As a Korean enthusiast, I have been promoting different kinds of Korean contents here in my blog and my SNS accounts. Because of the quarantine, I have been more active than usual. Last year, 2020, I became a part of Korea Tourism Organization's program, "K-Friends".

K-Friends is an online supporters group formed by the Korea Tourism Organization to promote Korea and anything related to it (like KPOP, KDrama, K-Culture, and more). KTO posted on their SNS accounts about the K-Friends recruitment. Anyone can actually be a K-Friend as long as you love Korea and is active in promoting it.

The benefits of being a K-Friend is that you get to have an online certificate, a welcome gift, ranking rewards, and more. Just a few days ago (as of writing), I received my welcome kit.

The Welcome Kit is a special gift for the members. The items included in the kits actually vary depending on our country. For the K-Friends in the Philippines, here are the items included in the kit:

This is a fabric mask with the traditional Korean design. What I love about this is the color of the mask is pink! As you all know, I love pink. Aside from that, like some other masks, there is also a metal thing around the nose area. Another thing that I like here is that, the K-Friends logo was embroidered. It's really pretty!

This mask is really good for fashion purposes. You'll look better while wearing it. Aside from that, I don't feel the pressure behind the ears yet it gives a perfect fit on my face. I will definitely use this!

To be honest, I thought this was somehow a necklace or a bracelet or an anklet. But I find it weird because it has two hooks. Then I searched for some information, and yes, it's definitely a mask strap. I haven't tried putting it on the masks that I received.

A small pouch with the traditional Korean pattern and an embroidered flower designs at the bottom. I really love collecting pouches since I have a lot of things and I love to put them in order. I also love the colors of this pouch.

Okay. First of all, I love this because it's pink. Second, it's a reversible eco-bag. The first design is a traditional Korean pattern with the K-Friends logo. The other one is a series of Hangul (Korean letters) printed in a black background with a pink pocket. I honestly prefer the black design. But the pink design is also pretty.

I am very thankful for the Korea Tourism Organization for allowing me to be a part of K-Friends. The items in the welcome kit are very useful especially in today's situation. With this, I feel more enthusiastic in promoting the Korean culture to my fellow Filipinos.

I never thought that my first event in 2021 and my first SMTOWN concert is an online event. It has been months since this pandemic stopped the entertainment industry in producing offline concerts. A lot of scheduled concerts and fanmeets have been postponed indefinitely or worse, cancelled. That is why a lot of companies now are shifting to the online concerts, in the meantime.

SM Entertainment is actually one of the first companies to shift to the online concerts through the Beyond Live. Their concerts were actually paid and a lot of fans are actually willing to pay for it because they really miss attending concerts. But around December 2020, SM Entertainment announced that they will be holding a FREE concert, and that is the SMTOWN LIVE "Culture Humanity".

This free concert happened last January 1, 1PM KST, which featured different SM Artists' performances including aespa, NCT Dream, NCT127, NCT U, WayV, Red Velvet, EXO Baekhyun, EXO Kai, SHINee Taemin, SNSD Taeyeon, SuperM, Super Junior, and Kangta. There were also DJs present in the concert - Raiden, GINJO, and IMLAY. It was streamed 

According to Lee Sooman, the main reason why SM Entertainment decided to conduct this free concert is to give hope and cheer to the KPOP fans who went through a lot because of the pandemic. One of the main points at the start of the concert were the phrases, "Be kind, be humble, be the love." We definitely need this to start the year well.

I was actually watching the concert on our TV during the first part because I was eating lunch with my family. In fact, when my mom saw NCT Dream's performance, she immediately noticed Jaemin's visual. And of course, since Jaemin is my bias, I kept on promoting him. Aside from that, I also showed her D&E's performance.

After a few performances, I decided to watch on my laptop so that I can have a little privacy - fangirling. That's also when I put some batteries on my Super Junior lightstick so that I can somehow feel that I am really watching a concert.

