Discussion 3: The power that K-pop fans have
- wooyeon.kim
- Mar 7, 2019
- 4 min read
Fans have more power in K-pop than in many other fan situations in other countries. It can seem like fans exert control of stars, even sometimes subverting the desires of an agency. I believe that the fans ended up with this much power in the Korean context because of the following reasons: 1. K-pop idols and fans form bonds by constantly communicating through social media, 2. K-pop idols seem to be more approachable and it allows the fans to feel part of the idol’s circle of friends, and 3. K-pop has a sense of "togetherness," which is unique from other fandoms.
In order to find how fans ended up with this much power in the Korean context, it is important to first understand how K-pop is different from pop in other countries. One of the biggest reasons why globalization of K-pop could succeed is because of the use of social media such as YouTube, Twitter, V-live etc. For example, we can hardly see any live videos or music videos of the idols who are affiliated to Johnny & Associates Inc., the agency in Japan, because of the copyrights and etc. On the other hand, one can claim that it is essential for every K-pop agencies to have Youtube or Twitter account. The agencies manage to upload the music videos, live videos, practice dance videos or even backstage videos. They actively advertise the idols and this makes K-pop more approachable for everyone than pop in any other countries.
Also, “K-pop aesthetics are constructed as both extraordinary yet attainable to anyone willing to invest in themselves, an opportunity to mirror the idol’s life (Elfving-Hwang 2018).” This is further enforced by a frequent and calculated series of social media posts and appearances in variety shows that are designed to allow the fans to feel part of the idol’s circle of friends. V-live or variety show such as “I live alone” could be examples where fans can see what idols do outside of the stage and realize how they think, eat, and hang out with friends are just the same as us. These effectively bridge the emotional distance between the idol and the fans without the need to meet in person. Therefore, K-pop idols are more approachable in a way that there are more ways for the fans to interact with them. “Affability” is the driving force of forming bonds and building trust. Being a fan of K-pop idols are more than just watching their concert like how the fans of sports players watch the games to support them. The fans of K-pop idols communicate and become “friends” with them and I believe that this is how the K-pop fans are different from fans of sports, actor/actress, or pop stars in other countries, which leads to the fans of K-pop to have more power than that of other countries.
K-pop fans sincerely care about their idols and once they have deep affection for the idols, fans express their love towards the idols in various ways. Fans often send “Gansikcha”(snack truck) as one of the ways of jogong or do charitable acts such as giving to specific charities or even adopting an abandoned pet for the idols. They support their idols in many different ways and the fans want the idols to behave in a way that they expect them to in return. “Idols are expected to provide an example of ‘moral guidance’ to their fans (Elfving-Hwang 2018).” We can often see that Pop stars who got caught doing drugs still come out on TV shows and perform. However, this is not acceptable in Korea. When T.O.P from Bigbang was caught from doing drugs, the fans in Korea were disappointed, and lots of fans dropped out of the fan club. This incident clearly shows that how the expectation of K-pop idols are different from pop stars from other countries.
Finally, I believe that the agencies, in fact, want fans to feel empowered because it makes them more invested in their fan activities and this is not an illusion. From the agencies perspective, the idols are “products” that need to make profit and there have been a few issues between the agencies and the fans as the agency forcedly asked fans to contribute more. For example, in 2017, the agency of Wannaone asked the fans for 100 more lunch boxes for the staff members, while that jogong was originally just for Wannaone members. Cases like this indicate the fact that the agencies want fans to feel empowered for their own good.
Korean culture of “togetherness” is what makes K-pop fans unique compared to other fandoms. When the audience “ttaechang,” they sing along with the singers. Fans have their own fan chants and light sticks, or they even prepare for the Times Square billboards, pay for entire buses to be wrapped in advertising, subways ads in Seoul, and so much more, to celebrate everything from group anniversaries to birthdays. K-pop fans have pride of being part of the fandom. This is how fans have more power in K-pop than in many other fan situations in other countries.
Bibliographies
Elfving-Hwang, Joanna. "K-pop Idols, Artificial Beauty and Affective Fan Relationships in South Korea." In Routledge Handbook of Celebrity Studies, edited by Anthony Elliott, 190-201. London: Routledge, 2018.
To begin with, wooyeon has pointed out some good reasons why K-pop fans have power in the industry, but in my personal opinion, they are a bit repetitive where they keep explain how fans feel close to their singers, and how they express their affection. I totally agree with them though.
However, i want to add on to Tiffanys argument that the close relationship between the stars and fans has gone too far.
It is definitely, k-pop fans’ endeavour and their power made such exclusive culture, such as jogong, fan chants etc. to happen. Give and take between fandoms and agencies pleases each other by achieving their own purpose as well. (as yujuan said).
Those listed above are positive power…
I think the idea of the Korean culture of “togetherness”is a great explanation for the current status of K-pop fandoms. It perfectly describes the reason why fans in K-pop may appear to seem so powerful over their idols. However, I think we should also remain critical, and consider whether or not the so-called "power" of fans actually exist, or if it's a mere delusion created by the entertainment companies.
I also think it was a great idea to compare between the fandoms of K-pop versus pop stars from other countries, and the mention of "jogong" cultures and expectations of Korean idols. It is an interesting comparison since there are positive and negative consequences to the different types of relationships between…
I agree with the point above me saying that K-pop is one of the most powerful groups in the entertainment industry. K-pop is so well-known as a concept that it is hard to ignore the strong influence it has in the world. Therefore, fans in K-pop are becoming more populous, organized and influential too.
Wooyeon has made interesting illustration on how K-pop idols and fans are bonded together through social media based on the idea of “togetherness”. It brought me into thinking that why it is “togetherness” that lays the foundation for idols’ success. And the answer I came to is that K-pop idols, in essence, are cultural products.
From a marketing perspective, customer-oriented product design is the unconvertible trend that has evolved from the function-oriented product design. Putting it into the artistic context, I would regard high-culture as function-oriented product (since it will finally sold in art market) because it often serves the artist’s innate artistic purpose of self-expression. While mass-culture is more alike to customer-oriented product design with the purpose of pleasing…
I agree with Wooyeon’s points that fans in K-pop have more power than fans in other countries and they are connected to their idols in deeper ways. There are always fans waiting in front of the entertainment companies in Korea and it is very common to see idols on the streets compared to other countries where idols are less approachable. I think another way that K-pop fans are more powerful is because of the coherency and “togetherness” of Korean culture like Wooyeon said. Korean music is so unified and organized that people from all over the world who have access to internet are able to easily connect with K-pop idols. As a result, fans from all over the world are…