IJCSS 1 (1) (2020) Pages:.

25-34

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International Journal of Cultural and Social Science

Published: Pena Cendekia Insani

Kpop Fans Fanatism In Social Media Instagram

Wahdah Annisa Amri

1,
Department of Social and Political Science, University of North Sumatera

Article Info ABSTRACT

Article history: This study aims to determine the fanaticism of K-pop fans on
Received : 29 September 2019 Instagram and to find out how K-pop fans respond to hoaxes and
Revised : 02 Nopember 2019 negative information about their idols. This study uses a qualitative
Accepted : 13 Desember 2019 descriptive method with data collection techniques interview and
literature study. Informants were selected using purposive sampling
technique. The results show that fan fanaticism on Instagram can be
Keywords:
seen through fan activities such as making meanings, various
K-Pop, Fans, Social Media, meanings in the form of interpreting K-pop idol posts as motivation
Instagram. to work, making posts of admiration and pride for their K-pop idols.
Hunt by following fansite accounts and making fan fiction and
videos. Collect and upload pictures of their official K-pop
merchandise and build knowledge between fans. K-pop is also
expressed through fan responses to hoaxes and negative information
from their idols. The response is influenced by the age of fans,
knowledge of K-pop culture, environment, time as a K-pop fan. In
seeking clarification about the truth of the negative news, they look
for trusted sources such as K-pop idols' official Instagram accounts,
official Instagram account management management, major Korean
media such as Soompi, Allkpop, and press releases provided by artist
management.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-SAlicense.

Corresponding Author:
Wahdah Annisa Amri,
Department of Social and Political Science
Universitas Sumatera Utara
Email: [email protected]

1. INTRODUCTION
The popularity of the Korean wave (Korean wave) or better known as Hallyu initially only
developed in East Asian countries and then became popular throughout the world to Indonesia
(Jin, 2016). The development of Korean culture is currently very popular among teenagers
and adults, both women and men in their teens to thirties. The word Hallyu was used by the
South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism when planning, producing and distributing
music CDs from Korean musicians to neighboring countries in 1999 or in English Korean pop
Music (Korean pop music), in Chinese it is also called Hallyu. – Song of Korea (Music from
Korea). The term hallyu has gained wide popularity since Chinese newspapers reported on the

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IJCSS: International Journal of Cultural and Social Science 2

