JFS 3 (1) pp.

79–93 Intellect Limited 2015

Journal of Fandom Studies

Volume 3 Number 1
© 2015 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jfs.3.1.79_1

Ju Oak Kim
Temple University

Reshaped, reconnected and

redefined: Media portrayals
of Korean pop idol fandom
in Korea

Abstract Keywords
This article examines how Korean pop (K-pop) idol fans develop their public image Korean pop
through the construction of participatory culture. K-pop idol fans, mostly teenaged K-pop idol fandom
girls, have long-provoked criticism in Korean society due to their fanatic behaviours. participatory culture
In the late 2000s, however, the transnational popularity of K-pop idol groups encour- donation activities
aged the public to reconsider the negative stereotype of K-pop idol fandom. This journalism
social atmosphere is indebted to news journalism, which sheds light on the contribu- stereotypes
tion of fan communities in the K-pop music industry. Donation activities are one of
the main items that journalists focus on in covering idol fan communities. Through
an analysis of news articles, this article argues that Korean idol fandom strategically
employs donation activities in order to reshape stereotypes about idol fandom, recon-
nect with the public and redefine the notion of idol fandom in Korean society.

Henry Jenkins (1988: 86) borrows the term ‘poaching’ from de Certeau
(1984) to describe the ways in which fandom consumes popular texts. In his
­perspective, Star Trek fan writers are poachers who find their own ways of
enjoying the TV series through the recreation of the original stories (Jenkins
1988: 85). Despite the fact that these fan activities acknowledge the original

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Ju Oak Kim

1. Bourdieu argues that authorship, they still damage the original stories and characters (Jenkins 1988:
not only economic,
but also social and
100). Their poaching invokes hot debates concerning the social implications of
educational conditions fan activities. Advocates place emphasis on consumers’ rights to enjoy popular
considerably determine products, while critics underscore the need to protect the integrity of original
an individual’s cultural
taste (1984: 6–7). works (Jenkins 1988: 87–89).
Ongoing debates concerning fan activities suggest that the legitimacy of fans’
behaviours is obtained based on a wider agreement from the public (Jenkins
1988). This process varies according to geographical, social, cultural and histori-
cal contexts. Korean pop (K-pop) idol fandom provides a particularly interesting
example to explore the ways in which fans negotiate with the public concerning
the consumption of popular culture at a socially acceptable level. Since the rise
of the idol music industry in the mid-1990s, the mass media have focused on
revealing the dark side of K-pop idol fans. This reporting tendency has induced
the national audience to perceive young female fans as ‘out of control, undisci-
plined and unrepentant’ people (Jenkins 2006: 39). Two main issues of K-pop
idol fandom have been critically discussed within Korean society. One is the
emergence of sasaengpaen/chasing fan. This term refers to fans who follow all
kinds of activities of an idol group. These hardcore fans cause a variety of social
problems, such as juvenile delinquency and invasion of the star’s privacy. Many
of them stay up all night around the star’s residence and commit misdeeds. The
other is the prevalence of chogong/tribute in fan communities. K-pop fandom
sends idol groups expensive presents in order to celebrate their birthdays, anni-
versaries, new albums and concert tours. In this process, some fan communities
show off their funding ability, and such behaviours have become the subject of
media criticism due to the secularization of fan cultural practices.
The mass media have constructed negative stereotypes of K-pop idol
fandom and have discouraged some fans from revealing their cultural identi-
ties and tastes. Thus, during the past years, K-pop idol fandom has attempted
to improve their image in various ways. One of the main tactics that idol fans
have employed is to donate to charity. Many K-pop idol fans have made
donations to the needy or have volunteered at social welfare centres. This
participatory culture has become popular among K-pop idol fan communi-
ties within a short time. What has made K-pop idol fandom perform dona-
tion activities in the past years? How did the news media portray these fan
activities? How did the fans’ participatory culture expand from the cultural to
the political domain? Answering these questions will help us understand how
Koreans have perceived K-pop idol fans, and how idol fandom is willing to
change its public image through socially respectable activities.
This research examines news articles that report on Korean male idol
fandom, focusing on its donation activities. Such activities indicate a major
shift in the role of fandom in the Korean entertainment industry. In addi-
tion, these activities represent the growing power and visibility of idol stars
and fans in Korean society. Through an analysis, this article articulates a way
of building relationships between K-pop idol group members and fandom,
which is considerably different from what has been discussed in existing
fandom research. This case study also contributes to enriching discussions on
geographical, social, and cultural specificity in fan studies.

