Manuela Irena D'Orso

There are hobbies that, for years, were synonymous with being «losers». Playing Magic: The Gathering, spending weekends at comic conventions, cosplaying, or writing fanfiction were activities that the internet had quickly filed away as the exact opposite of cool. Among all of them, the one that was always ostracized — even by its own kind — was K-pop.

Muse of countless artists, epicenter of dozens of industries, central character of the greatest love stories. New York has always been synonymous with the American dream — the mecca for anyone who has ever felt the need to belong to something greater. Yet, at the start of this decade, something cracked.

What happens when the most famous pop star in the world gets married? The Madison Square Garden in New York gets barricaded for two days, several areas of Manhattan are completely closed to the public, Paul McCartney performs I Want to Hold Your Hand by the Beatles for the first time in sixty years, the biggest celebrities in the star system gather for 48 hours of celebrations, and the newlyweds wear custom Dior Haute Couture designed by Jonathan Anderson.