success of Korean singers in China as part of the Hallyu/Korean wave. A Korean television
drama, What is Love All About was broadcast by the Chinese television channel CCTV in
1997. The following year, the Chinese television channel CCTV rebroadcast the series at
prime time due to high demand for reruns. Korean wave or Hallyu has a wide range of
products from television dramas (K-drama), Music (K-pop) video-games and food, Hallyu
products and services (tourism, cosmetic products, plastic surgery, fashion goods, and
language services) , distribution channels (various media platforms) (Choi, 2015 in Tae, 2017:
xii).
The Korean wave in its development also has a big impact on the Indonesian television
world. Because television is the main information and entertainment medium for the
Indonesian people, one of which is K-drama, which is a new choice after the Indian and
Taiwanese drama series and is very popular through television. The entry of K-drama to
Indonesia began with the popularity of the winter sonata drama in Indonesia. In addition,
Korean music, better known as K-pop, also played an important role in popularizing the
Korean wave in Indonesia. South Korean musicians and idol groups take turns holding
concerts in Indonesia. The years 2011 to 2013 were the years of the K-pop boom and the
arrival of K-pop stars also became the main focus of the media in Indonesia.
The spread of the Korean wave through various means is also facilitated by internet access
and the abundance of social media that makes it easy for anyone to access information
available in various languages. The limitations of language differences can finally be
overcome by the increasing number of fans or non-fans who open translation services for K-
drama subtitles or K-pop music. That way, people who take an interest in South Korean pop
culture will find it easier and love it more. Finally, the term "Korean Fans" became a label for
people who were interested in all forms of culture brought by South Korea. K-pop fans' social
media accounts are used to access various information about their idols. Quoted from the coil
survey, 56 percent of K-pop fans spend 1-5 hours surfing on social media to find out all the
information about their idols. As many as 28 percent of fans even spend more than 6 hours in
cyberspace to see various activities of the idol (Kumparan, 2017).
Instagram is a free social networking site created by Burbn, Inc. that allows users to take
photos, apply digital filters, and share them on various social networking sites including
Instagram itself. Currently Instagram also allows its users to share short videos (Putri, 2015:
75). Currently Instagram users are increasing because Instagram has very interesting features
and is a social networking site that has various applications, such as chatting, uploading
photos and videos via snapgram, instastory. In addition, users can also choose to send their
photos by using a hash sign (#) or hashtags to display more specific uploaded photos when
searched for in the Instagram application search (Bernadeta, 2017: 95).
Through Instagram, K-pop fans carry out an activity called fansgirling, a term used to
describe excessive or even extreme excitement towards certain idol groups. Fansgirling comes
from the word fansgirl and male fans are called fansboy. Fansgirl and fanboy are often
distinguished because of certain practices they do within the fandom (Jenkins, 2007). The use
of Instagram for fansgirling / fansboying activities according to K-pop fans is because the first
thing they see is the image of the idol. Fans are more interested in seeing the first picture that
is served from the Idol's Instagram post. It is not uncommon for K-pop fans to spend hours in
front of their devices playing social media and discussing with their fandom which leads to
fanaticism. According to Joli Jenson, fan groups are haunted by the image of perversion. Fans
have always been characterized as potential bigots. Moreover, fan groups are also seen as
excessive behavior and close to madness. Jenson shows two distinctive types of fan
 IJCSS: International Journal of Cultural and Social Science 3

pathology, “obsessed individuals” (usually male) and “hysterical crowd” (usually female) (in
Storey, 2010:157).
Fanaticism is a belief in a fanatical object that is associated with something excessive in an
object, this fanatic attitude is indicated by activity, extreme enthusiasm, emotional attachment
and excessive love and interest that lasts for a long time (Eliani et al, 2018: 62). In the
process, fans are no longer spectators of popular texts, but they become active participants in
constructing the meaning of a text. McCudden mentions that fan activities are making
meaning (meaning making), sharing meaning (meaning sharing), hunting (poaching),
collecting (collecting) and building knowledge (knowledge building) as the main activities
relevant to fan activities (McCudden, 2011:14).

2. RESEARCH METHODE
This study uses descriptive qualitative methods with a research focus on K-pop fans'
fansatism in social media on Instagram and how K-pop fans respond to hoaxes and negative
information about favorite idols. The data collection techniques used were interviews, and
observations on Instagram feeds and Instagram Stories for K-pop music fans. Selection of
informants using purposive sampling technique.
Making a Meaning
Fans are actively involved in making meaning and interpreting media texts and then
combining them, in part or in whole, with the experiences and emotions of the fans' own lives.
Fans tend to be able to evaluate texts at various levels according to their needs (Grossberg,
1992). On the other hand, Burke (2001) makes a distinction between “social viewers” who are
individuals who only consume text and “fans” (fans) where fans collectively interpret texts in
various ways, and use them to make sense of the world. Fiske (1992) calls this type of
meaning "semiotic productivity". Semiotic productivity, according to Fiske, refers to the
process of using media texts to make meaning of social identities and social experiences (in
McCudden, 2011:15).
Sharing a Meaning
McCudden (2011:15) explains that fans can move their own thoughts into other people or
into the shared space of the fan community. It is an act of taking meaning from internal
(within the fans) and sharing it with the external environment.
Poacing
Fiske (1992) states that textual production refers to the production of texts created by fans
(fans). Fans personally choose the text that will be processed as the basis for making a
creative project about their idol or what is known as textual productivity. Jenkins (1992)
details the process in textual productivity in which fans imitate or take a text, use the snippet
of the text to create a story, and come up with ideas for their creation. The text can be a
television or film script, or song lyrics from a particular band, and use it as a basis for their
own creative activities (in McCudden, 2011:17).
Collecting
In addition to making meaning, sharing meaning, and hunting, gathering is the fourth form
of activity carried out by fans. Collecting in this case is the practice of collecting certain items
related to the object of the fandom that is favored. For fans, collecting as many merchandise
collections as possible is a benchmark for fan collections, not seen from the value of
individual items (Mc Cudden, 2011:21).
 IJCSS: International Journal of Cultural and Social Science 4

