The K-pop community has made its way to California Lutheran University, with faculty having started their own K-pop fan club on campus. 

Juanita Hall, former assistant to the president for Diversity & Director, Multicultural and International Programs, and BTS army member, initially influenced the idea of the K-pop club coming to Cal Lutheran and shared her thoughts with JoSan Petersen, administrative assistant to the Deans. The two shared a love of the same music and wanted to further collaborate on the idea. 

“For me, this journey began as a love of music and I found Dr. Juanita Hall who was instrumental in including K-pop in the Cal Lutheran music playlists you hear on campus today,” Petersen said in an email interview. 

After further discussion, the two found another faculty member who shared the same interest in K-pop, Ryan Medders, a professor in the Communication department.

“I am inspired by Dr. Medders and how he brings the ‘Love Yourself’ concept into his curriculum. My hope is that he will have microlessons offered for students, faculty, and staff through this club,” Petersen said.

According to Petersen, forming student involvement for clubs at Cal Lutheran is a necessity in order for the club to begin.

“Having that connection was a big influence on connecting students here on campus and we couldn’t figure out how to bridge the gap between faculty and students because we knew there had been students that were into K-pop but we couldn’t figure out how to bring them all together,” Petersen said.

Although the K-pop club was started by the faculty, the club would continue to be student-led with the supervision of the faculty. 

Sophomore Kylie Kwak, one of the founding members who helped Petersen start the club, is the first member of the club to take on a lead role. Kwak ran her own Korean club in high school and when the idea of the K-pop club came to Cal Lutheran, she wanted to take the opportunity. 

“I didn’t realize it was a whole new club, but I was willing to take it over because I had that experience in high school and I am really passionate about Korean culture,” Kawak said. “My father is originally from South Korea, so I have a cultural connection.”

Kwak further discussed some of the goals for the upcoming club, including her own personal interconnection with Korean culture. 

“Some goals we have set, which Professor Petersen and I have talked about, are to do a bunch of on-campus events such as a Korean food day and to possibly collaborate with another Asian American Pacific Islander food truck night, which they had last spring semester. One of our big goals is to go to a K-pop concert at the end of the year,” Kwak said. 

Kwak said she hopes to bring more K-pop culture to students at Cal Lutheran. 

“We have a lot of international clubs, but we don’t have one that is devoted to music and I think that would be really cool because music connects all of us,” Kwak said. “I grew a love for K-pop because of the musical aspects and being a music major myself so many people are able to connect, especially with the growing population of K-pop musicians.”

With the K-pop club disembarking soon at Cal Lutheran, students interested in joining can keep an eye out for any upcoming announcements and events on their Instagram.

This article was updated on Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m. to correct Petersen’s title in the photo caption. We regret this error.