Kristine Kwak

Kristine Kwak tells the stories of K-pop and global pop artists for Rolling Stone, focusing on in-depth conversations about creative identity, major tours and milestone releases. She extends that work across other music and entertainment titles, including Billboard and Variety, where she covers superstar groups, emerging acts and the culture around them. Her pieces often blend artist-led narrative, exclusive news and service-driven detail that helps fans follow the music and the moments that surround it.

K-pop idols in depth

Kwak’s core work centres on detailed profiles and interviews with leading K-pop artists for both the U.S. and U.K. editions of Rolling Stone. She has written extensively on second- and third-generation idols, including a feature on Seulgi of Red Velvet that explores how the singer taps into a darker, more complex persona as a solo artist. She covers Girls’ Generation reflecting on their reunion and describing the simple joy of getting back together as a group, underlining how long-running acts think about longevity and friendship. Her interview with J-Hope digs into the process behind his solo project Jack in the Box and the support he receives from fellow BTS members, giving readers a close view of how a star reshapes himself outside a group setting.

Beyond established names, Kwak spotlights new and evolving projects. She introduces readers to acts like CORTIS in a piece positioning them as “the coolest K-pop debut of the year,” framing the group’s arrival in terms of sound, concept and scene. Her Rolling Stone feature on Evan’s single “Ride or Die” presents the artist “introducing himself on his own terms,” emphasising self-definition and narrative control at an early career stage. She also writes on veteran hip-hop group Epik High, contributing song reviews and coverage that situate their work in the broader K-hip-hop landscape. Taken together, her interviews prioritise how artists themselves describe their music, pressures and aspirations, often using direct discussion of creative choices and personal milestones to anchor the story.

Kwak’s K-pop focus extends to behind-the-scenes photo essays. For Monsta X’s Kihyun, she has produced “Photos: Behind the Scenes With Kihyun of Monsta X for Solo Debut” and “Photos: Kihyun Takes Fans Behind the Scenes of His Debut Album,” pairing images with contextual detail to bring fans into the atmosphere of a launch. These pieces show her interest in the visual texture of idol life as much as the formal interview.

Tours, comebacks and the fan experience

A significant strand of Kwak’s coverage tracks tours, comebacks and large-scale moments that define the K-pop calendar. She has an exclusive on BIGBANG announcing a 31-show world stadium tour, signalling her role in breaking substantial news about legacy acts returning to the global stage. For Rolling Stone UK, she covers SEVENTEEN as they wrap a tour and look toward new music, focusing on how the group reflects on the road while planning their next phase. She also writes about decade-spanning groups discussing new albums and how they manage to stay productive over time, highlighting the practical side of sustaining a career in a high-pressure industry.

These stories tend to foreground what touring, reunions and comebacks feel like from the artist’s point of view. In the J-Hope piece, she explores how a solo performance cycle connects back to the broader BTS narrative. With Girls’ Generation and other long-running groups, she captures the mix of nostalgia and forward motion that characterises reunion activity. Even in tour-announcement pieces, headlines emphasise the scope of the run and its place in an artist’s history, giving fans clear stakes for why a particular slate of shows matters.

Service journalism, lists and style

Alongside artist profiles, Kwak contributes service-oriented pieces that sit at the intersection of music, lifestyle and fandom. For Rolling Stone, she has written a gift guide, “From Headphones to Handbag Charms, These 17 Luxury Gifts Are Worth the Splurge,” positioning high-end items — including music-adjacent tech and accessories — as part of how fans express their tastes. She participates in the magazine’s year-end music packages, contributing to staff picks for the best music of 2022 and other song lists that rank standout tracks across genres. She is also among the contributors credited on Rolling Stone’s ranking of “The 25 Most Stylish Musicians of 2024,” where fashion and personal image become another lens on pop stardom.

Her service work extends across outlets. For Billboard, she writes how-to coverage such as “How to Watch the LAFC vs.” match guides, which walk readers through streaming options for high-interest live events. She also covers creator culture intersecting with festivals, as in her Billboard piece on “MemeHouse” bringing an IRL streaming experience to Coachella under the banner of “The Scene,” linking influencer spaces, live music and digital audiences. Across these formats — gift guides, rankings, viewing guides and culture pieces — she combines practical information with a consistent sense of where music, image and fan communities overlap.

Coverage across outlets and formats

Kwak works across multiple titles under the same corporate umbrella, with bylines in Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone UK, Billboard and Variety. At Variety, she has profiled BLACKPINK around the release of The Album, covering their collaborations with Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga and situating the record in the group’s global ascent. Her contributions to REDEF’s archive highlight her role in collaborative Rolling Stone lists, such as the “100 Best Songs” and “50 Best Songs of 2021,” reinforcing her position in consensus-setting music conversations. Within Rolling Stone itself, her pieces range from exclusives and Q&As to photo essays and list-driven packages, showing a reporter comfortable shifting between artist access, visual storytelling and editorial curation.

Across all of this work, the through-line is a sustained focus on how contemporary pop — especially K-pop — is made, performed and experienced by fans worldwide. She returns repeatedly to the same roster of groups and soloists as they move through debuts, comebacks, tours and solo eras, giving her coverage a sense of continuity that mirrors the long-term investment of the fandoms she writes for.