Building a Knowledge
McCudden (2011:21) mentions that the last activity to become a fan is to build knowledge.
Fans try to gather their knowledge of the object that is the focus of their passion. Knowledge
can be taken in various forms depending on the type of object that is favored and the
preferences of individuals in the community or sub-community within it. The power of fan
culture comes from the power of knowledge that fans have about the history of the object they
admire.
Fiske (in Matt Hills, 2013: 132) explains three things about fan productivity regarding text on
social media related to fan activity, namely:
1. Semiotic productivity is when fans use their fandom objects to create social meaning in
their own lives. An example is when Fans gain confidence after seeing their favorite
character on television and social media.
2. Enunciative (speech) productivity is when fans express their fandom (fan group) to the
outside world through speeches or performances. For example, hairstyle or make-up,
choice of clothing or accessories are ways of establishing social identity and thereby
confirming one's membership of a particular fan community (Fiske 1992: 38) (in Matt
Hills, 2013: 132).
3. Text productivity is when fans create text based on their fandom object. The productivity
of this text can differentiate the fandom sector from the non-fan audience. On Fiske's
account, it is possible for non-fans and casual audiences to talk about media texts, thereby
participating in Enunciative's productivity productions. But in the era of web 2.0, the
productivity of fan fiction creation text (fan fiction), fan art, film ost, and fan video. This
activity limits the fan community and identity because a non-fan audience will be much
less likely to engage in this practice of text production.
There are a number of K-Pop fans who have stories of unusual fanaticism, as quoted on
CNN Indonesia online media, namely K-pop fans ranging from chasing idols to being willing
to stay in one hotel, willing to spend hundreds of millions to buy albums for the chance to get
an autograph. idol, to feel ''sleeping with idol'' just because there is a poster that leads to the
bed. A number of other K-Popers fan-satisfaction actions have also been recorded in the news,
both in Indonesia and in other countries, ranging from being willing to wait for hours to
welcome an idol's arrival, to hurting yourself when the idol dies (CNN Indonesia, 2019).

3. RESULT AND ANALYSIS

The results show that the fanaticism of fans is not only seen from how far they like Korean
idols but also in social media, this can be seen from the various activities they have done on
Instagram and the response of K-pop fans in responding to hoax and negative information
from K-pop idols.
K-pop Fan Activities on Social Media As a Form of Fan Fanaticism
Excessive fan activity causes a person to become fanatical about something. Likewise, a
Kpop fan who is already amazed and likes K-pop music, they will justify various ways to be
able to enjoy their passion and produce it and even distribute it through social media.
In supporting the hobby of K-pop fans, many fans have more than one social media
account, which serves to find out the idol's activities from various social media and is also
used to vote or stream projects from their idols. It also makes fans join certain groups or
IJCSS: International Journal of Cultural and Social Science 5

communities with members who have an interest in the same idol or what is commonly
referred to as fandom. Fandom is a combination of the words fans and kingdom, which is a
large community of Korean idol fans committed to consuming products continuously by
involving feelings. Fandom has a special forum that allows fans to interact or share in groups
through social media fanbases (Fauziah, 2015).
Fan Activities as explained by McCudden that K-pop fans today are not only connoisseurs
of images, videos and media texts uploaded by Korean idols on Instagram, but they can also
interpret and make meaning from these uploads. Interpretation The meaning created by K-pop
fans begins when Korean idols upload photos/videos/texts on their Instagram accounts. Like
Korean idols, they also use Instagram to promote and provide information on the projects they
are making to their fans. The posts that idols upload really attract the attention of K-pop fans
and it's not uncommon for fans to be immediately interested and save, download and even
capture the post.