Fandom and participatory culture

Bourdieu’s (1984) notion of habitus is often employed to discuss the similar-
ity and difference between official and fan cultures (Fiske 1992: 32, original
emphasis).1 According to Fiske (1992: 34), the dominant group who can afford

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 Reshaped, reconnected and redefined

to invest in education fully understands and enjoys the official culture. This
means that the social conditions allow the dominant group to cultivate cultural
tastes to enjoy the official culture (Bourdieu 1984). As a result, the hierarchy
between the official and fan culture is socially constructed, and the official
culture influences the fan culture in many ways (Bourdieu 1984; Fiske 1992).
Jenkins (2006) criticizes this view that separates fans from non-fans. Such
segmentation induces people to view fans as socially disempowered people
who stick to popular culture (Fiske 1992: 30), and to consider fan activi-
ties as something ‘outside the mainstream and beneath dignity’ (Jenkins
1988: 87). Transcending this implicit assumption, Jenkins (1988: 85) proposes
de Certeau’s (1984) term ‘poachers’ to define fans. In his perspective, media
fans actively create textual meanings rather than become obsessed with the
original text (Jenkins 1988: 85). Other fan scholars have also elaborated on the
possibilities and limitations concerning the shifting relationship between fan
and dominant cultures. Fans have shown their potential to be intellectuals and
critics, which are exclusive positions to the dominant group (Simmons 2009;
Giles 2013). Fans attempt to resist the existing value system through the intro-
duction of their own fan cultures and practices (Sullivan 2013: 207). However,
their attempts to change the cultural hierarchies in society are limited in time
and space (Bourdieu 1984; see also Sullivan 2013: 207).
Discussions on the nature of fandom have been made more compli-
cated by new media circumstances. Fan scholars have increasingly discussed
the blurring of production and consumption in the culture industry (Jenkins
1988; Sandvoss 2005). Media technology enables fans to participate in cultural
production, circulation and consumption on a different level (Hong 2013).
Audience participation engages in cultural production in various ways. Since
members of various socio-demographic backgrounds have been increasing,
fan communities can perform new activities through transmedia and multi-
media consumption and can display professional-level works (Hills 2002: 2).
In the process, fans are collectively aware of the fact that, while producing
and circulating media content, voluntary participation contributes to enhanc-
ing their shared ‘well-being’ (Jenkins and Carpentier 2013: 272). In addition,
fandom, through the construction of participatory culture, has become more
powerful in the entertainment industry.
However, the assumption of the fan as ‘the other’ continues today as an
important subject in fan studies (Hills 2002: 2). Fans are consistently marginal-
ized by mainstream society, in spite of their active participation in the culture
industry (Hills 2001; see also Gray et al. 2007). Even within fan communities,
the construction of ‘good’ fan identities is associated with the imagination of
‘bad’ consumers (Hills 2002: 27). In this sense, Hills links the definition of fan
identities with capitalist societies (2002: 28–29): fans are ‘ideal consumers’ of
the culture industry due to their predictable patterns of consumption (Cavicchi
1998: 62). At the same time, they are a ‘minority audience’ that retains specific
cultural tastes (Taylor and Willis 1999: 192). These studies indicate the
difficulty in the binary classification of fans and non-fans, as well as good and
bad fans. The complicated mapping between us versus them requires subse-
quent academic accounts in order to understand the nature of fandom.

Media representations of popular music celebrity

Celebrity fandom in the music industry has rarely been discussed, as fan stud-
ies tend to concentrate on media text fandom, and many scholars regard the
investigation of celebrity fans as a secondary concern (Sandvoss 2005: 8).

