Our Story

Unnie, Dongsaeng, and KMuse at KCON 2014

*2015 UPDATE!*
Looking at this section, I figured it was probably time for an update, since this was written back in early 2012 and some things have changed around here. For starters, we added another Crazy Ahjumma in to our little ahjumma family in 2014 - the always ah-mazing Kmuse! Good thing too, since Unnie eventually had to go her own separate way and focus on her family (you can read more about her on her page - we left it up to pay homage to one of our founding ahjummas). In addition to adding KMuse on full-time, we've been pleased to welcome guest bloggers along the way and look forward to continuing with that in the future. It's so awesome to think how when we started this little project, we really did feel all alone in our little Korean-obsessed world, and now look at us! What a fun community to be a part of! Thank you for making us a part of your world! We love having you spend time with us here as we gather together to talk all this really cool Hallyu stuff!


*OUR ORIGINAL STORY*
We're two best friends separated by too much distance but who share a common obsession - all things Korean. We're riding that Hallyu wave and trying to find as many others as possible to join us along the way. Dramas, music, language, culture...all are our focus here on The Crazy Ahjummas. So grab a board, paddle out and let's ride this wave together!

Our Founding Ahjummas - Dongsaeng and Unnie

Before we begin the "Our Story" portion of this page we feel it important you read our Disclaimer:


FULL CONFESSION AND DISCLAIMER:

Ahjumma/Ajumma: a middle-aged and/or married woman, sometimes used as a derogatory term, but for our purposes here it is all tongue-in-cheek fun.

Yes, we are married to wonderful, supportive husbands who love us despite our "different" obsession. Which means we understand how lonely it can sometimes feel when you're riding this Hallyu wave, so we wanted a nice gathering place for all the other "crazy ahjummas" out there. We both enjoy writing and this is an area of our lives that has current interest to us, so we're going for it anyway. We hope you enjoy the ride right along with us!

At this point you may be asking yourself, "how come these two white moms have a blog about Korea?" Our friends and family certainly ask us that all the time when it comes to our addicKtion. Well, I'll share with you our journey.

Back in January or February 2011 (I don't remember which - if I had known it would prove to be such an epic day in my life I certainly would have recorded it in a journal or something), I, Dongsaeng, was wasting time on the computer one day. I was on Hulu when a picture down in the corner of the page caught my eye. It was a girl in a dress - a fancy pink ball gown. The title above said "My Princess". Now, you need to understand something about me - I love fancy dresses. And a fancy dress with something about a princess? Forget about it. I had to check it out, even if it was in Korean. I've never been a foreign movie kind of person, but for a pretty dress I made an exception that day. I fully expected to turn it on and start laughing at the ridiculousness of it. I am ashamed of my preconceived notion that any entertainment from that region of the world would be over-the-top cheesy. I grew up watching Weird Al's UHF and the Wheel of Fish game show and parodies of kung fu movies. I didn't know. I'm sorry. Anyway, I clicked on the fancy dress and started watching. Lo and behold, I didn't turn it off immediately. It wasn't over-the-top ridiculously cheesy after all. I watched the entire episode. Then the next. And the next. I was 100% hooked.

During a conversation with my best friend, Unnie, some days later, I sheepishly admitted to her my new-found discovery. She laughed a little in surprise, but then, because she is my best friend after all, and the very best best friend a girl can have at that, she herself gave it a try. And she also was 100% hooked. Thus began our journey delving in to the pop culture of Korea. My Princess led to other dramas. Dramas led to K-pop. It was a snowball effect of enormous proportions. It has been a year full of wonderful discoveries and budding obsessions. If you're here, you probably know what we're talking about, because you've probably experienced it for yourself.

It has been a very fun ride. The more we learn, the more we love it. We love it all. The pop culture, the ancient history, the customs, the people...everything. It is really fun to reach outside of your own sphere and discover what lies without. Many of our friends and family don't understand the draw and sometimes laugh, but that's okay. It's more than worth it. We like to say that we're not on the bandwagon, we're driving it looking for others to hop on with us. We've got a few passengers gathered but are always happy to welcome more!