Source: IG account @daisy_rosly

From these posts, fans can give many meanings and interpretations of their idol's uploads.
Like when one of the interviewees uploaded a collection of pictures that they captured from an
idol's Instagram and then uploaded it again on their personal Instagram account and gave a
caption that was in accordance with the experience and emotions and mood of the fans. Where
in picture 1 the owner of the @daisy_rosly account interprets that the picture featuring rose
blackpink is as his role model forever or as his role model to live a better life and be more
active in achieving dreams. Meanwhile, if seen from picture 2, it can be interpreted that the
fandom of the idol created a project to support the solo activities of one of the blackpink
personnel by buying the album. The meaning carried out by the fans is one of the activities he
did while being a K-pop fan.
Fiske (in Matt Hills, 2013: 132) also explains the productivity of fans, one of which is
semiotic productivity where fans use idol images as encouragement for themselves and share
their experiences with followers of the IG account @daisy_rosly collectively. Not infrequently
other fans also do the same thing, namely by giving meaning and interpreting the idol images
they upload on their IG accounts. This collective meaning behavior when in a fan group or
community, one of which can be seen by how often fans discuss, exchange information or
argue about Korean idols that are not known by non-fans or ordinary people.
IJCSS: International Journal of Cultural and Social Science 6

The meaning has a negative impact among K-pop fans because it can cause Fanwar.
Fanwar is a fan/fan war activity on social media. One of the fan wars that fans have done is
between fangirl idol group Blackpink (Blink) and fangirl idol Twice (Once). Fanatical fans do
not hesitate to provide defense comments to their idol artists without seeing that their idol
artist is right or wrong. And give negative comments that bring down other idol artists on
certain uploads or news. This happens because of various factors, such as age, being too
fanatical about something and often fansite accounts on Instagram give an appeal to write
positive comments for their respective idols.
Another activity that can show the fanatical behavior of a K-pop fan is poaching by finding
as much information as possible about all their idols from how their personal lives are, what
are their favorite foods and drinks, playlists of favorite songs, recent photos of idols, and all
kinds of things. related to the pleasures of their idols. This activity makes fans very active in
searching / hunting which makes them spend a lot of time surfing in cyberspace. This activity
is said to be stalking activity, according to the Cambride Dictionary, is a criminal activity to
follow and monitor someone illegally for a certain period of time. Stalking has an obsessive
tendency, which is potentially dangerous. Many K-pop fans and the public are not aware that
stalking activities can affect their mental health.
Stalking is done by K-pop fans not only on social media but also in their real life. Almost
all K-pop fans tend to have stalked on social media. If you don't get information about an idol
on Instagram, then fans look for it on Twitter, Facebook, SNS (Social Networking Service)
which is only available in Korea, the idol's Weibo (Chinese social media) account to even
those closest to the idol. Not only that, in real life fans can also stalk their idols. This activity
is only carried out by fans in Korea or non-Korean fans who have a lot of capital to participate
in all activities carried out by idols. Even breaking into the idol's house, stealing personal
items to installing monitoring cameras at the idol's house, breaking into the idol's social media
account and daring to rent the same hotel as the idol's place to stay.
Looking for information about idols is also done by fans by following many fansite
Instagram accounts (fans who are very loyal and willing to follow their idols wherever their
idols go, not only when they are domestically even to the point of following their idols'
schedules abroad) created by idol fandoms. Fansite is a fan site, account or web created by
fans and for fans / fans. This activity is very beneficial for fans when looking for detailed
information and updates on the latest news from idols. Most fans follow fansite Instagram
accounts which have lots of HD quality pictures and the speed of idol news updates. Having a
fansite account on Instagram itself can also provide benefits for the account manager. Because
of the income from advertising and donors who are willing to pay a lot to get good quality
photos, images, videos to news idols.
Jenkins (1992) mentions that the final process of "poaching" is text as an intermediary for
fans to do "poach", recording and information to create their own writing, as an intermediary
for products and communities. Many fans are looking for all the information idols use for their
work. Fans search for and choose their own images, idol information that can be made as their
work in the form of Fan Fiction, FMV (Fans Movie Video), Fans art (in McCudden, 2011:17).
Jenkins (1992) explains that fans / fans borrow or take a text, use the pieces to create
stories, and become their creative ideas. The text can be a television or film script, or song
lyrics from a particular band, and use it as a basis for their own creative activities (in
McCudden, 2011:17). Fansfic or what is called fan fiction practice is to take existing text and
use it as a starting point for fan-created narratives, with themes that match the wishes and
experiences of fans. Fanfic has a specific goal for writers and readers, namely satisfaction in
IJCSS: International Journal of Cultural and Social Science 7