Aside from the performances, what made me excited was the SHINee is Back 2021 video teaser. SHINee is definitely one of the best KPOP groups there. Their vocals and dancing skills are so stable. I am really excited for SHINee's comeback, and also, I miss you Jonghyun.

For those who don't know, I started as an SM stan. I was very much aware of the SMTOWN concerts. I badly wanted to attend one not only because Super Junior is there, but also I love to see the interactions between different SM artists. This concert somehow lacked the interaction, of course, for health and safety purposes but I hope I can still see it in the future.

In the last part of the concert, SM artists sang H.O.T.'s song, "Hope". This is probably the part where I suddenly wanted to cry. The memories came back when I was just a new KPOP fan. It has been years already and I am just so happy that I became part of this family. There may be times wherein I hated SM for how they treated their artists, but I still love them because they brought these artists to me.

This concert recorded 35,830,000 streams in 186 countries. The hashtag #SMTOWN_LIVE also became the trending topic on Twitter. It only shows how happy the fans are with this free concert. Thank you so much SM Entertainment for this concert. Hoping we'll get to meet live soon once everything goes back to normal.

Did you also watch this free concert? How was it?

Last day of the year is always one of my favorite days because I get to look back at what happened to me for the whole year, plus, I get to set new goals for the coming year. This year, 2020, is really one of the worst years because we were forced to stay at home, not meeting our friends, and having less to no events. It's funny how I mentioned in my Best of Best 2019 that I won't get to attend a lot of events this year and it really did happen. Seems like I need to be careful with what I say.

Anyway, to start this year-end post, let's check the goals I have written last year.

Here are the goals that I have written before for A Fangirl's Heart and myself as a blogger:

- reach 17k - 20k likes on Facebook

- 2000 followers on Twitter

- 100 - 150 subscribers on Youtube

- 10,000 total page views in this blog

- write a drama or movie review once a month

- open my Youtube channel and post at least 4 merch unboxing, at least 6 covers, and at least 2 vlogs

- skin care and food reviews

- no pressure in writing

- say "no" to the things that may harm me

- travel to another country

Out of the ten goals that I have written, I have only achieved half of it. It was lower than last year but at least I still reached some of my goals. I did not only reach my goals, but I also have exceeded my goals. At the end of 2020, I was able to reach 35k+ likes on Facebook, 2k+ followers on Twitter, 494 subscribers on Youtube, and 70k+ total page views on this blog.

While I was writing my goals last year, I really did not put a big number because I never thought I would reach it. But of course, I am very thankful for my friends who helped me in making these numbers possible.

Since I have been stuck at home, I was able to give focus on writing on my blogs too. This year, I have written more than 60 blogs. This is the most number of blogs I have written for a year. I hope I can still manage this in the future. Another good thing here is that, I wasn't forced to write my blogs. I wrote these blogs because I wanted to. I wasn't pressured to write.

These are the goals that I have reached. Meanwhile, the other five goals that I wasn't able to reach, I still gained something. Not all goals are really reachable, so I might tweak it into something that I can reach.

Like what I have mentioned earlier, 2020 is not the year of events. I have only attended events around January and February. But I'm still thankful for these events because I have experienced a lot of first times too.

One of my favorite event was of course, Kim Myung Soo's fan meeting in Manila. This is the first Korean act where I became an official photographer, the first Korean act where I got to edit the fan project video, and also I got to have a selfie with the one and only Kim Myung Soo.

Aside from that, the photo I have taken along with my name was once again seen on the newspaper. I really thank Cecille unnie for always giving me the opportunity. To be honest, this is the first time I saw it on the newspaper. I wasn't able to see the DAY6 in Manila newspaper personally but I'm still happy.

Not only that, I was also noticed by some of my favorite personalities online like AJ Rafael (he replied to my message on Tiktok). I also became a part of K-Influencer Academy and K-Friends. We promote the Korean culture here in the Philippines. I didn't really expect to be part of those but I'm very thankful for the opportunity. I hope more opportunities will come to me in the future.

