“?? ???? K? ??? ??”…???? ?? 美 ?? ??

?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ? K? ??? ?? ?? ??? ?? NBC ??? ?????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???(23)? ??? ???? ?? ????? ? ??? ?? ??.

??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??? 1500m ?? ?? ? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? TV??? ???. ????? ??? ??? ? ??? ??? ??? ????? ‘???(Cheer Up)’?? ?????. ?? ? ???? ??? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??.

? ??? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ??? ????? ‘???(Likey)’ ?? ?? ??? ??? ?????. ???? ?? ? ?? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??? ‘??? ?’?? ????.

???? 25? ???? ?? ????? ? ?? ???? ? ?? 2?? ???? ???. ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ????. ?? ??? ???? ??? ??? ? ? ?? ????. ?? “????? ???, ? ????? ?? ?? ???? ????. ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ? ?? ?? ??? ?? ? ?? ??”? “??? ???? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ? ? ?? ??? ??”? ???.

???? ??? ????? ?? “???”? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? “???? ???? ??”? ????. ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? ??? ????. ???? “?? ?? ?? ???? ????. ?? ? ??? ?? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???”? ????.

???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???. ?? ?? ??? ??? ? ? ???? ?? ?? ? ??????? ??? ?? “???? ???. 400m?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ????? ‘?? ?? ??(Yes or Yes)’?, 800m??? ????? ‘???(Red Flavor)’, 1500m??? ????? ‘??? ???(Pretty Savage)’? ?? ? ??. ?? ???? ???”??? ???. ??? ?? ?? ???? “?? ?? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ????”? ????. ?? “???? ???? ‘???(Just Right)’ ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ??? ??”? ????.

??? ???? ??? ????? ‘?? ?’? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? “???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?? ? ?? ?????. ?? ?? ?? ?? ???. ?? ???? ?? ?? ? ??? ? ?? ??? ?? ?? ??”? ???.

??? ??? ??? ? ?? ?? ?? “???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ????. ?? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???? ? ? ????? ??”? ???. ???? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ‘?????’? ?? ???? ??? ‘??? ???’? ????. ?? “??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??????. ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ????? ??? ? ??? ?? ?? ? ??”? ???.



U.S. Freestyle swimmer Sierra Schmidt‘s K-pop dance clip from the women’s 1,500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic swim trials has wowed K-pop fans with its joyful energy. Although we can not see her dancing on a pool deck in this Olympics, she still dreams of making the Olympics with her huge motivation booster: K-pop.


―As a big fan of K-pop, can I ask you to share your reaction about our recent news stories?

It has honestly been such an amazing experience! I have been so honored and happy about all the support that has been sent my way. The k-pop community has always been so awesome to be a part of, but having the community turn and support me has been a huge motivation booster. Reading Dong-A‘s articles about the young people dreaming about becoming K-pop stars is so inspiring, as they all try so hard for the opportunity to shine. It is much like my dream of making the Olympics, both of us are pushing ourselves to the limit to chase our dreams, and it is so awesome to connect with.

―How do you practice all the choreographies of K-pop?

For me personally, it takes me about 2 weeks to fully learn a K-pop song. Some of this is research into the song, and the message that the group is trying to portray. Once I have this, I can really understand all of the moves, as well as connect with the song itself. I really love songs that are about inspiring yourself and others, as well as positive songs. It is these feelings that make me excited before my races, so I am motivated to give my all. I am so amazed by the amount of work that all K-pop stars give, and I feel like I have to carry on their inspiration when I dance as well!

―Then you mean you actually study all the meaning of the lyrics first and start practice dancing? Wonder whether you can understand some koreans after all that researches so far.

I’m not a Korean speaker, but I like to go and read what the lyrics are online. I think it‘s important to understand what the song is telling the audience, so that I can connect with it, as well as portray the same message when I dance! Through repetition, however, I do learn some of the Korean lyrics, and hope to learn Korean more fully in the future!

―If you had been able to participate in this Olympics, what song was in your mind?

I have different dances for different races, so I think it would have to depend on what events I would make it in! If I had made a shorter race, like the 400 meter Freestyle, I probably would have done a faster song like “Yes or Yes” by Twice. If I had made the 800 meter freestyle, I might have done “Red Flavor’‘ by Red Velvet, and if I had made the 1500 meter freestyle, I would have done ”Pretty Savage“ by Black Pink. I also have other songs that would have been considered, but these are ones I’m into right now.

―How did you get interested in K-pop?

I used to dance to a lot of Japanese Idol music when I was younger, but it started to be a little too much for me as I got older. A good friend of mine, who was a K-pop fan, suggested I check out some of the groups. I remember she sent me ”Cheer Up“ by Twice as one of her suggestions, and I just fell in love with the music. The way that the members could move so seamlessly from formation to formation was so cool to me, and I couldn‘t resist! Once I started, I really couldn’t stop, and so I‘ve been dancing to mainly K-pop for the past few years now. Though I am not able to perfectly replicate their dances, I try to get as close as possible to honor the amazing work that these stars do!

―If you pick one of your favorite K-pop stars, who would be?

Oh my goodness that’s a hard one! I really don‘t have a favorite because I love them all- I’m a huge fan of Twice and Black Pink, so any of the members from those groups are my favorite!

―You‘ve been seen dancing only girl group’s dances. Is there any plan to try some boy band‘s one?

While I have a huge respect for many of the boy bands, theirs are not safe to do on a pool deck, so I typically just enjoy watching their dancing rather than trying their dances haha! I have learned GOT7 ”Just Right“, but usually do that dance before I’m on deck!



??? ?? bom@donga.com