imagination. As in the example in the picture above, the fanfic manager wrote a description of
the fanfic he made, which is about the romance of Jungkook BTS and Rose BlackPink.
Whereas in the real world the characters written in Fanfic do not have close relationships.
Because in fanfic according to Jenkins (1992) there are 10 types, namely, Recontextualization,
Refocalization, Crossover, emotional intensification, genre shift, Character dislocation, moral
realignment, Character dislocation, timeline expansion, eroticization. Of all types, according
to Jenkins (1992), the one that gets a lot of viewers is the eroticization type, because it is not
uncommon for fans to pair their idols with other idols that match the theme they created (in
McCudden, 2011:19).
For fan-made video creation or better known as Fans Music Video (FMV), it is common to
use pre-existing footage of a video, film or television show. Then the images, deliberately
arranged, become meaningful that relate to each other, often in a different way than the
original text. This activity allows fans to get creative with themes or plots that may not match
the original text. One of the types of fan music videos that fans are most interested in is that if
in the original video two characters are not involved in a romantic relationship, fans will
arrange/edit them into two romantic characters (Ng, 2007 in McCudden, 2011:19).
The productivity of this text is an effect arising from the continuous consumption of social
media. The motivation of fans is based on the fulfillment of their psychological and emotional
needs. In addition, producers get satisfaction (satisfaction), as well as the need for appreciation
and the need to seek identity and the need for self-fulfillment. The results of this fan work will
then be uploaded to their social media for later sharing with fellow K-pop fans. It doesn't stop
there, other fans can also provide feedback for creators; such as leaving comments,
constructive criticism to other production requests on their social media accounts.
Idol merchandise has become one of the most popular things among K-pop fans. Fans are
willing to queue and follow pre-orders to get the product the first time. This merchandise
collection is one form of activity carried out by fans, namely collecting (Collecting). Products
related to idols have two (2) characteristics, namely official (official) or unofficial (unofficial).
The official merchandise that idols come from is the management of the artist that houses
them, such as light sticks, albums, clothes, photocards, posters, etc. Meanwhile, unoffical idol
products are produced from fans who have creativity in designing all things related to idols
and those produced or not produced by the artist management will be produced by fans for the
benefit and pleasure of other K-pop fans. The works that fans have made during their hunting
activities (poaching), are also in great demand by other K-pop fans to collect and collect them.
The process of collecting merchandise can not only be purchased at the Korean official
store but can also be purchased online. There are so many Instagram accounts that sell
official/unofficial merchandise such as @kpopsale and an unofficial online shop Instagram
account like the one owned by one of the informants, namely @blinkareunited. In addition,
unofficial merchandise can be obtained for free if fans attend an event or concert they attend.
The collection of official / unofficial merchandise is carried out by the @kanetasya and
@blinkareunited accounts, they collect merchandise collections from idols regularly and
upload them on their Instagram accounts.
For fans, collecting as many merchandise collections as possible is a benchmark for fan
collections, not seen from the value of individual items (Mc Cudden, 2011:21). The more
merchandise collections fans have, they can express their fandom (fan group) to the outside
world through the performances brought by fans.
For example, hairstyle or make-up, choice of clothing or accessories are ways of
establishing social identity and thereby confirming one's membership of a particular fan
IJCSS: International Journal of Cultural and Social Science 8

