In South Korea, fandom culture has largely formed around
K-pop idols and
Korean dramas. These
fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
s support a large market for official and unofficial fandom memorabilia. Fandoms in South Korea are politically viewed as a
mainstream culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in ...
and not as a subculture.
K-pop fandoms
Fandom culture refers to the phenomenon in which people voluntarily choose a certain celebrity or genre and come together to create a specific 'acceptance' culture.
Fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
culture of
Korean pop idols began in the 1970s with singers
Nam Jin
Nam Jin (; born September 27, 1946) is a South Korean trot singer. He debuted in 1965 with the album ''Seoul Playboy'', and became one of South Korea's most popular singers of the 1960s and 1970s.
Biography Early life
Nam Jin was born Kim Nam ...
and Nahuna.
In 1980,
Cho Yong-pil
Cho Yong-pil (; born March 21, 1950) is a South Korean singer who is considered one of the most influential figures in Korean popular music. He debuted as a member of the rock band Atkins in 1968 and made his solo debut with the hit single "Co ...
appeared in the public arena, ushering in the fan girl culture.
Fandoms started to become popular during the early 1980s and continued to grow rapidly into the 1990s with the emergence of
Seo Taiji
Jeong Hyeon-cheol (Korean: 정현철; born February 21, 1972), better known as Seo Taiji or Seo Tae-ji (서태지), is a South Korean singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. After dropping out of high school to pursue a music career, ...
as a teenage idol.
Fan girls gained more prominence in the press after the retirement of Seo Taiji and Boys in the late 1990s, and were described as teenaged girls who dedicated their everyday lives to following, watching, or admiring an idol star.
Around the year 2000, many fan clubs appeared and Korean
youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community.
An emphasi ...
became a subject of academic study. Many traditional South Koreans disapproved of enthusiastic fandoms, and early studies of the subject took a negative view. A possible reason for its popularity is that idol fandom was a distraction for the rebellious youth culture.
In the earlier times, K-pop idols were pushed to act and look innocent. By banning tattoos, earrings for male idols and no risque style of dancing. This image of idols was modern enough for the Korean youth to enjoy and conservative enough to be supported by the adults.
History
Although early fandom was strongly perceived as a fan culture involving a few fanatic people, it has recently brought about a shift in perception that can be accessed in a variety of ways only by the name of a star or related search terms on portal sites, which is largely due to the development of the Internet and media.
Among the numerous fandoms in cyberspace, especially the nation's "idol" fandom has steadily expanded its influence in various ways to date, starting with "
Seo Taiji and Boys." In the past, idol fandom culture was called "girl culture" or "teenage culture" and was considered primarily an immature culture for teenage girls, while the third-generation idol fandom has recently expanded to men and over 40s, exerting influence on cultural consumption aspects for all generations.
Fan relationship
Parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship as a result of constant exposure to a media persona that a celebrity demonstrates. This then causes fans to develop an illusion of intimate relationship or friendship. Kpop idols are typically trained to have and form close connections with their fans which leads for this close-knit connection to become a parasocial relationship. Kpop idols do this through parasocial interaction. Parasocial interaction between fans and Korean idol(s) is a start at explaining kpop fan culture.
The idol(s) to become a “parasocial-kin”, an object of consumption and parasocial interaction; such as a family member or a friend. This “parasocial kinship” is defined on how an individual would treat an extended member of the family. Allowing for further understanding of the positive and negative aspects of the idol/fan parasocial relationship.
The “
Korean Wave”, also known as Hallyu has become a sensational hit around the world and continues to grow every year since it began to politically take over the world in the early 2010s. While K-pop had of course existed before that, between 2011 and 2012, the government budget grew over 250% for the business.
Celebrities, especially in South Korea, are icons that are driven by their presence in majorly media driven societies. As time, society, and culture progresses, the idols must change and form along with it. The best way that this is represented is through social media.
In 2015, South Korean Idols set themselves apart from many of their Western counterparts by not only joining the major social media platforms such as
Instagram and
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, but
Naver Corporation
The Naver Corporation is a South Korean internet conglomerate headquartered in Seongnam that operates the search engine Naver. Naver established itself as an early pioneer in the use of user-generated content through the creation of the online ...
created a streaming website/app called “
V Live
V Live (stylized as VLIVE), sometimes referred to as V App, is a South Korean live video streaming service that allows celebrities based in the country to broadcast live videos such as live chat sessions with fans, performances, reality shows ...
”. While Instagram and Twitter are international apps that allowed for the idols to reach their fans, V Live allowed for streaming of live (or uploaded) videos or voice only recordings. The idols can read the comments from the fans in real time and respond. The current version of V Live has over 700 channels focusing on a variety of K-pop stars and actors.
