It was 10:09 pm, 8 degrees, feels like 7. The wind picks up as I walk, long, dark hair and the tips of my kuffiyeh whip behind me as I speed down the sidewalk. Each quick step is accented by a laboured breath, turned to a cloud from the cold. My eyes stay fixed on the pavement, but I recognize each line and crack in the cement. Being an activist, there isn’t much of a place I call home. Traveling with journalist groups across the greater Asia and Europe, I’m conditioned to the glamour so many cities bring. Seoul is 6th on our 54 city tour, and I’ve been provided an apartment adjacent to the tall glass building of JYP ENT. did I care at first? Not at all. I wasn’t much of a foreign music listener, sticking to modern middle eastern, so this Korean entertainment company didn’t matter to me much. I may be biased, but I’m not blind- I’ve seen these celebrities come and go from the building and they’re attractive. It’s their job to be- it’s a part of the package, alongside the music. It fascinated me a little I’ll admit- the whole industry- but once I’d delved deeper, I found everything so disconnected. Fans so caught up on dating rumors and “streaming comebacks” that they would become obsessive, ignoring much bigger, more important real life issues. It pissed me off beyond reason. So now as I go for a late night 7-Eleven run, I find myself more annoyed than anything when an idol bumps into me on his way out of the building.