community (Fiske 1992: 38) (in Matt Hills, 2013: 132). Not infrequently if each idol fandom
has its own characteristics ranging from color gradations, fonts, logos, fandom names and also
sometimes the age of fans also influences. For example, K-pop idol Winner has an Inner
Circle fandom with Nebula Blue fandom color, BIGBANG with Yellow fandom color with
the name Crownstick and with adult fan characters.
The majority of K-pop fans use Instagram social media to interact, find information, look
for pictures and videos, exchange information related to idols with other fans in cyberspace
even though there has never been a face-to-face meeting between the two. In various social
media, K-pop fans have special forums that allow them to interact, share information or share
in groups that continue in their social life or real life. The forum is better known to K-pop fans
as Fanbase. Fanbase is a forum / group of a group of K-pop fans who have a common liking /
idolizing "K-pop idols" to discuss each idol with fellow fans. The fanbase was formed by K-
pop fans and is also intended for other fans with the aim of building knowledge (knowledge
building) about their idols ranging from idol personal data, idol daily activities, idol projects to
fan projects. This fan project is there when there is an idol's birthday celebration or is
promoting a new song. This project is usually in the form of a gathering somewhere using the
attributes of the idol fandom and not infrequently if the fan project is also carried out in Korea
by sending a bouquet of flowers as a congratulation to the idol in his career achievement
Knowledge building or building knowledge about Korean idols built by fans on Instagram can
be described by posting pictures of idols or projects that have been done and tagging or
tagging other fan account names in one of the idol posts or even in posting information about
idols. The tagging or tags contained in uploads about idols can make it easier for other fans to
immediately see the post in question without having to search on Instagram search.
Fan Response
Fanaticism of K-pop fans apart from being shown from all their activities on social media
such as Instagram, can also be shown through fan responses in responding to hoax and
negative information from idols on their Instagram, such as when the first news Instagram
account about K-pop uploaded a post related to K-pop. With hoaxes and negative idol news,
the first response from fans when they read it was various. Such as upset, shocked, sad, angry,
disappointed even to the point of hurt and weakness. Responses related to information and
hoax news on Korean idols can also be influenced by several things, one of which is the age of
fans, knowledge of fans about K-pop culture, the environment, and the period of time they
become fans of K-pop.
The age of fans is one of the important points in how fans respond to hoax information
about their idols. Like the response regarding idol hoax information among fans with an age
range of 12-17 years, it will be different from the response among fans aged 22-27 years. This
difference can be seen in responding, for example, when idol hoax information starts to get
crowded on Instagram, it is not uncommon for those whose age is still young to give negative
comments and not infrequently they immediately tag their fellow fans.
Teenagers have a big tendency to become fanatical fans who are members of a fan
community called fandom, because during adolescence they are vulnerable to being influenced
by the social environment, and at this time they prefer to prioritize the interests of groups and
peers (Jannah, 2014 in Eliani et al, 2018: 67).
As for mature ages, such as the age of 22–27 years when responding to hoax news, they
will seek the truth first before commenting further. Because when a K-pop fan who has an age
range of 23–28 years with experience being a K-pop fan for more than five years, the reaction
they get is to stay calm by observing the news through major K-pop news Instagram accounts
 IJCSS: International Journal of Cultural and Social Science 9