Many K-pop idols also participate in a “Hi touch” event, even those that are widely known and popular, such as
Monsta X
Monsta X (; stylized as MONSTA X) is a South Korean boy group formed through the reality survival program ''No.Mercy'' under Starship Entertainment. The group is currently composed of six members: Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Joohoney ...
. A “Hi Touch” is the opportunity for fans to personally meet the idols and essentially give them a high five, with the chance to say a quick word or two. The chance could be either before a concert or afterwards, sending off the idols to their next destination.
With the current state of the pandemic affecting every part of the world, in-person concerts are impossible to attend or even create. Therefore, many K-pop groups are performing online concerts. One of the most famous K-pop conventions, known as ‘
KCON’, hosted an online convention with over 30 artists. K-pop idols were able to interact with their fans, as fans entered contests and had the chance to have a camera stream their picture behind the performers, allowing for interactions.
These are just some of the reasons that K-pop idols and their fans have a unique dynamic. K-pop fans have many opportunities to get exclusive content and interactions with the idols, creating a positive relationship for both parties.
Fansumer
"Fansumer" is a compound word of "fan" and "consumer." This means consumers who participate in production, in other words productive consumers. Then, the fan base, which was classified as a fandom, turned into a very active fan who focused on the interaction of planning, investing, and checking while participating in the overall production and production process for products or entertainers, not just one-sided love and purchase for one-sidedly.
As shown in the table above, Fansumer's sphere of activity is very wide. As mentioned above, they invest in startup idea products, engage in corporate product development, engage in marketing activities as supporters, and support or criticize celebrities or influencer, not to mention fostering celebrities before their debut. The driving force behind these Fansumer's activities is the pride that 'it was made by me.' It's called Byme Syndrome, noting the efficacy of being created by me.
Fansumer activities
= 1) Subway advertisement
=
The fandom culture of posting celebrities they like or support on subway billboards along with cheering phrases is expanding. The actual number of subway advertisements is used as a measure of idol popularity. Behind the popularity of subway advertisements is the expansion of survival audition programs. As "
Superstar K 6
''Superstar K6'' () is the sixth season of the South Korean television talent show series ''Superstar K'', which premiered on 22 August 2014 on Mnet and aired Friday nights at 11PM KST. Eliminations were determined in each episode based on tex ...
" and "
Show Me the Money 3
The third season of Show Me the Money (SMTM3), which aired in 2014, saw a huge change in production as prominent figures of the Korean hip-hop scene participated in the show. Over 3,000 people auditioned this season, 1.5 times the amount last s ...
" began to gain popularity in 2014, subway advertisements supporting participants began to be posted, and Mnet's idol-building program "
Produce X 101
''Produce X 101'' () is a 2019 South Korean boy group survival reality show on Mnet and the fourth season of the ''Produce 101'' franchise. The public, referred to as "national producers", "produces" a boy band by choosing 11 members among the ...
" appeared for the first time in 2016. Ads for idol and famous celebrities are expanding into a culture to communicate with celebrities rather than just a culture for fans to enjoy. In fact, many celebrities take pictures of advertisements, and fans enjoy the "pilgrimage" by bowing in front of their favorite celebrity billboards, posting post-its and taking photos.
= 2) Streaming of music
=
Idol fans routinely play their favorite singer's songs on various music sites. They should stream music videos and Naver TV Casts that were uploaded on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. This is for the sake of high music records and music video views. It is hard to explain in a word why fans should streaming. The reasons vary. In order to show off the robustness of one's favorite idol, there are various reasons why it is difficult to define one by one, such as to show the strength of the fandom, to top music programs that reflect the number of views on music charts, to win year-end awards, to wish others to listen to the song a lot, and to let their favorite idols be disappointed if their music rankings fall.
= 3) Crowd funding
=
It means receiving funding from the crowd, which means that individuals, organizations and companies that need funds use the web or mobile network to raise funds from unspecified sources. It is also called social funding because it often participates through social network services (SNS).
Superstar penguin
Pengsoo
Pengsoo ( ko, 펭수, ''Pengsu'') is a penguin character that appears on the YouTube channel Giant Peng TV, run by Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) in South Korea. Pengsoo is a ten-year-old trainee at EBS who dreams of being a universal supe ...
has started to help farmers affected by the cold weather. Pengsoo rolled up his wings to promote consumption of peaches and plums on his YouTube channel, "Giant Peng TV." Pengsoo's funding through Naver's Happy Bean Crowding Happy Bean is aimed at helping peach and plum farmers affected by the cold sea. This spring, the fruit tree was damaged by cold weather due to low temperatures during the flower season, and as the production decreased amid trees with no fruit on them, the company started to promote sales. Pengsoo was on a live show, urging consumers to buy. When Pengsoo went public, all the supplies ran out shortly after the broadcast began. Pengsoo immediately secured the second batch for his fans, but even that was sold out in less than 20 minutes.
