Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiel Cole, Mickaela Walker, Kyaja Powell, and Alex Bravo.
Kiel, Mickaela, Kyaja, and Alex, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We are all fans of K-pop and a popular activity among other fans is to participate in random dances. They are very common in Korea and many other parts of Asia and even Europe, but not as common in the USA unless when KCON comes around and that is only in New York and Los Angeles. We decided to change that. We took all the preparations we needed to book a venue and spread the word and it was a success. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 our plans to put on a second one was canceled, but we are looking forward to rolling out merch soon as well as online events
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Fortunately, it’s been a smooth journey as of today, but we are looking to gain more of a following so that we can put on more fun activities in the future. There has been a lot of other similar companies popping up and trying to stand out from the rest has been difficult.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
We are a black-owned K-pop events and merchandise business. We specialize in organizing events to help draw the K-pop community together as well as creating trendy and fashionable merchandise that true fans can identify. We are primarily known for our random dance events that we put on. We are most proud of our first event having such a great turnout and receiving lots of positive feedback. We even got people from other states begging for us to do another. I feel like the main thing that sets us apart is that we target all groups and all fandoms as other organizations tend to focus on one specific group and fandom.
What were you like growing up?
Kiel: From a very young age, I had a strong interest in traveling and learning about different cultures, so I would often spend hours researching different places and making plans to see and experience the world. I found myself most interested in Asian cultures so I started digging deeper there. My journey in learning about South Korean culture and South Korea as a whole began when I watched a video of Seoul Fashion Week. I was amazed by the street style there and wanted to learn as much as I could. Fast forward to the present day, I feel like K-pop is a large interest in my life and I wanted to incorporate something I strongly enjoy into a business venture. Growing up I was very adamant pursuing things that only brought me joy and I learned a lot about business from my father and personal research, so I said “why not?”.
Mickaela: I grew up surrounded by music and entrepreneurship. My parents were DJ’s and managed their own DJ business. My mom also sells soaps and different body care. This from a young child gave me the motivation to not only be as creative as possible with any entrepreneur endeavor but also showed me in an interesting way to love music. They would buy random artists CDs and I would listen to them all day and night. Artists ranging from Maroon 5, Usher, Avril Lavigne, and more. It gave me a love for multiple different genres. I also got into anime with my family, and my siblings and I would constantly listen to the opening and ending songs together, despite them being in Japanese, we loved them very much. Getting into K-pop was a very smooth transition, and I am loving the community more and more as time goes on.
Kyaja: I grew up in rather poor and unconventional conditions yet seeing myself today and being a part of this business venture has been an eye-opener. Raised by a single parent, I never thought I’d be participating in something as diverse and in a creative environment like this one but here I am and it has been a blessing.
Alex: As a kid I mostly kept to myself, only keeping a small group of close friends. I had a tomboyish attitude and was basically a teacher’s pet, which was helpful for my grades but not so much for my social life. Any time not spent reading or drawing was probably spent watching anime. My appreciation for Asian culture began at a pretty young age, so my current love for K-pop is like an extension of my original interest in Japanese art and music. Being a part of Seoul City Vibez feels like the perfect opportunity for me to combine my love for art, music, and Asian culture.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SeoulCityVibez
- Email: seoulcityvibez@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seoulcityvibez/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/seoulcityvibez?s=20
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SeoulCityVibez
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