or even through other social media such as Twitter, SNS, or Chinese Weibo. It would be
different if the age of a fan under 20 years old with experience being a fan under 5 years
would give a slightly exaggerated response such as annoyed, disappointed to the hurt that he
expressed through social media. It's not uncommon for fans to make spicy and negative
comments on negative news uploads on the Kpop news Instagram account.
Fans also have their own way to find out the truth of hoax information and negative news
by seeking confirmation of the truth from various reliable sources such as K-pop idol official
Instagram accounts, official Instagram accounts and Idol management websites, Korean local
TV Instagram official accounts such as SBS, tvN, KBS and MBC, as well as major Korean
news sites such as soompi.com, allkpop.com, naver.com. For example, when the Korean
Dispatch entertainment site released snippets and news about Kai EXO and Jenny BlackPink
dating, fans immediately commented on the idol's official Instagram account with various
questions. K-pop fans must have been aware of the Dispatch entertainment site, which has
always been a paparazzi for K-pop idols, therefore when news emerged from Dispatch, some
fans would doubt the truth of the news before the idol management confirmed the truth
reported by Dispatch. by issuing press releases to the media and uploading them to various
idol management social media accounts. In addition, the environmental factor of fans is also
not spared in influencing fans when responding to hoax information about idols, which
environment can come from idol fanbase groups, fellow fans and social media that fans
access.
Currently, with easy internet access and various social media platforms such as Instagram,
fans are given the convenience of being able to seek clarification of news sources from
trustworthy sites. Especially when it comes to reporting on K-pop idols. However, not all fans
have a good understanding of how to digest and seek the truth of news from their idols, with
many who are easily provoked by emotions such as making malicious comments on idol
accounts or uploading them on personal accounts that can trigger fan wars with other fans.
Fanwar or war activities between fandoms is one of the fanatical activities of K-pop fans
which is still being discussed on various social media, not only on Instagram. just like some of
the big fandoms in the K-pop music industry have stiff competition with each other, for
example in music charts, awards, and public recognition. Besides that, outside of idol careers,
it is not uncommon for fans to also do fan wars because of trivial issues that can be triggered
by irresponsible parties which will then trigger fan wars between fandoms.
The fanaticism shown by K-pop fans in social media on Instagram can indirectly shape
their mindset, identity and habits in socializing. Fanaticism of K-pop fans also tends to be
busy with their own devices, immediately fans share their findings during their search for
information and news from favorite Korean idols to fellow fans through their uploads.
Fanaticism that is formed by the activities and responses that fans give can form a sense of
enthusiasm, love and excessive emotional attachment possessed by fanatical individuals will
lead to thinking that what they believe is the most true thing so that they will tend to defend
and defend something. the truth they believe in (Eliani et al, 2018: 68).

4. CONCLUSION
The conclusion that can be drawn is that fans' fanatical behavior in social media is not only
seen from the extent and how long fans have been carrying out their activities as K-pop fans,
but can also be seen from their response to Hoax information and negative news of K-pop
idols. Fan activity is shown in several ways, namely giving meaning, where fans can freely
interpret idol uploads according to their emotions and experiences and share meaning with
IJCSS: International Journal of Cultural and Social Science  10

other fans. Like feeling proud of an idol and an injection of enthusiasm given by idols to fans
through uploaded photos. After the activity of interpreting the meaning of fans doing
"poaching" or hunting, the hunting in question is following various idol fansite Instagram
accounts, making fan fiction and fan-created videos and sharing them with other K-pop fans.
other than that. Collecting merchandise and uploading to a personal account for K-pop fans is
a matter of pride because it has one of the collections of idols. The last activity of K-pop fans
is interacting with other fans. Like joining an idol fanbase found on Instagram and marking or
commenting on each post uploaded by K-pop idols to make it easier to find information.
The fanaticism of kpop fans is also shown through their responses in responding to hoax
and negative information from their idols with various responses such as annoyed, shocked,
sad, angry, disappointed and even hurt and weak. This feeling can also be influenced by
several things, one of which is the age of the fans, the knowledge of fans about K-pop culture,
the environment, to the period of time being a K-pop fan. And to find out the credibility of
idol information, fans tend to seek clarification of the truth of news from various reliable
sources such as K-pop idols' official Instagram accounts, artist management's official
Instagram accounts to major Korean media such as Soompi, Allkpop.

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