Ever since I first heard about this book, I was eager to read it. I’m deeply grateful to NetGalley Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ALC.

A heartfelt blend of memoir and cultural critique, this book explores how K-pop has shaped Giaae Kwon’s identity, particularly through her struggles with body image, anxiety, and depression. Her journey is deeply personal—marked by insecurities about her appearance and the weight of societal expectations—but also universal, as she learns to embrace herself despite external judgments.

Giaae weaves her personal story with insightful discussions on Korea’s academic pressure, plastic surgery culture, and perceptions of female desire. She also highlights the complexities of the K-pop industry through profiles of some of its biggest idols. The book strikes a delicate balance between admiration and critique, showing both the heart and machinery behind K-pop’s global rise.

One of the best aspects was hearing the author narrate her own story in the audiobook. Her voice brings an added layer of authenticity and emotion, making the listening experience even more immersive.

Releasing on March 18th, "I’ll Love You Forever" is a perfect addition to your Women’s History Month or Korean March TBR. Whether you’re a longtime K-pop fan or simply curious about its impact, this book offers a thoughtful and deeply personal perspective.

This was an extremely thought-provoking book. As someone both in and out of this conversation (a white female Kpop fan), I think this is a book for everyone to read even if you aren't too familiar with the groups she discussed in detail. Even as someone more versed in Kpop I still took a lot away from this. It tackles hard conversations with care but doesn't hold back. It discusses a lot of different topics, including Korean culture, body image, idols, mental illness, and more. The writing is incredibly well done and I hope to read more of the authors work. It's a great blend of memoir, cultural commentary, and information. I highly recommend it!

This combines piercing examinations of fandom and Korean pop culture into a candid self-portrait.
This examines different kpop idols to discuss topics like body image, depression, feminism, academics, plastic surgery, culture appropriation etc.

This is both positive and critical at times, walking a tightrope of offering nostalgia and happiness, and danger and shortcomings.

This did start to become more focused on the matrices of Christianity towards the end which felt like a personal addition to distance herself.

You don’t need to be a K-pop fan to understand this. However, I do this one weakness is that this knowledge will add to your enjoyment and connection to some of what the author relates, especially her own experiences and memories.

It occasionally became repetitive, but the narrator had a soothing voice and I could lose myself doing other tasks and listening in the background.

Audiobook arc gifted by Dreamscape Media.

a quick but expansive book/memoir about fandom, culture, and belonging. we learn so much about the history of korea and how korean culture came to be from a diasporic pov. we also learn about body dysmorphia and ED, mental health, sex and sexuality, religion, purity culture, and otherness. i rly like books like this, and the comparison to <i> trick mirror </i> was truly not an exaggeration. on the one hand, there's nothing you haven't heard before, and on the other, it needs to be said again.

3.5⭐️

First, thank you to Dreamscape Media, Giaae Kwon, and NetGalley for a chance to preview this title before its publication date of March 18, 2025.

This is a type of memoir so I will not be reviewing the content so much as the structure and narration.

Even while listening to this book, it wasn't until near the middle that I really understood what this book is about. It just seemed like disjointed rambling with one chapter seemingly having nothing much to do with the previous chapter, except it contained some reference to KPop. And this is true but it does go deeper than that. For example, she describes a time when she very much struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. Throughout this time, she wanted to see a concert of a particular group and that was her thread for a time. And because of her mental health battles, she can relate to those KPop idols who speak out about their own struggles, as well as connect with other fans who are also struggling because the KPop fandom is a real community.

I enjoyed this book because I am aware of how the KPop industry works, ie the companies, debuts, bands, fandom, and such. I do not believe that others would understand this, but, then again, would non-KPop fans even want to pick up a book like this? That being said, I did feel that the book was often disjointed, bouncing around in time as well as in content. As for the narration, it was narrated by the author and because of this, there was a genuineness that was heard clearly through the book.

Giaae Kwon is so genuine and kind, wow wow wow I'm a fan.

All of my time spent listening felt like chatting w a new friend about their past. Not preachy, not a history lesson. Just the pertinent information to ensure you can keep up—a nice change from some of the cultural criticism that seems to try to double as a textbook. To be clear, it's not that I don't want to learn about the topic(s) more in depth. It's that I don't want to have to try to follow a memoir while also making a list of things I need to google after, or worse, have to pause in the moment to google before I can keep going. It's clear Giaae knows what she's doing <i>with</i> and wants <i>from</i> this piece, her focus is consistently maintained while still pushing you on to the next chapter. I don't know how to explain what I mean.... like, sometimes when a book is truly ONLY about one topic you're eventually burnt out on it and need a break? I'll Love You Forever I didn't need a break from, I <i>wanted</i> to hear more. And truthfully k-pop wasn't on my radar as something I'd enjoy following in the first place, so how grumpy I was to have to put this down to go contribute to society is proof of Kwon's ability to bring you on board. I'd highly higly recommend this whether you're interested in Korea or pop music or k-pop or not. Comments made on homophobia, religion, shame and family dynamics actually outshine any of the other points.

At first, I couldn't relate at all. I didn't really have a super serious boy band phase. I usually loved bands as a whole, only favoring one member if we happened to share a name or outside interests. But K-pop has SO MUCH to it that I wasn't aware of. The formulations, the strategy, the RULES! Ohhh my goodness the rules. I thought being a child star (or star in general) was bad in the US?? Nothingggg like K-pop artists have to deal with overall, from the sounds of it. Being able to see thru the band names to the strategies their managing firms use—basically product placement for humans—made me see the industry in a different light.

The other standout topic being body shaming & the beauty-industrial complex, Giaae nails it there as well. Similar to how Sable Yong was able to bring an additional dimension to Die Hot With a Vengence, Giaae brings novel concepts and theories I've never heard but are doubtlessly true to an issue we're already fairly well read on in the West. I get stuck in such an ethnocentric mind space that books like these are vital to help keep my vision from tunneling (I'm working on it, I swear).

My one fairly large complaint is how repetitive some of it was. Literally sentence for sentence sometimes, I'd have to check to make sure I didn't accidentally rewind because I was certain I'd heard her say the same words before. In my opinion, that should have been caught in editing? I get that these aren't meant to be cohesive in the way that novels are... But unless people are taking WEEKS in between chapters, I don't think all of the reiteration is needed.

Overall though, I'd say this is worth any- and everyone's time.

(Thank you bunches to Giiae Kwon, Henry Holt & Co., Dreamscape Media & NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!)

I have a feeling that this is a book I'll be revisiting, not only as a K-pop fan but as an Asian-American who has similar feelings regarding religion, my body, culture, and other topics deftly touched on and framed via Korean media. The K-Pop is the anchor, but the human underneath is the heart, and Giaae Kwon's writing is sharp yet casual, feeling a lot like a discussion with a friend over drinks on their couch when we've run out of Ateez, Stray Kids, BTS, and Seventeen videos to marathon. She puts into words a lot of the complicated emotions I have felt also regarding issues with Korean celebrities promoting in the West (re: centering Western ideology and thought) while also being firm and honest in her analysis. It's so refreshing to read a book about fandom that doesn't assume I have no entry point knowledge and feels like it's FOR fans, while also being open to those who are less familiar with the greater Hallyu wave. Also, several moments made me tear up, but especially the chapter on plastic surgery, and the role of the hyung and age hierarchy in Korean culture, particularly regarding BTS Jin.

Fangirls forever.