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Ju Oak Kim

It is unnecessary to differentiate popular texts from celebrities in fan studies

because the audience consumes both fictional narratives and stars in the form
of ‘mediated’ texts (Sandvoss 2005: 8). Sandvoss (2005: 8–9) adds that, due to
the similarity of the form at the point of consumption, scholars focus more on
investigating fans’ negotiation in reading texts. In building the fan–object rela-
tionship, however, fundamental differences can still be found between media
text and an individual performer’s fandom (Giles 2013: 117). Furthermore, the
focus on parallels between the fans of different objects arguably causes schol-
ars to overlook the specificity of fan cultures and practices in star fandom.
Contemporary culture sheds light on the growing power of the celebrity in
association with capitalism, and the mass media legitimize the influence of
the celebrity’s actions and words on the public (Marshall 1997). Hence, more
studies are needed that observe how the power of the celebrity, as a ‘system
for valorizing meaning and communication’ influences the construction of fan
cultures and practices (Marshall 1997: 10, original emphasis).
Meanwhile, the music industry recognizes the power of fandom, as
digital technologies provide audiences with an easy way of archiving, repro-
ducing and recirculating music content (Baym 2010). Audiences can also
communicate with people in other countries, form creative engagement with
music, and reduce perceived distance from the production sectors (Baym
2010:  178). Marshall’s (1997) study on music fandom observes the impor-
tance of youth whereby ‘categories of consumption could redefine the social
world, and therefore it became a useful passageway for the elaboration of a
new consumer subjectivity’ (Marshall 1997: 159). He argues that the domi-
nant often consider youth culture as a threat to society (Marshall 1997). Giles
(2013: 124) pays attention to the emergence of the ‘critical fans’ in the music
industry by observing the relationship between the British artist, Morrissey
and his online fan communities. Unlike the anti-fans of media texts, critical
fans maintain their commitment and allegiance to their celebrity, but harshly
evaluate the star’s performances (Giles 2013: 124). This case study demon-
strates that a close relationship between the celebrity and online fandom
allows the empowerment of fan activities (Giles 2013: 117).
Some studies have investigated the characteristics of music celebrities and
their fandom in East Asia. Fung (2009: 292) examines how musician fans’
behaviours break social norms and challenge regulations. The fandom of a
popular Chinese singer, Jay Chou, led to changes in the lifestyles and cultures
of Chinese youth and resistance against the ruling ideology in Mainland
China (Fung 2009: 286). Through the analysis of the online fan community
of a Japanese star, Kimura Takuya, Darling-Wolf (2004) illustrates how idol
fandom constructs transnational relationships with other fans, regardless of
cultural differences and geographical dispersion. While some members of the
community actively reinterpret the star’s behaviours in order to maintain their
fantasies of him, others, called ‘true fans’, do not hesitate to criticize his activi-
ties (Darling-Wolf 2004: 518–19). She also finds that Japanese idol fans deal
with society’s negative perceptions by redefining their actions in a positive
way (Darling-Wolf 2004: 519).
When the K-pop boom emerged in the Asian region the early 2000s, local
scholars paid attention to the fans’ participation in the transnational diffu-
sion of K-pop music. Hong (2013) points out that collective activities of K-pop
fans, such as fan subbing and translating, have increased the global visibil-
ity of Korean popular content. Social networks, including YouTube, Twitter
and Facebook, are important tools for connecting fans beyond borders and

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 Reshaped, reconnected and redefined

producing and circulating their cultural content (Hong 2013). Jung’s (2012b)
research examines both the positive and negative aspects of Korean idol fans’
participatory Internet activism. This ‘bottom-up fan activism’ has constructed
the participatory culture of K-pop idol fandom, which is different from that of
musician fandom in the United States and Western Europe (Jung 2012b:  1).
The K-pop boom provides scholars with an opportunity to understand collec-
tive participation of K-pop idol fandom, as Korean idol groups and their
fandom have been discussed as most significant to the Korean entertainment
industry during the last decade (Hong 2013).

Method and data

The media narrative and image of fandom have become subjects of analy-
sis in fan studies due to the influence of the mass media in determining the
fans’ position in society (Gray et al. 2007: 4). This article provides a case study
that presents the findings from a textual analysis of news reports. In order to
select news reports related to the K-pop boy band fandom’s donation culture,
I employed the news search engine, Kinds, operated by the Korea Press
Foundation, and Naver, the largest portal search engine in Korea. By using
these two search engines, I collected news articles published by both print
and online news outlets. Considering that the donation culture is an emerging
cultural phenomenon, news articles in Korea during the last five years were
primarily chosen. The combined key terms, including ‘idol fandom’, ‘donation
culture’ and ‘political participation’ were employed to gather the raw data.
Then, the data were further pared down to articles that mentioned several fan
communities that support male idol groups: B.A.P, BEAST, Big Bang, EXO,
SHINee, Super Junior, 2PM and TVXQ. Most of these groups represent the
major music companies in Korea: S.M. Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP
Entertainment and CUBE Entertainment. These boy bands have expanded
the K-pop boom over the Asian region during the past decade and have
constructed loyal fandoms. The fan activities of older K-pop idol groups, such
as Seo Tai Ji and Boys and H.O.T., who performed during the 1990s, were
additionally covered to provide historical context for K-pop idol fandom.
News coverage of the fan activities of the K-pop idol group was subjected
to textual analysis as ‘elements in social processes’ (Fairclough 2003: 6).
Fairclough (2003: 9) contends that media texts are employed to construct
the power dynamics in society in a way that journalists induce social activi-
ties or construct the identities of social agents. However, while analysing a
media text, it is important to understand who ‘actually’ shapes the narrative
and image of the subject. According to Goffman (1981), the object indirectly
determines the direction of news stories, although journalists take credit for
scripting (Fairclough 2003: 12). Therefore, the analysis of articles focuses on
how K-pop idol fan communities promote themselves in news media, and the
motivation behind their fan activities.

