K-pop had an explosive year in 2018, but it didn't arise from a vacuum. Since 1998, one web community – Soompi – has been sharing the latest information about Korea's thriving pop culture scene and steadily building a community. It would be no exaggeration to claim that a lot of South Korea's soft power is built on this community. 

Korean Kontext sits down with Soompi's founder, Susan Kang – who is also the 2019 Korean-American Day honoree for her contributions to advancing awareness of Korean culture in the United States. But as the interview with her reveals, the community she built was more than a place for K-pop fans to gather – it was a safe place, a home away from home, and a place of understanding. And perhaps that's the biggest takeaway from the Korean Wave: that we are not all that different from one another.