I have spent a lot of my time in the internet this 2020. I may be watching a drama, scrolling through my Twitter, watching vlogs, or just looking for something new. Since there are few events this year, I tried to distract myself with these things. Little did I know that I will find new artists that I will actually stan in the following years. (Oh, and they are not all Korean, some of them are Chinese and Filipino).

I knew Kim Seon Ho because of 2 Days 1 Night Season 4. He is the variety rookie of this season that's why I had my eyes on him. Then I saw that he'll be part of the drama Start-Up. That's when I fell for him even more. Aside from the fact that his dimples are too attractive, Kim Seon Ho is a very great actor. I plan to watch his other dramas soon.

And because I became interested with him, I did my research and noticed that he is 10 years older than me. I just added him to my oppas along with Donghae and Yoon Shi Yoon.

Hwang In Yeop caught my attention in the drama "18 Again". If you have read my review of that drama, he is the only actor that is new to me. Although this isn't his debut drama, he became more recognized here. And now, he is gaining more and more attention because of True Beauty.

Just like other people, I was also shocked to know that he is way older than me. I honestly thought he has the same age as Lee Do Hyun or Lee Jae Wook (around that range). But no. He is years older than me. He is such a cutie and I really wish well for his career.

The main reason why I got into the Chinese entertainment world, Zhang Xincheng. At the start of the lockdown, I got to watch Skate into Love, which is still my favorite CDrama as of writing. I was attracted with his visuals to be honest, even if sometimes I find him not that attractive. He suddenly gave a new color to my fangirling life.

Zhang Xincheng is also the reason why I made a Weibo account and why I gained more friends on Twitter. The fun thing here is that, my circle of friends here are so approachable, kind, and I never felt out of place. That's why stanning Xincheng is more fun! We're still waiting for his upcoming dramas so that we will be noisier on Twitter.

While I was browsing on Weibo, I saw a trailer of Ding Yu Xi's drama, Intense Love. I was a bit hesitant to watch it because I was still so addicted with Zhang Xincheng. But still, I ended up watching his drama. And gosh, I didn't know I will also like him so much.

The drama was just a chill cliche drama and all you'll feel here is the kilig. Because I was a bit stressed at that time, I really needed something to balance it. Ding Yu Xi is good and I hope he can get more dramas that can showcase his talent and visuals.

Of course, the leading lady of Zhang Xincheng in Skate into Love, Janice Wu. Most of the time, when I stan an actor, I barely like the female lead because, of course, I feel a little jealous. But not with Janice's case. I love her so much. They had this connection that only I can understand lol. But aside from that, she is so pretty even though most of the time she acts a little boyish. I'm excited for her drama with Bai Jingting.

BINI is a PPOP girl group under ABS-CBN. They were formerly known as the Star Hunt Academy Girl Trainees (SHA Girl Trainees). I found out about them because of the Happy Hallyu Day 4 wherein they performed some covers. They recently released their pre-debut single, "Da Coconut Nut", which is really good. The song was so catchy and they performed it well.

The members are Colet, Gwen, Aiah, Mikha, Maloi, Sheena, Jhoanna, and Stacey. If you were to ask me who my bias here is, of course, it's Colet, the girl standing wearing blue. But I like all of them. I am not that vocal on my SNS regarding them but I am quietly supporting them. I am looking forward for their debut this coming February 2021.

Of course, as a boy group enthusiast, I won't let go of the chance to stan this upcoming boy group. They still don't have their group's name, but they are known as the Star Hunt Academy Boys (or SHA Boys). I actually found potential in them that's why I decided to stan them. Plus, they are very kind. I just hope this won't change once they debuted.

