Catching Up with Whitneybae

Whitney has been riding the Hallyu Wave for quite awhile now, is fairly well-known among the K-Pop fandom for her videos, and has even taken the step of moving to South Korea. She returned to the U.S. to attend KCON NY and took a few minutes to speak with us after her panel.

Q: Tell me what got you into K-Pop? What made you want to learn about it?

A: So, I had a lot of Korean friends and like they were really into BIGBANG. BIGBANG’s “Lies” came out, everybody was singing that song and I was like “What is this?” I just got into it through them because they were always singing the songs and stuff. I was like “Oh my gosh, BIGBANG is amazing!”   

Q: So you live in Korea now, what caused you to move?

A: Originally, I went just to have fun with friends and I loved it so much. I want to stay here longer, I want to learn more about Korea, I want to learn more about the culture. I just moved thinking it was going to be two years, now it is like seven years.

Q: Do you have any advice for people who want to get deeper into Korean culture like K-Pop and K-Dramas?

A: There are so many good resources out there like vlogs that you can get to know life in Korea. If you can visit Korea, I think that is the best thing.  

Q: You have very popular YouTube videos; what is your favorite thing about recording videos and meeting your fans?    

A: I just make videos because I like to do it, I enjoy my own stuff. I just do it as a creative outlet, I just think it is fun, so it is really amazing that other people are enjoying it. I can kind of make people happy [through my videos].

Q: What is your favorite fan experience, like meeting your fans or being a fan yourself?

A: I met Shin Im once and she said “I love your videos.” I was like “Oh my Gosh! The queen of YouTube in Korea loves my videos!” So I guess when I meet other YouTubers that watch my stuff that’s really exciting.        

Q: So, The Kraze is all about bringing international fans closer to the action. Being an international fan yourself, do you have any advice for them like trying to learn more or get involved?         

A: Well, I mean, just visit KCON, you can not only make friends. There are so many booths where you can try Korean food and they sell different stuff. Korean culture is here, it is just a chance for you to network and meet new people.

Q: Everyone probably wants to know the answer to the question. Who is your ultimate bias? You can choose one male and one female.  

A: I love everyone! If I had to choose one person, this is so hard! For female, Lee Hyori, she is the queen! For male, I’m going to go with Rain. I’m going to go old school, they are both legends.

Be sure to follow Whitney on social media to keep up with her experiences living in South Korea!

Twitter: @WhitneybaeIRL

Instagram: @Whitneybae

YouTube: Whitneybae