The rise of K-pop boy band fandom

In the mid-1990s, a new generation, shinsedae, led to the growth of the idol
music business in Korean society (Jung 2006). Born in the 1970s, these indi-
viduals grew up exposed to American culture in the form of television series,
popular music, fast food and fashion (Jung 2006: 111). This generation moti-
vated some Korean music producers to adopt American pop music. In 1992,
Seo Tai Ji and Boys, a three-member dance group, released its first abum,

83
Ju Oak Kim

Nan arayo/I  Know, which represented the first rap release in K-pop music
that appealed to middle-class youth (Jung 2006: 112). The boy band that
had imitated American black culture created a huge sensation among K-pop
musicians and shinsedae (Kim 2001). In addition, fans of the group left huge
political and cultural achievements. The following report shows how fans of
the boy group brought about huge changes in the culture of idol fandom:

Fans of Seo Tai Ji and Boys advocated abolishing the review system
of music content and guaranteeing freedom of expression in solidar-
ity with non-governmental organizations. They also brought the copy-
right protection issue to the public eye. At concerts, the fan community
collected old mobile phones from attendees to participate in the
Green movement.
(Lee 2012a: 1)

These fans, not only as a consumer group, but also as an interested commu-
nity, increased the visibility and power of K-pop idol fandom in society and
influenced the fandom of other male idol groups. As a result, Seo Taiji and
Boys’ fandom instigated a quantum leap of idol fandom, along with the debut
of other teenaged idol groups such as H.O.T., S.E.S., Fin. K. L. and Sechs Kies
in the late 1990s (Park 2013).
The huge success of Seo Tai Ji and Boys sensitized Korean music produc-
ers to the power of fandom. S.M. Entertainment, the leading company of the
idol music industry, led the institutionalization of fandom by introducing the
official fan club system and the release of various products targeting these
fans (Kang 2007). The Hankyoreh 21 reported that Soo-Man Lee, the founder
of the company, consistently emphasized the importance of loyal consumers
in the entertainment market:

Lee made short films such as H.O.T.’s Era of Peace and TVXQ’s Vacation
in order to attract teenaged fans. Lee often stated that ‘TVXQ’s events
regularly have seventy to a hundred thousand attendants, and forty
thousand is the number of loyal consumers’.
(Kang 2007: 2)

The rise of the idol music business in Korean society is closely bound with
the construction of idol fandom. Kang (2007) contends that the largest idol
company stabilized its channels of earnings by creating the needs of fans
instead of satisfying the larger audience. Idol fans who maintain loyalty
to their stars pay to download digital music files and purchase albums
despite the introduction of streaming services and the spread of illegal
downloads. As idol music agencies have identified fans as loyal customers,
K-pop fandom becomes involved in idol group production. During the last
two decades, idol fandom has become powerful in the Korean entertain-
ment market.
In spite of the dependence of the idol business on fandom, the mass media
have focused on exposing the dark side of fandom. Sasaengpaen, or a fan of
an idol group who consistently stalks celebrities, has become a serious social
problem. These individuals forge stars’ identification cards, eavesdrop on their
telephone conversations, append positioning devices in their cars and even
break into celebrities’ houses (Lee 2012a: 25). Chogong, a euphemism for send-
ing a celebrity expensive gifts, is another subject of journalistic criticism. The

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term originates from the tribute that the colonized rendered to the colonizer
in the pre-modern period. Recently, a fan community was accused of send-
ing a celebrity gifts valued at $100,000 (Park 2014). As a result, chogong alba,
which refers to having a part-time job for saving money and buying gifts for
idol stars, emerged as a new word to describe this type of fan behaviour (Park
2014: 8). Lee (2012a) criticizes the sensational journalistic approach in report-
ing idol fandom. Due to the focus on inappropriate behaviours of some fans,
the public’s negative awareness of idol fandom has increased (Lee 2012a: 5).

