Learning ABout Love Through K-Pop:
Meet The Admiring Enchanter
As part of honoring our commitment to cultural humility and anti-oppressive practices in research, our team took great care in honoring the voices of all of our participants, and gained feedback each step of the way through collaboration with the Asian American community.
This Chinese teenager uses K-pop to express their understanding of love. DJ effects are incorporated throughout the music to illustrate their desire to explore all facets of love, from infatuation and passion to the search for a partner who will accept them. However, this teen also wants their future lover to understand that they will not allow love to cause them pain, as they feel immune to suffering.
The Admiring Enchanter’s Tracklist
The Past
Quote – Oliver Goldsmith Intro – 0:06
Ignite – K391 0:07-0:54
My Heart Will Go On Piano Version – (Titanic) 0:56-1:46
A Window From The Past Piano version – (Harry Potter 3) 1:47-2:49
The Present
Quote – Unknown 2:50-2:52
Butterfly – Loona 2:53 – 4:18
Hype Boy – NewJeans 4:19-5:17
Heart Attack (Chuu) – LOONA 5:18-6:19
Cookie – NewJeans 6:20-8:39
The Future
OMG – NewJeans 8:40-11:45
Hurt – NewJeans 11:46-14:15
Quote – Albert Einstein 14:16 -end
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Elizabeth Anglin for her incredible artwork titled The Admiring Enchanter!
Click Below to Follow Along with the Music Analysis
The Admiring Enchanter's Past
A teenager explores their relationship journey through K-pop music. They start their creative independent analysis blog with a quote from novelist Oliver.Goldsmith.
Don’t let us make imaginary evils when you know we have so many real ones to encounter
The novelist, although obscure from the 18th century, has their quote brought to life by a teenager who speaks the words themselves. Following their opening quote, the teen starts to play music—a heavy electric pop song. The teen has chosen “Ignite” by K391.
Feeds the dying light and brings me back to life.
In your eyes, I see something to believe in.
The Admiring Enchanter seeks someone to give them hope; that someone will be the light in the darkness.
The past gently unfolds through two evocative piano pieces, each steeped in a profound sense of nostalgia that invites introspection.
The first is a tender arrangement of “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic. The piece begins softly, with caressing notes. As the piece progresses, it swells into powerful, stirring chords that resonate deeply within, echoing the tumult of emotions we often experience when reminiscing. It concludes with a delicate echo, reminiscent of ripples in still water.
The second piece, “A Window From The Past” from the magical realm of Harry Potter, pulls us into a rich emotional landscape where light meets shadow.
For those who grew up immersed in the stories, the scene from the end of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” unfolds vividly in their minds. The scene starts with Harry and Sirius Black (The Prisoner of Azkaban) talking about the Dementors and how they have the power to make people re-experience their worst moments in life. Then, the conversation shifts to Sirius’ heartfelt words to Harry about his mother and father. Sirius reveals how Harry’s mother was a beacon of hope during his darkest hours, we’re reminded of our own connections—of the people who shaped us, loved us, and helped us through difficult times.
It’s a poignant moment.
Whether the listener has seen the movie or not, you can hear the instruments whisper, beckoning us to reflect on our own journeys. What secrets do we hold about our past, and how do they shape our present selves?
For the Admiring Enchanter, does this evoke a similar introspection? Or does the music articulate the unspoken depths of a teenager’s heart, wrestling with the complexities of their emotions tied to cherished childhood films? Perhaps we find out as our analysis continues.
The Admiring Enchanter's Present
The Admiring Enchanter juxtaposes their past with a fun and playful present. It is a surprising transition. A dream-like reverb with a fade is used to transition to the present. The teen uses their own voice to tell us:
Life is too short for long division
In this section of the present, the Admiring Enchanter shows confidence as if they know their goals for life. It begins with the song “Butterfly” by Loona –
날 감싸 안아주는 (It Surrounds me, holding me)
Wind
새로 깨어나는 느낌 (Feels like i’m being born again)
나를 채워가는 눈빛 (Gaze that fills me up)
You
어쩌면 꿈인 것 같아 (Might be a dream)
이 순간 (This moment)
Dreams, Dreams may come true
What we hear as the listener is how the teenage views the stages of love. It is a heartfelt journey through a series of carefully currated array of K-pop songs. From the joyful thrill of first love (“Butterfly” by Loona & Hype Boy by NewJeans):
I just want you,
Call my phone right now.
I just wanna hear, “You’re mine,”
‘Cause I know what you like, boy (Uh-uh).
There is an echo of the clapping sound right after the lyrics to call attention to the words. Call my phone right now. I just wanna hear, You’re mine (clap, clap).
We are then whisked away to romance and the idea of one true love in “Heart Attack (Chuu)” by LOONA. This song focuses on destiny and love:
분명 넌 나의 destiny, 빛이나 내 맘 가득히, 아찔한 기분이 이런 건가 봐, darlin’ (Surely you’re my destiny It shines fully in my heart, This must be what thrill feels like, darling).
The Admiring Echanter’s CIAB continues to explore love, focusing on sexual love within 2 minutes of “Cookie” by NewJeans –
Made a little cookie
Your poison
I’ll melt your heart away,
So good, yeah,
Looking at my cookie,
Do you ever smell it differently?
Taste it.
The Admiring Enchanter's Future
The Admiring Enchanter’s adds an echoes ito move into the future with the song “OMG” by NewJeans:
이 노래는 it’s about you baby
Only you
You you you
You you you you
내가 힘들 때
울 것 같을 때
기운도 이젠
나지 않을 때
It’s you 날 걱정하네
It’s you 날 웃게하네
내가 힘들 때
울 것 같을 때
기운도 이젠
나지 않을 때
It’s you 날 걱정하네
It’s you 날 웃게하네
English Translation:
This song is about you baby
Only you
You you you
You you you you
When I’m down
Feel like I’m crying
When I can’t even
Pretend to be okay
It’s you, you worry about me
It’s you, you make me laugh
The song continues until the teen turns the bass on and off for the lyrics –
No, I can never let him go,
너만 생각나 (you and me)
24
Shortly after the previous verse,
The teen stops the song:
I know, I know
I’m going crazy right?
어디서든 (Anywhere)
몇 번 (No matter how many times)
(Music Stops)
There ain’t nothing else that
I would hold on to
The hard stop shows how the teens see themselves as the primary love interest of the song. The teen emphasizes this again with another intentional stop:
Oh my, oh my God
단 너뿐이야
(Music Stops)
난 재미없어 게임 같은 건
다 필요없어
아무리 좋아도 널 no
말로만은 지겨운걸
먼저 와서 보여줘
먼저 와서 보여줘
Translation:
I’m not into games, not gonna play
Not into your ways,
but I’m never gonna break, no
Don’t want you to just say the words
You should come and show me first
You should come and show me first
‘Cause I’m not gonna the one to get hurt
‘Cause I’m not gonna the one to get hurt
The song ripples into the teen reading a quote with what sounds like an echo chamber. Perhaps this reflects the notion that the teen is as vast as the universe.
Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I am not sure about the former. – Einstein
By expressing their own voice, this message poignantly highlights how when people are caught up in love, they can sometimes act irrationally and make choices they later regret.
The future, as a whole, invites us to reflect on the teenager’s journey: Will their path be defined by such passionate yet unpredictable decisions, or are we also considering the struggles and experiences of those around them? It’s a reminder that love can be both beautiful and bewildering.