In 2019, the K-pop club was created in the hopes of providing “inclusivity,” explained Senior Katelin Dzoung, the club’s secretary. On February 14, the K-pop club hosted a Photocard decorating event which was supposed to be in Br482 in Arielle McCoy’s room, a Math teacher, as well as the club’s advisor.
However, on the day of the event, Mccoy was out which led the club members to move to B435 into Science teacher Jessica Webber’s room. This didn’t stop members from enjoying their time as they played their favorite songs while decorating Photocards.
This event idea started with Dzoung. “I had a bunch of stickers laying around and I was like ‘we should do something with them’ because I had a lot and I just decided to do something with card decorating,” as she hoped that it would be something the members would be interested in.
For those who are members, the K-pop club is a space where they can feel safe being themselves. The club has the goal of presenting a specific message to the world. Club president Kiana Tse says, “the goal of the K-pop club was to create a welcoming space to those interested or that want to be interested in K-pop. It would be a safe place that allows students to come together and find other people who share the same interest in groups and soloists as themselves without any judgment.”
Tse went on to confess that, “this club has allowed me to de-stress and temporarily forget about my growing academic and personal responsibilities. To me, this club was a step in being able to be myself since I love K-pop.”
Club vice president An Ho agrees. “I’m a part of it because I just like it, I get to be myself. No one judges each other. We just get to be ourselves and do whatever we want without anyone judging us.”
Tse explains that the K-pop club this year has been active. They have done different types of activities and meetings like Photocard trading and Random Dance Plays–an event where a song would play for about 30 seconds and if someone knew it, they would go to the center and dance to it. Tse added that some members have also brought in their K-pop merchandise to show to the members of the club. Tse finally said, “as this is my senior year, I want to plan events and meetings that aren’t the same things we normally do, I want to make it memorable.”
The K-pop club has been part of Malden High for years and continues to give its members the comfort of knowing that they are not alone in their interests.
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