The impact of Fansumer activity on many industries
= 1) Reformation of the music market
=
The phenomenon of fandom making No. 1 idol has become a form of ritual event. Once ranked first, it is exposed to the top of the music site and published in articles, which leads to other broadcasts and activities, which greatly affects popularity. To make it number one, fandom voluntarily set up a music streaming work team exclusively for music streaming labor to hold events that give prizes when they receive donations and certify streaming, or create hundreds of music site IDs to pay for music site usage rights and stream music.
Therefore, it has become difficult for singers and rookies of different genres to be on the charts compared to idols who rank first with the power of their fans. However, it was important for other singers to get popular on the charts, and there was a hoarding of music that imitated fans' streaming culture. Music hoarding refers to the act of manipulating the chart's ranking or unfairly purchasing certain music sources for the purpose of copyright revenue. After subscribing to several music platforms through thousands of smartphones and tablets, music hoarding takes place by repeatedly streaming certain music sources. As it was revealed that many singers hoarded their music, there was a controversy over whether fans' streaming labor culture should also be regarded as hoarding.
In response,
Melon
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". Th ...
, the site with the highest market share among music sites, announced a plan to revamp the real-time charts. The company said it will change the standard to 24 hours on the real-time chart, which newly aggregates usage every hour. Fans, who conducted streaming labor for a time when there were not many people listening to music at dawn or during the day, complained, but in order to reduce the hoarding culture that resulted from it, the reorganization of the music charts is inevitable.
= 2) New business that reflects the Fansumer trend
=
The fandom will support the idol group they support. In support activities, they present gifts such as lunch boxes to idols, place advertisements on public transportation such as subways and buses, and collaborate with cafes to include phrases and images to support the idols of cup holders, or create special menu lights in cafes to hold events. As "cupholder events" began to emerge, cafes specializing in renting cupholder events for fandom activities began to emerge, reflecting this trend. Companies that used to produce and sell slogans or fans only for corporate advertising are also producing design products made from photos of idols cheered by fans, while others specialize in coffee and snack cars sent by fans to the idol's filming site.
Global fandoms
Many fandoms of
K-pop are located outside of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
as part of a phenomenon called Hallyu 2.0, which is characterized by the extension of the
Korean Wave into global markets, especially the West, and largely attributed to the development and use of
Social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
technologies by fans and consumers of K-pop.
Due to location barriers, fans belonging to global fandoms turn to social media as a platform to consume K-Pop as well as network with other fans to organize and distribute fan activities and products such as dance cover videos, fan fiction, and group orders to purchase K-pop products.
Social media technologies such as Kpop fan sites allow international fans to form a deep emotional attachment to K-pop idols. Kpop fan sites allow fans to view idols as beautiful, talented, and approachable which leads them to be role models for international fans. This extends to the image that South Korea portrays as well. Global fans from Romania, Peru, and Brazil have been found to seek out Korean restaurants, Korean language lessons, and other fans to dance to Korean music. Creating an online and physical identity.
Online communities based around Kpop have also emerged in various spaces such as Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. Though the majority of the members in these online communities are non-native Korean speakers, Korean language is seen to be used among the fans. Fans have been found to play a significant role in creating fan content which may have resulted in positive and negative impact of fan and idol engagement.
The geographical distance for international fans may make it hard for fans to form a connection to the idols. Though the internet has been a major role of allowing international fans to easily form a connection with their idols right at their fingertips. Global fans are found to possibly appeal to the Lacanian imaginary that Kpop-idols provide to them.
Japanese fans have been represented as an “active audience.” Active audience can be defined as the fans attend the concerts often, collect information, and try to find ways to interact with idols through letters and handshake practice.
Japanese females who have been exposed to the Korean Wave have been found to develop a positive idea towards Korea and the citizens by associating them to their Korean idols.
In the Philippines, fans attend the Philippine Kpop Convention, Inc. (PKCI) where they partake in activities that politically promote K-pop and Korean culture. PKCI active participation provides a key role for local fans in the Philippines to form a connection and motivation to participate in Korean culture that includes K-pop.
In Europe, K-pop idols have motivated young fans to start learning Korean language and culture. As a result, major media such as YouTube and academic institutions started to spread Korean culture. Thousands of teenage boys and girls are found buying CD’s and tickets for Korean idols/musicians to join their idols in singing and dancing to their lyrics in Koreans.
K-pop fans & Soft Power
The phenomenon of the Korean Wave and the strong connection between K-pop idols and their fans resulted in South Korea to develop
soft power. Soft power is the ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal. K-pop idols allow fans, globally, to view South Korea positively which results in South Korea to improve the country’s ability to gain trust and preference in trade internationally transforming them into political and economic strength. After the Korean wave became more apparent, the government gave credit to the role of avid fans that contributed to the growth of Korean popular culture.
