Super Junior, Always There

Nowadays, whenever my feelings are all over the place, I open Spotify, play a Super Junior song, and just like that, my heart calms down. Yes, you read that right. Not BTS. Not even my first love, the Backstreet Boys. But somehow, it’s Super Junior who’s become my unexpected comfort zone. Even I’m surprised. 😅 

Super Junior was nothing new to me. Honestly, it’s kinda blurry how they really came into my life because it was a weird mix of love, hate, and… a little bit of karma. 😏

Back in 2010/2011, one of my friends was so into Super Junior. Like, every weekend when we went for karaoke, she would always sing “Sorry, Sorry.” Every. Single. Time. And me? Well… I didn’t exactly hate them, but I didn’t like seeing them either. They were so different from the Western boybands I grew up with. That South Korean boygroup had too much makeup, too much hair gel… just too much everything. And their songs? Ugh. No, thank you. Me and my other friends would mock that one friend for always singing Super Junior songs during karaoke. We even joked about banning Super Junior from our karaoke sessions.

But then, in 2012, I saw Heechul and Siwon on early episodes of Running Man. Their personalities caught my attention, but then it hit me.. weren’t they from Super Junior? And after that episode, a few other members popped up on Running Man as guests, and Siwon especially left a strong impression on me. I even gave their songs another chance, remembering how my friend and even my house helper were big fans. But nope… still not my cup of tea. I just couldn’t like their songs. At all.

So, at that point, my Super Junior experience was purely through variety shows. I fell for their variety-idol charm, especially Siwon (and later, Heechul).

Running Man episode 20. (Heechul was on 11:54)

Running Man episode 22. 

Then came another big chapter in my life. In late 2017, things started to feel overwhelming. Running Man could no longer fulfill my weekly dose of happiness. Even binge-watching Song Joong Ki dramas couldn't excite me anymore. So, I went hunting for something new, and that's when Super Junior crashed back into my life.

I happened to stumble upon an episode of Weekly Idol and Super Junior were the guests. Siwon wasn't there, but I recognized some of the other guys. And as I watched that one episode, I fell for their chaos. They were like… how do I even explain it? Like one of those wild, unruly high school classes. Even Great Teacher Onizuka would give up on.

Weekly Idol episode 328. 

And so, they began to fill my days through SJ Returns, Super TV, or even just popping up as guests on random South Korean variety shows I happened to watch. They wasn't exactly my daily dose of happiness, but it was enough to lift my mood when I needed it. But still, since I didn't really like their music back in 2012, I had no interest in giving it another try. Sorry. Really.

And then came late 2018, when I started getting into BTS. The first thing I noticed? They were waaay younger than me. In fact, my own nephews are just a year younger than their youngest member. Yeah, I thought, there’s no way I’m going to stan a group that could basically call me 'aunt'. That's when I started thinking about Super Junior again. So, I gave their music another shot, and that’s when I stumbled upon No Other. I fell in love with it from the very first note. That song instantly became one of the few K-pop tracks on my iPod.

No Other was on my iPod playlist in 2018.

From there, I started listening to more of their songs. And to my surprise, they had a lot of music I actually liked. One that really stood out was Superman. I remember listening to it for the first time and instantly thinking that this song would be incredible to see performed live. Just imagining the energy on stage gave me chills. That moment made me even more curious about how powerful their performances must be. I even planned to attend their concert in my country back in mid-2019... but sadly, I couldn’t get a ticket. Well, at least not the cheapest one. Still, I was all in and ready to give them my heart. I even had a bias already. (Well, take a wild guess. LOL.)

But around the same time, the universe seemed to have other plans. Every time I opened YouTube, it kept throwing random BTS funny clips from their variety show at me. I tried to resist, but before I knew it, I couldn’t stop watching. Within a few weeks, I had gone from curious viewer to full-on, die-hard ARMY.

Even so, during my baby ARMY phase, I still watched Super Junior’s variety shows and kept an eye out for any of their appearances. I even tuned in to their online concert during the pandemic. Their album Timeless, which came out around that time, became one of my favorites. They were still part of my life… just quietly, in the background.

And then in 2024, maybe their time finally came. They came to my country again in 2024. This time, I had to see them live. And guess what? I got the ticket. And that… changed everything. Literally everything.

Took a pic with "Siwon".

You know, imagine having a friend for years… and then one day, you suddenly realize you’ve been in love with them all along? That’s exactly what happened when I saw them on stage. That night, I finally realized what had been missing all this time.

And what happened after the concert was beyond my imagination. I couldn’t stop listening to their songs. Every time my bias went live on Instagram or YouTube, I had to watch. At first, I thought it was just post-concert depression. But it wasn’t. Because it keeps happening. Even now.

So yeah, Super Junior wasn’t something entirely new to me. They were always around, orbiting the edge of my life. But when life got tough, they came back. And this time, they stayed. They didn’t just entertain me. They comforted me. They became my safe space, my escape, my emotional support group wrapped in variety show madness.

So not just BTS. Not just the Backstreet Boys. But also Super Junior, the loud, hilarious, chaotic group I never expected to love this much. Somehow, all three became home to me in their own way. Different eras, different moods… but always there when I needed them most. And maybe that’s the truth of it all: it wasn’t me chasing them. It was them that quietly, patiently, and without me even realizing, pulling me in until I couldn’t pull away.

Now I get it. Why BTS could waltz into my life so easily, while Super Junior stayed in the background. At first, I didn't even like them, remember? Maybe deep down, I was low-key embarrassed that I ended up liking them after years of mocking my friend and swearing I hated their songs. But now? Pfft. Forget that. I’m all in, no shame.

That said, I still refuse to be an ELF, Ever Lasting Friends. Because if I'm an ELF, that means I've been officially friend-zoned by Super Junior. And sorry, but I’m not here to be just their buddy. IYKYK 😏

Anyway, let's save the talk about my bias for the next post. This one's already way longer than I intended. Guess I got a bit carried away. Too much drama, I know. Just like Super Junior themselves. LOL.

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Neo gateun saram ddo eobseo. Juwireul dulreobwado geujeo geureohdeon geol. Eodiseo chatni neogatchi joheun saram. Neogatchi joheun saram. Neogatchi joheun maeum. Neogatchi joheun seonmul. | There is no one else like you. Even if I look around, it's just like that. Where do I find a good person like you? A good person like you. A good heart like you. A good gift like you. [No Other - Super Junior]