
06:09Because the ending, it has, it is very emotional, very, very emotional.
06:15And that is one, I've watched, I think I've re-watched it twice or thrice
06:21because of the ending only.
06:23And I've talked a lot about it because the way the main character, he dies and,
06:29but he does come back, I think, yeah.
06:32But when he dies, that was really emotional.
06:35It has been a few years since 2020 and 2021, since the pandemic.
06:41Your friends and you must be living in completely different cities now.
06:45So how do you guys stay in touch?
06:48Like, is the Korean dramas and,
06:52still like a part of your conversation of, you know,
06:55coming back together and, you know, discussing?
06:57Totally, randomly, at 3 o'clock randomly we text,
07:00Koi khe drama hai, are you watching anything currently?
07:04And we host Google Meets also to watch it sometimes, together.
07:08There is this drama called The Boom.
07:11We watched it and it has been a lot of time now
07:15because everyone's busy and we've grown up now.
07:18So, and there is this another drama, Celebrity.
07:22So yeah, we watched it, all of it.
07:25And I've watched Squid Game on Google Meet only with my sister
07:29because I'm not living in Shimla anymore.
07:31Okay, what are some of the K-dramas you suggested?
07:34Have you guys watched any K-dramas together?
07:37Squid Game is one.
07:39I told her to watch True Beauty, it was a good one.
07:43And there is this another, Gang Beauty.
07:47We've watched K-dramas together, not all because as I shifted,
07:52but I suggest her and she watches it and then we talk about it.
07:57So because of watching K-dramas and getting into Korean fashion,
08:01have you also tried Korean food?
08:04Oh yes, I have.
08:07When I shifted to Bombay, one thing I was excited about was
08:11because there are a lot of Korean cafes here.
08:15I've tried, there are these dishes,
08:18Gimbap and one dish with the cabbage.
08:23That is one thing I tried here.
08:26The cafe was Hangbok and I visited frequently.
08:29The setup is totally like Korean, the low-heighted tables
08:32and all the seatings are on the floor only.
08:37So it has a good vibe.
08:39And did you by any chance also learn how to make Korean food?
08:43I did during the lockdown only, but it requires a lot of ingredients.
08:48What are the dishes you tried making?
08:51I made Kimchi.
08:52It is made with cabbage.
08:54That was one dish that felt easier to make.
08:57So I tried it.
08:58It is mostly eaten as we like, Indian eat pickles.
09:02So Kimchi is eaten as pickles only.
09:07Are there fashion stores where you can buy Korean culture outfits
09:15and Korean inspired clothes?
09:18Yeah, there is this market, it's known as Lower Bazaar.
09:24So if you go there, there is no particular name
09:28but you have stalls and you have shops
09:32that they've got Korean clothing and everything.
09:36Have you gone shopping for Korean inspired clothes with your girl gang?
09:43Yeah, there was a time we used to.
09:44So our main goal was to dress up like Koreans
09:47to like those stockings and like boots and high heels
09:52and mini skirts and everything.
09:54So we mostly, we shopped.
09:58It was during the school time only
10:00but we shopped a lot for like Koreans and their clothes.
10:03So in Shimla and Himachal Pradesh,
10:07I think your traditional dance is Nati.
10:10You were very much into this dance form, Nati.
10:14Then you, now you are switching to K-pop.
10:18So like, how has the transition been?
10:21Actually, the music videos they've got,
10:23it has a lot of energy they put into the music videos.
10:28So that really inspired me
10:30and it was one way of losing weight as well.
10:33We used to watch their music videos
10:37and I've learned steps during the lockdown only.
10:42Did you try learning Korean language as well?
10:45Yes, I did.
10:46But again, I have no clue.
10:48I bought books.
10:50There is this app Duolingo.
10:53I've used it for a year
10:55and there was a time when I used to write in Korean.
10:59I could read Korean.
11:01I was almost there but I shifted back to Bombay
11:05and I got busy in my own world.
11:06But like, yeah, I've learned Korean.
11:09I also wanted to ask,
11:10like, since you and your sister both are into K-dramas,
11:15how did your parents, you know,
11:17what do your parents think of your liking towards K-drama?
11:23Actually, they don't understand a word of it, obviously.
11:27But like, when I was watching,
11:28they don't interrupt much, they know that.
11:32So there is a moment, there was this,
11:34I think we were watching It's Okay Not To Be Okay Only,
11:36my sister and I.
11:38My mom was, my mom sat with us.
11:40She was initially used to, like,
11:41what are you looking at?
11:43And she sat and she watched the whole episode with us.
11:46Actually, she found it interesting too.
Comments