Media representations of idol fandom’s

donation culture
Major Korean music companies – S.M. Entertainment, YG Entertainment,
JYP Entertainment and CUBE Entertainment – have produced boy bands and
girl groups by selecting trainees and teaching them for several years. Unlike
American and British boy bands, these companies engage in the management
of the members’ private lives, as their involvement in scandals have a direct
negative impact on the company’s revenue (Hong 2013: 170). The changing
media environment has increased the importance of managing publicity in
the entertainment industry. The public relations practitioners in music agen-
cies help K-pop idols establish and maintain positive images through the
media (Lattimore et al. 2011: 4).
Idol fans are also concerned about the maintenance of stars’ reputations. As
an example, Kim and Lee (2013: 11) demonstrate that the difference between
old and new K-pop idol fandom is fans’ awareness of stars and the people
who surround them. While the former generation of fans focused on direct
communication with the star, the present generation of fans displays interest
in supporting other fellow workers of the boy band. This change indicates that
the relationship between K-pop idols and fandom is becoming more inter-
dependent, and fans are becoming active participants in the entertainment
industry. A number of news reports depict K-pop idol fans not as obsessed
consumers, but as volunteer public relation practitioners. The following report
shows how K-pop idol fandom actively manages media relations as a part of
fan activities:

At television production presentations and media conferences, fans of

the boy band present journalists with a gift bag. With snacks such as
cookies, bread, and beverages, they deliver a note, ‘please write a good
story’. […] Some even directly contact reporters in order to inform them
of good news of an idol group that they like.
(Kim and Lee 2013: 11)

K-pop idol fan communities monitor how the news media report on their
stars and contact journalists to promote achievements or upcoming activi-
ties of the idol groups. They also attempt to earn a good reputation from the
production staff. The lunch box is an example of such K-pop idol fan activities.
When members of an idol group appear on television music programmes,
their fans prepare dozens of lunch boxes for idol members, managers, hair-
dressers, costume designers and production associates (Hong 2013). In the
early phases of lunch boxes, fans became involved in managing the media
and employee relations to show that they directly supported the catering
services and presents. In the later phase, they played a more active role in

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Ju Oak Kim

the production sector by planning a tactic, such as creating their own news
stories. Idol fans informed Korean journalists about their activities in order to
be covered as featured stories.
In the late 1990s, music companies handled lines of communication with
teenaged fans by introducing the official fan club system (Lee 2014). This
system allowed fans-mediated communication with idol group members.
However, media technologies now provide fans and stars with multimedia
channels that enable them to interact with one another (Chang 2012). This
changing media environment has narrowed the distance between the star and
fandom and has blurred the boundary between the producer and the audi-
ence (Giles 2013).
As the fan activities have influenced the construction of the boy band’s
publicity, fans have also attempted to reshape their own stereotypes in the
media through good deeds. This change is related to the increasing number
of fans from various sociocultural backgrounds. Jung Deok-Hyun, a cultural
critic, pointed out that middle-aged people who had experienced Seo Tai
Ji and Boys fandom in the 1990s have joined K-pop idol fandom and have
contributed considerably to developing mature fan cultures (Chang 2012).
In a short time, the fan community of the K-pop idol group has constructed
and expanded donative and voluntary activities in association with environ-
mental, educational and social welfare organizations. Such examples include
the following:

G-Dragon, the leader of Big Bang, began the boy band’s self-examination
of the chogong culture of K-pop star fandom by publicly stating that
he would not accept any birthday gifts from the fan community on
Twitter in 2010. His fans responded by donating to neighbors in need
instead.
(Jeon 2013: 10)

The 2PM fandom contributed 28 tons of rice to a welfare organization,

the highest recorded contribution in a single event.
(Kim and Lee 2013: 11)

Fans of Yunho, the leader of TVXQ, donated thousands of books, desks,

chairs, and stationery to an elementary school in a country village in
China to celebrate his birthday on February 6.
(Chang 2012: 1)

