Mini Note #9: The joy that comes with hard work

It's Tuesday morning before 9am as I write this now. I'm going to head to work, and then hopefully come home and hit publish on it Tuesday night after I re-read and edit a bit. I began it on Sunday night at nearly 9pm. I had the whole weekend to write it, and then also Monday before and after work. I have three other newsletter editions I need to write, edit, and publish. I've written over 100 newsletters up until today, 111 editions of Notes on K-pop according to the site, though that includes a handful of notices.

You'd think with over 100 of these done by now, it'd be easier.

With so many done, perhaps I should have a schedule and method, and not spend days procrastinating while waiting for inspiration to hit. They say you're a master of a craft after 10,000 hours of it. Maybe I misheard, and it's more like 100,000 hours. Perhaps I just lack diligence.

Or maybe it's that mastering a craft as fluid as writing, something that changes with the mood and the news, and the energy, of the world around the writer, or really any person engaging in a creative process.

These have been the thoughts on my mind lately, ever since I attended NCT 127's Newark concert on March 2. It was the act's 100th concert, and since then I've been haunted by the idea of "What have you experienced 100 times? What have you learned from it?" I asked on Bluesky and Threads, and few people responded; most asked if it could mean anything, like sleeping or eating.

We do a lot more things over 100 times in our lifetime, probably in a month, than we think about. These things that were so hard when we were young, and get hard again later in life, like eating, walking, sleeping, talking, etc. get done by and experienced by us thousands of times in our lifetimes.

Even professionally, the milestone of "100" is reached frequently: a hundred meetings, a hundred phone calls, a hundred emails. We experience "100" of things all the time.

But it still means something that when you capital "D" Do Something that's important to you 100 times; you achieve something that on your terms, and maybe the world's terms, feel major. Is it really that big of a difference between someone turning 99-years-old and 100-years old, or is it just that we make a difference out of it? That addition of a third digit has impact, a milestone that stands in for a sense of quality control: you've made it.

It definitely felt that way at the NCT 127 show: even after a pretty rough 2024, and two of the most central members —Taeyong and Jaehyun— MIA due to their mandatory in South Korea's military forces, the Newark show felt like a celebration. And a surprise one at that, because it felt like neither the act itself nor the crowd had been aware of the milestone before NCT 127 mentioned it, saying their staff had told them.

I think perhaps it means something even more because it felt like it just came upon the night: there is an immense feeling of joy when you recognize the ease that comes after hard work pays off.

Writing, like I presume performing as an artist, isn't necessarily easier just because I've done it hundreds of times. But it does go more seamlessly, and I'm more confident, and I can enjoy a bit more than the stress of the earliest days when I overthought every word and asked multiple friends to edit my drafts. I'm behind on all the things I want to write in 2025, and don't foresee myself catching up anytime soon. I'm very sorry to readers, I feel like I apologize each of these latest notes. I definitely could work harder, think through every word and get feedback more. But the fact that I don't have to in order to feel like I produce something good is a joy. Every time I do sit down and write, it's a small celebration that it is easier today than it once was.

That's the joy I think we saw in the faces of NCT 127, and heard in the voices of their fans, during an impromptu celebration of this milestone. I keep thinking of a video of Mark grinning excitedly while watching the video their team prepared for them to commemorate the event, and Yuta filming the celebration from the crowd with a little satisfied smile on his mouth.

Work, even the work you enjoy and feel satisfied by, will be work. It will be hard. But it also will bring joy. It wasn't a reminder I expected to get out of NCT 127's Newark show, but it was a much appreciated at a time when I'm personally struggling to get over the hard days and bombardment of dark news, and still want to capture some joy of the craft.

I don't have any wise wisdom, of how to handle 2025, but I hope that we all find some joy this year, through hard work, easy rest, or simple moments that bring light.

What I've been working on

Spoke with Yeji of ITZY about her solo debut album Air for NME. I personally really enjoyed the release even though it was bite-sized, especially the b-side "Invasion". This piece was a real struggle due to interviewing Yeji weeks before the album's release and not having as much context or time with the artist that I'd have liked, but I'm pretty happy where it ended.

What I've been reading

"In tumultuous times, Mark Lee's return to Canada was very much needed" by Samantha Lui of Bunni Pop.

Throughout the show, MARK found himself speechless on how to address the crowd, repeating the words, “I’m so happy!” every time the fans started chanting his name. “I’m just really glad to be standing here on stage as a Canadian!”

"A Letter From The Editor" by Gary Suarez of Cabbages.

"America is not in a great place right now, and truth be told neither am I. The collapse of the entertainment journalism ecosystem under the weight of aloof media execs and craven venture capitalists, a general public disinterest in music writing that isn't celebrity-driven or clickbait, and the rise of a crowded content creator economy teeming with bad actors and complete idiots are all factors that make my professional life difficult. These are hardly the most pressing matters in this country or the world today, obviously, but that doesn't mean these conditions aren't cause for concern. Tech CEOs are deciding the fate of the music business and you don't have to look hard at the headlines to see what else they're up to that impacts your life and the lives of your loved ones, neighbors, and fellow citizens."