The members are Gelo, Mikki, Nate, Akira, and JL. My bias? It's Mikki, the one wearing black and green. I can actually sense a little Mark Tuan vibes in him that's why he is my bias. Plus, I also found out that he has a Chinese blood. They will be debuting this January 2021. I really hope their song is good.

So here are the artists that I have been talking about my whole 2020. And I am very thankful for them for making my 2020 a little bit better. Hoping that I'll get to meet them soon once this pandemic is over. Also, I am hoping for their success in their chosen field.

How about you guys? Who are your new found love this 2020?

Since it's already a few days before 2020 ends, I'm finally writing my Fangirl's Pick. Just in case you don't know about it, it's a series of blog wherein I'll be sharing my favorite dramas, events, or songs, that I got to discover in the said year. I started this Fangirl's Pick just last year.

We all know 2020 is not really a good year for events and concerts, but it is a good year for KDrama enthusiasts because we were able to watch out pending dramas and also got to watch ongoing dramas. For this blog, I'll be sharing to you my top 5 dramas (Korean and Chinese dramas) of 2020. This list is not in order because I really had a hard time choosing.

Skate into Love is a Chinese sports romcom drama starring Zhang Xincheng and Wu Qian. It's the first Chinese drama that I watched this year. I have been seeing a lot of teasers of this drama while I was browsing in Youtube that's why I decided to watch it. And I never thought this drama will really change my life.

Main reason why Skate into Love is part of this list is because everything I'm looking for a drama is here. They did not only tackle about love but also friendship, dreams, family, and of course, sports. I am not a sporty person but I love watching sports. Although this drama runs for about 40 episodes, I didn't mind it. You should check this drama!

Skate into Love isn't my first CDrama, but this is the drama that allowed me to enter to the Chinese entertainment. Now, I am familiar with a lot of Chinese actors and actresses. I really can't wait to see more Chinese dramas soon.

Definitely one of the most-talked about drama of 2020. It's Okay to Not be Okay is one of the dramas that I have been waiting because it is the drama comeback of Kim Soo Hyun after being discharged from the military. This drama is the drama that I needed because it keeps on reminding me that it is really okay to not be okay.

This is the first drama wherein I got an official merchandise: OST album. I thought I'm done collecting merchandises, but I didn't know that I will also collect Kdrama merchandises. It only shows how much I love the OST of this drama and the drama itself.

A family-themed drama that really made me cry, laugh, and feel all kinds of emotions. Go Ahead is one of the dramas that I will really treasure forever. To be honest, I was shocked when they released this drama around August since it's just a few weeks after Symphony's Romance. I was somehow expecting it to be aired at the last quarter of the year.

It's actually my first time subscribing to WeTV so that I can watch it on time. After the release of each episode, I immediately watched it. That's how addicted I was to this drama.

After Go Ahead, I felt lost and was in a drama slump for a few weeks. But thanks to 18 Again, I was able to gain back my love for watching dramas. I was really amazed how Lee Do Hyun acted in this drama. I only knew him last year because of Hotel del Luna.

I am very much familiar with the plot of this 18 Again. It's not really new to me. But what makes it fresh is that the artists were able to portray their characters very well. They really owned the drama. A lot of lessons can be learned in this drama.

Main reason why I watched Start-Up? Kim Seon Ho. I started liking Kim Seon Ho because of 2 Days 1 Night. He is part of the new season, Season 4. I didn't know that I will fall harder for him after watching Start-Up.

Start-Up is a story that will remind you about reality and dreams. You may not be the best, but as long as you keep moving forward, you'll eventually get there. Also, you should not always decide based on what you feel, but on what you think will be better.

I liked Start-Up more than Record of Youth. Although Start-Up was a predictable story, it didn't bore me. The second half of the drama was also good. Unlike Record of Youth, I felt bored in the second half.

So these are my top 5 dramas of 2020. I actually had a hard time choosing because there are a lot of good dramas that aired this year. These are just the dramas that stood out for me. How about you? What are your favorite dramas this 2020?