Hallyu, the “Korean wave”, of the Korean pop culture continues to grow worldwide as artists become more active internationally than they do at home. Most of the K-pop fanatics and the fandom usually start at a young age as do the K-pop artists and teen idol groups. Not for Katherine Kokenes, who is a mother of three college graduates. Kokenes has been in love with K-pop since 2007 and became a huge fan of the K-pop duo, TVXQ, where she has been actively supporting them ever since.
TVXQ, initialized for Tong Vfang Xien Qi which roughly translates to “Rising Gods of the East”, consists of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin and has over 2 million fans worldwide. Kokenes’ fanaticism for TVXQ is definitely not what you would call “average”. How big of a fanatic is she? She has attended over 35 TVXQ concerts, has a small room at home that is filled with over 1,000 TVXQ merchandise, her customized license plate reads “TVXQFAN”, and most of all – she is president of the ‘We Are T’ TVXQ International Fan Club. “Their harmonization and powerful dancing are just amazing! I grew up in Hawaii and dancing is a huge part of my culture so when I first saw them dancing, I was just so hypnotized. Even if I don’t understand what they are singing about, I absolutely love it and can’t get over it.”
Some people may call Kokenes over-obsessed and ridiculous. However, most people do not know that her obsession and strong passion for K-pop is what actually saved her life. In late 2011, Kokenes found out she was diagnosed with stage IV of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), which is a rare and very aggressive form of breast cancer. She went through extensive treatment of chemotherapy and radiation throughout all of 2012 and undergone surgery in 2013. “It was a complex surgery. My doctor just told me to rest and to prepare myself. I told him, ‘No. I have three kids who were still in school and I need to provide for them.’” After her surgery, Kokenes decided that instead of being sad or scared, she wanted to live her life to the fullest by doing whatever she could that made her happy because that’s just who she was. That was probably the best decision Kokenes could have made because after pouring all of her positive energy and passion for her family, for K-pop and for herself – she miraculously healed. Doctors couldn’t explain it and are still baffled on how she was able to survive without additional treatment.
Kokenes still continues to do what she loves, even to this day. She is currently in Japan for TVXQ’s “With” tour where she will be attending all five concert dates. Not only does she strongly support TVXQ, but she supports many other K-pop bands as well as she has attended roughly over 50 K-pop concerts in total so far. Her love for K-pop is even stronger as she is able to share most of her memorable K-pop moments with her two daughters. “Other fans have their own story. I have mine. I think K-pop is a huge influence on people and their music can really save lives. I really hope these artists know that.” Kokones’ love for K-pop is undeniable as she expresses that every penny and every energy spent purchasing plane tickets, concert tickets, and merchandise was well worth it. Because to her, every moment that has made her happy has been her own personal medicine.
Yuna Hwang
K-Herald