News coverage of K-pop fans’ donation activities has increased since the late
2000s. The tone of the news articles has become positive and intimate to fans
of the male idol group. Reporters employed terms such as ‘smart fandom’
(Lee and Bae 2013: 12), ‘mature fans’ (Jeon 2013: 10), ‘the improvement of fan
culture’ (Jeon 2013: 10) and ‘growing fandom’ (Kim 2009) in the descriptions
of their donative and voluntary activities. A writer of the Kyunghyang Shinmun
termed it ‘fan’s obligation’, where K-pop idol fans perform a variety of good
deeds for their stars (Jeon 2013: 10). Jeon (2013) points out that K-pop stars
are evolving into a powerful social force, and the public expects their corre-
sponding moral obligation. Hence, the fan community, having a strong part-
nership with the stars, responds to the public’s expectations.
The heightened interest of news journalism in K-pop idol fandom is related
to the changing role of Korean idol groups in the culture industry. Unlike

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 Reshaped, reconnected and redefined

American and European celebrity culture, Korean and Japanese audiences 2. The K-pop idol fan
community displays
who consume celebrities on television programmes feel a sense of friendli- rice bags at press
ness towards them in their everyday lives (Hong 2013: 159). Idol culture in conferences, which are
Korean society shows the close connection between celebrities and audiences. held to promote new
television programmes,
Because of such ties, idol group members’ words and behaviours considerably films and tour concerts.
influence their fans. Thus, the mass media have emphasized the boy band’s They present these
power and role in society, and the K-pop boom has increased media attention rice bags to show their
support for idol group
towards the relationship between idol stars and their fans. members who attend
Recently, news editors have focused on the interdependence and inter- the conferences.
action between the star and fandom in the construction of a good image in
public. In the case of BEAST, a six-member boy band, some members have
consistently expressed their interest in social-minded activities on various tele-
vision programmes. Yoon Doo-Jun appeared on the TV reality show, Ilbam:
Danbi/Sunday Night: Timely Rain (2009), and participated in digging a well for
residents in Africa (Lee and Bae 2013: 12). Yang Yo-Seop, another member
of the group, wore a bracelet in support of Korean comfort women for the
Japanese army during World War II on a television talk show, Haepi Tugedeo 3/
Happy Together 3 (2007)(Lee and Bae 2013: 12). Their actions caused their fans
to participate in donations for underdeveloped countries or to purchase such
items. Such actions of K-pop idols in the media have helped their fans learn
the meaning of social contributions. Fandom has also incentivized celebrities
to take part in voluntary activities. Jeon (2013) reports that an actor searched
for the phone number of his fan club and social welfare institutions after
receiving rice wreaths2 and became interested in these activities. Idol fans elicit
their stars’ participation as well as change their reputations through donative
activities (Jeon 2013). These examples show that Korean idol groups and their
fans have constructed a two-way relationship through such activities.

From cultural practice to political participation

Jenkins and Carpentier (2013) indicate the need to investigate the hidden
meaning of participation and the equality of all actors in participatory prac-
tices. The concept of participation was traditionally constructed as part of the
struggle within political science traditions (Jenkins and Carpentier 2013: 267).
In applying the notion of participation to the cultural sphere, Jenkins focuses
on participatory politics, which refers to the public’s application of tools and
practices while enjoying recreational life in the political field (Jenkins and
Carpentier 2013: 266). Carpentier attempts to find a political dimension in
cultural participation, including how to deal with conflicts (Jenkins and
Carpentier 2013: 269). Both scholars agree with the importance of under-
standing the implications of participatory practices in the culture industry.
Increasing the communication channels between stars and fans and a
shared awareness of their bonding in constructing public images expands
the socio-political participation of idol groups and fandom. One of the most
representative cases is fandom’s involvement in the withdrawal of a member
from an idol group. TVXQ, a five-member male idol group, expanded their
activities from Korea to Japan in the mid-2000s and created a huge sensation
in both societies. When three members of the group initiated lawsuit against
their music agency to terminate their contract in 2009, the TVXQ fandom
performed a variety of fan activities. Some TVXQ fans initiated a signature
collection campaign on the portal website, Daum, to oppose the group’s
disbandment (Kim 2009: 3). Through this campaign, the fan community

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Ju Oak Kim

tried to frame the legal conflict between three members of TVXQ and S.M.
Entertainment as a social issue rather than entertainment gossip by stress-
ing the negative effect of TVXQ’s break-up on the K-pop boom in the global
market (Kim 2009). Instead of taking emotional action against the company,
TVXQ’s fans collected refutation materials to submit in court in support of the
idol group members, Kim reported:

