Fandom culture of Korean pop idols began in the 1970s with singers Nam Jin and Nahuna.
[3] Fandoms started to become popular during the early 1980s and continued to grow rapidly into the 1990s with the emergence of Seo Taiji as a teenage idol.
[5] Many traditional South Koreans disapproved of enthusiastic fandoms, and early studies of the subject took a negative view.
[6] Although early fandom was strongly perceived as a fan culture involving a few fanatic people, it has recently brought about a shift in perception that can be accessed in a variety of ways only by the name of a star or related search terms on portal sites, which is largely due to the development of the Internet and media.
[10] Beginning in 2008, this era of K-pop gained international recognition with groups such as Bigbang, Super Junior, and Girls Generation.
In 2015, South Korean Idols set themselves apart from many of their Western counterparts by not only joining the major social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, but Naver Corporation created a streaming website/app called "V Live".
A "Hi Touch" is the opportunity for fans to personally meet the idols and essentially give them a high five, with the chance to say a quick word or two.
Due to the previous state of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting every part of the world, in-person concerts were impossible to attend or even create.
Therefore, many K-pop groups performed online concerts, allowing fans to continue interacting with their favorite group/artist.
K-pop fans have many opportunities to get exclusive content and interactions with the idols, creating a positive relationship for both parties.
[20] The fandom culture of posting celebrities they like or support on subway billboards along with cheering phrases is expanding.
Pengsoo rolled up his wings to promote consumption of peaches and plums on his YouTube channel, "Giant Peng TV."
Once ranked first, it is exposed to the top of the music site and published in articles, which leads to other broadcasts and activities, which greatly affects popularity.
Therefore, it has become difficult for singers and rookies of different genres to be on the charts compared to idols who rank first with the power of their fans.
In support activities, they present gifts such as lunch boxes to idols, place advertisements on public transportation such as subways and buses, and collaborate with cafes to include phrases and images to support the idols of cup holders, or create special menu lights in cafes to hold events.
Many fandoms of K-pop are located outside of South Korea as part of a phenomenon called Hallyu 2.0, which is characterized by the extension of the Korean Wave into global markets, especially the West, and largely attributed to the development and use of Social media technologies by fans and consumers of K-pop.
Though the internet has been a major role of allowing international fans to easily form a connection with their idols right at their fingertips.
[citation needed] Global fans are found to possibly appeal to the Lacanian imaginary that Kpop-idols provide to them.
Active audience can be defined as the fans attend the concerts often, collect information, and try to find ways to interact with idols through letters and handshake practice.
[32] In Europe, K-pop idols have motivated young fans to start learning Korean language and culture.
[citation needed] The phenomenon of the Korean Wave and the strong connection between K-pop idols and their fans resulted in South Korea to develop soft power.
From late 2016 to early 2017, the political scandal involving South Korea's former President Geun-hye Park sparked a series of weekly protests called the "Candlelight Movement."
During the 2020 presidential election in the United States, K-Pop fans and teenage TikTok users collaborated to disrupt former President Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma by reserving free tickets and then not attending the event so the seats would be empty.
[38] They used the hashtag features on TikTok and Twitter and deleted their posts after 24 hours to keep the trend away from the attention of mainstream internet users and media outlets.
[39] K-Pop fans used a similar tactic when the Dallas Police Department encouraged people to use their app "iWatch" to submit videos of "illegal activity" from the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
sasaeng fans, are considered to have become overly obsessed with a public figure and engaged in behavior that constitutes an invasion of privacy.
[43] Stalker fans may disguise themselves as a stage hand or manager to approach the star, or pretend to be reporters in order to gain entry to a press conference.
Sasaeng fans have gone to extreme lengths to attain a sense of closeness with their favorite idols, causing upheaval within the K-pop fandom regarding the consequences of parasocial relationships.
Most fan merchandise in South Korea is promoted through social media outlets like KakaoTalk and Twitter.
[citation needed] Official goods have an advantage as a commodity, while fan-produced merchandise may correspond to more specialized tastes, such as a fan-made photobook focusing on a particular member of a band.