DISCUSSION 1

My name is Diego and today I will be leading this week’s discussion. The topic for today is K-pop fandoms as well as the relationships between the idol and the fans. Before diving further, the definition of a “fandom” must be addressed. A “fandom” is defined by the dictionary as “all the fans,” or “the state or attitude of being a fan.”[1] Being a part of a fandom creates a sense of community, a supportive social network, and a safe space for one to be a part of. However, like with every community that is formed, a sense of in-group out-group mentality is bound to manifest within the community whether they like it or not. This “us versus them” mentality is one of the problematic characteristics of K-pop fandoms, as there will always be die-hard fans who would do anything to make sure their own group stays on top.

Professor of Critical Studies Kim Suk-young discussed fandoms in great lengths in her book. Professor Kim described K-pop as a “bottom-up movement,”[2] which references the importance of fans as a source of sustenance to the idols. Without the fans’ support, idols’ careers would not last very long. Therefore, some anti-fans will do their best to sabotage other idol groups either out of spite or to hinder the competition so that their favourite idol group can rise above them. One instance of this would be when anti-fans of Tablo and Jay Park targeted them and hindered their careers so much both artists had to go on hiatus which damaged their career.[3]  

To counteract “media tribalism”[4] I believe it is important that different idol groups support one another in some sort of encouragement or act of kindness. If the idol group sets an example of how one should treat others, there should be more incentive for fans to treat others the same, as they wouldn’t want to destroy the positive reputation the idol’s have built up through encouragement.

[1] “Fandom.” Merriam-Webster.
[2] Kim, Suk-young. K-pop Live: Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance, (Stanford, Stanford Press, 2018), 36
[3] Kim, Suk-young, K-pop Live: Fans, 36
[4] Kim, Suk-young, K-pop, 37-38. A term coined by cultural studies scholar Ueno Toshiya deriving from urban tribalism, “the small social group based on urban (youth) subculture. Urban tribes formalize the relationship between people out of styles, tastes, and fashion choices within popular culture and subcultures, as a mediatory moment.” Another way of saying “us versus them” mentality.

Bibliography:
“Fandom.” Merriam-Webster. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fandom.
Kim, Suk-young. “Historicizing K-pop.” In K-pop Live: Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance. Stanford: Stanford Press, 2018.

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COMMENTS

Amy: Another problematic characteristic of K-pop fandom that we can mention is the sasaeng fan phenomenon. These over-obsessive fans stalk their favorite idols, seek and break into their dormitories or homes to steal their personal belongings or install hidden cameras, and do many other actions that ruin the privacy and even threaten the safety of celebrities. Many idols have spoken out to show their annoyance at sasaeng fans. One of them is Baekhyun (EXO) who seriously confessed that he hates sasaeng fans and called out them for interrupting his live broadcasts. Many “real” fandoms have been boycotting the sasaeng fans to protect their idols and promote appropriate actions among the fans.

Shannon: Many fans are also very possessive, sometimes to the point they feel as though they have ownership over the idols themselves. The possessiveness of these fans has been brought to the world’s attention many times. For example, Apink has had to cancel many of their events due to bomb threats made by a fan who disapproved of the idols getting involved in romantic relationships. People similar to this particular “fan” treat idols as if they are nothing but a fantasy and do not treat them as real people who possess their own feelings. Most idols love interacting with fans, but with sasaeng fans constantly pulling off stunts that get media attention, many companies feel obligated to protect the idol by bringing in more security and bodyguards. There was an article that posted a picture of Irene (Red Velvet) walking in the airport surrounded by so many bodyguards she was almost completely hidden from people waiting to cheer her on. The addition of bodyguards was SM’s decision after reports surfaced of Taeyeon (SNSD) being harassed by aggressive fans at an airport.

Amy: You are right, Shannon. Talking about over-obsessive fans, I think sasaeng fans are just a part of them. Many fans don’t do inappropriate actions to their idols but they hurt themselves due to the possessiveness that you have talked about. I have seen several articles reporting fan girls committed suicide or cut their wrist because their idols were dating. Another sad case of this problem is the copy-cat suicide of fans as they could not withstand the shock of losing their idols. One example of this that I read is some fans in different countries (America, Brazil, Japan, Korea) committed suicide after Jonghyun (SHINee) passed away.

Rachel: There is a famous phrase, “Fans who become haters can go more savage than anti-fans,” which often used by fans who gave up or turned their backs on their favorite supporting singers. As a great example, BLACK PINK Jennie was and still is criticized by media about her and EXO, Kai’s love relationship. Jennie was the hottest rising star out of all girls’ idols in Korea ever since she debuted until this shocking new hit everyone. It was unexpected, but fans were mad about the fact that Jennie lied and mocked by acting so innocent in front of everyone. Unfortunately Jennie’s solo album, “Solo,” talks about her being solo, but she is still independent and glorious, made fans feel even more betrayed. However, as Amy and Shannon pointed out here, fans could sometimes go very aggressive and kill their favorite idols by dragging them down from top to bottom in one day. Although Jennie’s irresponsibility negatively affected her team and fans, she never wanted to disappoint anyone. From this point, K-pop fandoms are two-faced and can also negatively influence their idols. Fans have the power to serve idols to get the new impetus to work harder, but their unstable caring make idols tremble in fear. True fandoms should give moderate love and be their shields.