TVXQ’s official fan club, Cassiopeia, would not be beguiled by what

others said and only trusted the members of the group. Based on trust,
they voluntarily participate in all kinds of activities. […] During the last
thirty years, the organization of the Korean fan community has been
developed to the extent of concerning falling total sales and stock prices
of the music company.
(Kim 2009: 3–4)

The way in which fans handled this crisis was portrayed as the result of the strong
relationship between idol members and fans in the media. However, fandom’s
belief in the bond between the star and fans is often broken. Jay Park, a Korean
American and former leader of 2PM, withdrew from the group in 2010. When
unpatriotic comments made by Park on Facebook became well known and
hotly debated within society, the 2PM fandom promoted a variety of campaigns,
including donations and voluntary activities, in order to change public opinion
about Jay Park (Jung 2010). JYP Entertainment and other members of the group
held a roundtable meeting in order to discuss the issue with fans. At the meeting,
fans strongly demanded Jay Park’s return to the group. However, the company
rejected their request. This open meeting led fans to realize the limitations of
fandom to alter the decisions by the company in boy band management.
The conflicts among music companies, idol groups, and fandom often
result in the intervention of cultural advocacy groups, as Jung (2010) notes in
a contribution to an online newspaper, OhmyNews, regarding the dynamics of
2PM, fandom, and the entertainment industry:

The dispute on Jay Park brings up the issue of how we need to develop
the way of solving their conflicts – celebrities, fans, and producers –
through dialogue in a democratic way, producing profits with reasonable
decisions, and showing affection. Hence, it is up to us to reciprocate.
(Jung 2010: 19)

The 2012 National Assembly and Presidential elections represent another

case in which the mass media profiled the political participation of K-pop idol
fandom. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter became important
channels for urging K-pop idol fans’ participation in the election. On elec-
tion days, the online news media rushed to report the voting participation of
young celebrities, mainly idol group members. In addition, idols’ participation
in an online campaign, including confirmation pictures around polling places
that were uploaded to SNS, attracted the voluntary participation of K-pop idol
fandom. Chang (2012) maintains that this campaign made the young genera-
tion enjoy political participation. Some members of idol groups even directly
conveyed messages to their fans to encourage voting:

Bang Yong-Kook of B.A.P, said through his Twitter account that

‘hopefully, this meaningful and accomplishing experience is not just

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 Reshaped, reconnected and redefined

an event, but makes you keep participating in other social and political
movements.’ […] Jong Hyun, a member of SHINee also left comments
on Twitter that ‘the first article of the Constitution is that sovereign
power resides with the people and all power comes from the people’.
(Lee 2012b: 4–5)

The increase in comments on voting participation by young celebrities

reflects the changing landscape of the entertainment industry. As Lee (2012b)
demonstrates, young Korean entertainers had avoided expressing their politi-
cal opinions due to the social atmosphere. However, in 2012, with the revision
of the election law and the invigoration of communication channels, some
K-pop idols actively encouraged their fans to participate in national elections
(Lee 2012b). Money Today, an online newspaper, reported how idol group
members expanded political participatory culture to K-pop idol fan communi-
ties (Jung 2012a). The fans of male idol groups, including EXO-K and SHINee,
held a variety of events to encourage idol fans’ participation in the presiden-
tial election on voting day. For example, they presented albums and photos
of EXO-K and SHINee to people who posted pictures taken near a polling
place on Twitter (Jung 2012a). These examples illustrate how K-pop idol fans
have applied their participatory culture to political events. While struggling
with the conflicts of idol groups, fans have learned the importance of reflect-
ing on their own opinions by carrying out and enjoying fan activities. With
self-enlightenment, Korean idol fans, mostly young people, have continued
creating various participatory cultural forms.