Fan behavior
Positive
Members of idol fandoms may better themselves in the pursuit of their obsession, such as by studying to enter the same university as their idol, learning foreign languages to follow their idol's career abroad or learning image-processing techniques to edit photos of the idol. Fandom may also lead to other interests, for example, idol group
JYJ
JYJ (formerly known as Junsu/Jejung/Yuchun in Japan) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 by Kim Junsu, Kim Jae-joong, and Park Yoo-chun, the three former members of TVXQ. Their group name is taken from the initial letters of each member's n ...
's fans like musicals because of musical appearances by
Kim Junsu.
Fans role in creating their own fan content allows for idol groups to gain mainstream exposure in the west, and have tours abroad.
Negative
Stalker fans,
''sasaeng'' fans, are considered to have become overly obsessed with a public figure and engaged in behavior that constitutes an invasion of privacy. Stalker fans may disguise themselves as a stage hand or manager to approach the star, or pretend to be reporters in order to gain entry to a press conference. Many fans use the Internet and social media to find and track the location of their idols. According to a Korean idol group JYJ, some of the fans came to the group's hostel, stole the members' underwear, took pictures of them sleeping, and later sent the pictures to the members by text message. Many normal fans have an unpleasant feeling about such fans' actions.
Paparazzi
Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...
also exist in South Korea. The tabloid magazine ''Dispatch'' reports on the private lives of people in the Korean entertainment industry, and has violated privacy by exposing secrets and illicitly taken photos. On January 1, 2013,
Kim Tae-hee
Kim Tae-hee (; born 29 March 1980) is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful actresses, she is best known for her roles in Korean dramas such as ''Stairway to Heaven'' (2003), ''Love Story in Harvard'' (2004), '' ...
and the story of
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...
were published. On July 3, 2013, the relationship of
Won Bin
Kim Do-jin (born on November 10, 1977), professionally known as Won Bin, is a South Korean actor. He first gained wide popularity in 2000 after starring in the KBS's television series '' Autumn in My Heart''. One of the most selective actors in ...
and
Lee Na Young was exposed to the public and fans. There was also a report on
Noh Hong-chul
Noh Hong-chul ( ko, 노홍철 盧弘喆; born 31 March 1979) is a South Korean entertainer and entrepreneur. He is the co-host of the variety show ''Talents for Sale''. He previously appeared on the television programs '' Infinite Challenge'' ...
's drunk driving in the ''
Infinite Challenge
''Infinite Challenge'' (; abbreviated as ''Mudo'') is a South Korean television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by MBC, that ran from 2005 to 2018.
As of January 2013, it had the largest market share for its timeslot; with ...
''. Dispatch has invaded the privacy of countless celebrities, spreading half truths and partial facts to pander to those who paid them money to report such falsehoods.
Animation fandom
Seoul Comic World is a large animation fandom festival and is considered to be one of the biggest anime conventions in the world . Some fans cosplay (wear costumes) as a public display of their favorite characters. Amateur artists can showcase their work, and attendees can meet voice actors and artists.
A large amount of Korean animation fandom is based on Japanese animation, because of its many genres to satisfy the differing tastes of fans.
Memorabilia
Fans collect memorabilia including idols' photographs and items marked with logos, collectively known as fan merchandise, to express their identities as fans. Fan merchandise was first produced by entertainment companies of first-generation idol groups such as
H.O.T. and
Sechs Kies
Sechs Kies (pronounced as ; ko, 젝스키스) is a first generation South Korean boy band. Making their debut on April 15, 1997, they are one of the first K-pop idol groups, credited with pioneering the idol scene and fandom culture. The grou ...
whose fans started to buy balloons and raincoats in the group's color.
Sharing and selling merchandise
Most fan merchandise in South Korea is promoted through social media outlets like
KakaoTalk and
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. The ability of consumers to find exactly what they want has resulted in an expansion of the market to about 100 billion
South Korean won ( ).Teenagers are the trend-setters and are often active as sellers and producers as well as consumers. Fan merchandise sells at a higher price than the nominal value of the commodity because of its sentimental value and appeal as a collectible.
In addition to the official merchandise produced and sold through entertainment companies, fans themselves produce a great deal of merchandise.
In some instances, fans have responded to poor-quality official merchandise by producing their own higher-quality products, which are often cheaper. Official goods have an advantage as a commodity, while fan-produced merchandise may correspond to more specialized tastes, such as a fan-made photobook focusing on a particular member of a band. Producers and sellers of fan-made merchandise are known as "home masters".
Although it is illegal to sell products using celebrities' pictures without permission in South Korea, most entertainment media outlets do not defend the right of permission to use a likeness. Some believe that unofficial merchandise fandom cannot be regulated.
See also
*
''Sasaeng'' fan
*
Korean Wave
*
KPOP Photocards
References
{{Reflist, 30em
South Korean culture
Cults of personality