Zoe: I completely agree that the sasaeng fan phenomenon has become a very serious issue in the Kpop fandom community. The issue of Sasaeng fans was brought to the public and the media through idol live streaming or through their entertainment companies. But if we come down to the ultimate reason of why those fans act so extreme towards the idols that they claim they “love” with all their hearts, part of the reason could be because they dedicate so much of their personal feelings into these idols that usually they would want the same amount of affection in return. They begin to have the need to know about everything single detail in their public and personal lives that they begin to neglect the boundaries in an idol-fan relationship. Although I do understand that they can feel betrayal from the fact that they can’t feel an equal amount of love from idols towards them, their actions to reach their goal of “possessing” the idol is really becoming problematic characteristic of the Kpop fandom community recently.

Amy: Additionally, it is obvious that many fans dedicate not only much of their personal feelings but also a huge amount of money to their idols. I was speechless when reading an online article reporting that an EXO-L fanbase in China spent nearly $1.5 million to ordered 100,000 copies of EXO’s 5th album “Don’t Mess Up My Tempo” last November. I personally don’t support that way of consumption because it somehow makes the so-called “Korean Popular MUSIC” lose its fundamental value of “enjoying the music” but rather become the tool for fandoms to race achievements for their idols.
There is a quote commented under a facebook post about Kai & Jennie’s dating that I was really attentive to: “You love him as a man. He loves you as a fan”. I think this quote mindfully shows the limitation of the relationship between idols and fandoms that I think all the K-pop fans should be aware of to decrease the problematic characteristics.

Shannon: I agree with the points regarding fans using music to race for achievements made above by Amy. There are many times idols are considered irrelevant because the songs they promote do not get a lot of recognition in Korea. For example, the girl group CLC is now more popular overseas because of their unique concepts they introduced in “Hobgoblin” and “Black Dress” that contrasted their previous concepts in songs such as “No Oh Oh” and “Pepe”. However, in Korea, there are many K-pop fans who are essentially waiting for CLC to disband because they don’t care about their releases. Their song “Hobgoblin” became quite a popular song and the group gained recognition worldwide as the concept of the release was similar to 4Minute, a popular group at the time. Sorn (CLC) started posting videos on YouTube and added subs herself to be able to promote her group and interact with international fans.

Francis: Wrapping up all the points made above, I certainly can understand this phenomenon and how this relationship between these types of fan and their favorite idols can be deemed as a double-edged sword: on one hand these situations can be viewed as fan showing their love and support for their favorite idols but on the other it’s this affection that has fascinated the growth of unethical and dangerous methods for these fans to feel content or satisfied. Being a fan of several idols myself, I can definitely understand where these fan’s perspective is coming from but despite the jealousy or disappointment feelings being made from certain news stories. It’s critical to understand that these idols are also human like the rest us and deserve the same rights. It’s those who don’t who know this that results in “fans” taking extreme measure to fulfill this unhealthy affection, such as being possessive or being an anti-fan of another competing idol to support their favorite idols.

Zoe: I completely agree with all the issue addressed above, another thing that came to my mind after seeing that “the importance of fans as a substance for the idols”, this might be the main reason of why all these problems in the fandom community happen these days. To elaborate, sometimes the “extreme” fans think that the idols need their support to survive, to make it big in this industry. So they feel like no matter how they act around or towards their idols, they can’t really do anything to them cuz their career is “dependent on their support”. Which I feel like is such a problematic way of thinking, because what is supposed to be a two-way supportive relationship becomes a kind of “give and return” relationship. 

Rachel: I also agree on having an unhealthy relationship between idols and their fans will traumatize their idols. Most idols have mindsets as “give and return” which Zoe mentioned above. Having this perspective is fair, but when this creates sasaeng fans who are obsessed to get attention from idols will only ruin their relationships. In class, Saeji even talked about when fans give out presents, and they want idols to get injeung shots (confirmation photos) to get something returned. Seeing fans with their perspective, this might be a reasonable request to receive a reward for supporting their favorite artists. However, some fans go over the line and make idols feel unsafe. These sasaeng fans usually make mistakes because they want more and more.

Lucia: I can not agree more on what everyone has mentioned above.  The more energy the fans devote to their idol the more they are expecting in return. It is the companies duty to make the idols perfect so they match the expectation of the audience. Due to this unhealthy relationship, it can lead the idols health into serious concerns, such as depression, anxiety, and anorexia. In order for the problem to be resolved, it is important for idols to speak up about their experience and bring light to the problem. So not only it promotes a healthy image it also enrages other artists that sometimes it is ok to not maintain a perfect image. The more people speak about mental health issues the more acceptable it becomes in society. Due to the large reach of Kpop idols, having them promoting these issues can make serious impacts worldwide.  The reason for the existence of sasaeng is due to mental health issues. Many fans use their idol as an outlet to relieve their stress and as a result, when the artist does not act to their expectation it can lead them to do dangerous actions. 

Lucia: The promotion of a healthier body image is also extremely important. Currently, in Korea, the idols and the fans are in a cycle of promoting unrealistic body images. The fans have fantasized versions of their idol, and the idols will do whatever in their power to satisfy their fans, which in turns promotes an unattainable body image. Since Kpop idols mostly appeal to the younger generation, having them exposes to this type of unhealthy idea at a young age can affect them for the rest of their lives, such as going to the plastic surgeon to modify their natural image. These procedures once performed can be extremely difficult and in some cases impossible to reverse.