Discussion
This article explores how K-pop idol fans employ donation activities in the recon-
struction of their public image in society. Fan studies tend to identify fandom as
a group associated with socially disempowered people and disparaged cultural
forms (Fiske 1992; Jenkins 1988). However, this negative perception by the
public regarding the definition of being a fan has fundamentally changed over
the last few decades (Gray et al. 2007: 4). Media technological advancement and
the deregulation of cultural markets place idol fans at a key spot in the Korean
popular music industry. K-pop idol fandom has even blurred the binary posi-
tioning of producers and consumers through various activities, and has consid-
erably changed the landscape of the Korean entertainment industry.
Donation activities reveal how K-pop fandom reconstructs its public image
in the mass media. It is important to note that this participatory culture did
not naturally emerge among idol fan communities. Rather, it was strategically
enacted by K-pop idol fandom, demonstrating the influence of official culture
on popular culture in Korean society. Such idol fan culture is reminiscent of
initial donation culture, where the dominant group performed philanthropic
activities in order to help the poor (see Bourdieu 1984). By adopting this dona-
tion culture, fan communities of Korean male idol groups, such as TVXQ, Big
Bang, 2PM, BEAST, SHINee and EXO, attempt to construct their images as
communities that execute social contribution. However, there is a tendency
for fan communities to focus on the amount of donations and the uniqueness
of the items donated. This phenomenon springs from the competitive spirit
found among fan communities. The instrumentation and commoditization
of donation culture in K-pop idol fandom prove that fan activities can attain
specific goals and mimic donation culture (see Bourdieu 1984).

89
Ju Oak Kim

This study also reveals changes in the news narrative of K-pop star fandom
as a result of global expansion of K-pop music. Korean media mainly script
the global visibility of K-pop music within the frame of nationalism (Kim
2013). In order to discuss the K-pop boom as an achievement of national
culture, the journalistic articulations of K-pop idol groups are reframed to
focus on outstanding performances based upon idol group members’ efforts
(Kim 2013). The media depictions of K-pop idol groups as cultural ambassa-
dors require them to act as socially responsible members. The media also shed
new light on the contributions of K-pop idol fandom in the growth of the
K-pop boom. Understanding the interdependence of idol groups and fandom
in constructing public images, K-pop idol fans seem to create a healthier and
more sound fan participatory culture. These new fan practices, interestingly,
result in separating good fans from bad ones in society. This hierarchy within
K-pop idol fandom is constructed on the basis of social conventions and helps
K-pop idol fans reshape their public image.
The resultant structure and form of K-pop idol fan cultures and activities
are built upon Asian cultural traditions. The difference between western and
Korean fandom is found in the motives and purposes of fan activities. While
Star Trek fan writers participate in recreating the original work to satisfy
themselves and other fans (Jenkins, 1988), the Korean fandom of idol male
groups execute a variety of fan practices in order to make celebrities happier
or to heighten the social recognition of their stars or fandom – the ultimate
goal of their activities. Chogong culture displays the hierarchical relation-
ships among the celebrity, fandom and an individual fan in Korean society.
Donation activities are a refined way of sending gifts to stars because a fan
community makes a donation in order to celebrate something about stars.
Thus, this participatory fan culture should be critically viewed as the inter-
nalization of fans’ hierarchical relationship with their stars, although K-pop
idol fans actively participate in the creation of positive images involving
K-pop idol groups. In addition, one may argue that the donation culture of
Korean fan communities has deep roots in collectivism, which refers to the
strong integration of people in Asian societies into groups (Hofstede 1980;
see also Lim et al. 2011). Various fan activities in K-pop idol fandom induce
individual fans to achieve the common goals of celebrities and the K-pop
idol fan community rather than explore personal goals for the enjoyment of
popular culture.
K-pop idol group members and fans have publicized their interest in
political participation through social network services, thereby applying
cultural practices to political events. During the elections in 2012, K-pop
idols posted their pictures at polling places on Twitter and Facebook and
encouraged their fans to participate in voting. K-pop idol fans actively
responded to their stars’ requests by posting their pictures on social network
services. Lim and Koo (2013) find that idol fans were similar to politicians
in their tendency to engage in power struggles, seek influence and organ-
ize communities. K-pop idol fans are taught how to persuade the public,
exclude others and expect trouble while participating in various fan activities
(Lim and Koo 2013). It is not certain whether K-pop idol fans seriously real-
ize the meaning of political participation or whether they merely enjoy their
political action as an extension of their fan practices. Whatever the case, it
should not be discounted that these teenaged fans, who have long been
disparaged by the public, are learning to become members of civil society
through their cultural practices.

90
 Reshaped, reconnected and redefined

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Contributor details
Ju Oak Kim is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Media and
Communication at Temple University, and is currently working on her
dissertation, which examines the intersection of the television and music
industries in East Asia.
Contact: Department of Media and Communication, Temple University,
2020 N. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
E-mail: [email protected]

Ju Oak Kim has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work in the format that was
submitted to Intellect Ltd.

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