It’s that time of the year again – people put up their holiday decorations, listen to festive music, put on ugly sweaters and try to warm up from the winter cold (and ten days until our Soju Sunday Christmas party!)
But how does South Korea celebrate Christmas? It’s very important to note that while Canadian notions of Christmas tend to be about family and friends, in South Korea, Christmas is considered a romantic holiday. As opposed to the heartwarming family meals where everyone gets together, most Koreans spend it on a date night with loved ones. Christmas is more celebrated like Valentine’s Day.
Perhaps this is why many K-Pop songs about Christmas tend to be about romance and love, and these K-Pop Christmas songs can warm up even the coldest of hearts.
Now these are my personal favourites, and do not at all reflect the wonderful holiday songs that K-Pop artists have to offer.
GOT7 – “Miracle”
GOT7 is definitely not new to the K-Pop Christmas music game -- they released “Confession Song” back in 2015, which is a sweet song about preparing oneself to confess to their crush on Christmas day. Their newest release is “Miracle”, a slow tempo song that is a step above their previous release; now that the “confession” is done, they are talking about how the person in question is their “miracle”. My personal favourite line is “At the end of winter, I met you who became spring.” The imagery of winter turning into spring is both picturesque and romantic, and the notion of “spring” is one used in many literary forms. To become someone’s “spring” could mean their warmth, or a new beginning with a loved one.
EXO – “Girl X Friend"
EXO actually released TWO Christmas albums. One in 2013 titled Miracles in December and one in 2015 titled Sing For You. EXO’s "Girl X Friend" is from the latter and childhood friends falling for each other and confessing their feelings “when the winter passes”. I don’t know about you guys, but I am a sucker for sweet songs like this; the stories that show the nervous nature of confession but being confident enough to make it happen. My favourite line is “After this winter passes, after years pass, I will still love you.” I mean, who doesn’t want to hear that someone they love will love them for a very long time?
Yang Yoseob & Daniel – “First Snow and First Kiss”
For those where these names aren’t familiar – Yang Yoseob is a member of the 5-piece group HIGHLIGHT (used to be BEAST) and Daniel is a member of the group DMTN, which has been on hiatus since 2013. The two have been friends since their trainee days and have collaborated to release this cozy anthem. The song, like the suggests, is about first love. The vocals of the two singers come together effortlessly to create a tune that is as sweet as winter’s hot chocolate.
Personally, I think the lyrics are a tad too cheesy, but I believe the best love songs are – and that’s why this is one my favourite K-Pop holiday songs.
SHINee – “Colourful”
Now this one might be a little bit of a surprise, since the song itself doesn’t sound very holiday-like. However, the music video show otherwise, as you can see the members decorating a Christmas tree. The song did not release as a part of a Christmas album/single like the others on this list but was rather on their 2013 extended play Everybody. The song talks about how a loved one could bring light and colour into one’s dark and colourless world. Not only that, the song nods at their own fans, Shawols by putting their fandom colour, “Pearl Aqua Green” in the line (“your mint-coloured smile colours the world”). My personal favourite line in this song is “because of you my heart is colourful in this black and white world.”
That's it for me today! I hope you guys enjoyed this list and made yourselves a little warmer swooning over these sugar-sweet songs. What are your personal favourites? Comment and let me know below!
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