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Impact and popularity of K-pop
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Impact and popularity of K-pop
While the industry of K-pop originates in South Korea, with the rise of the Korean Wave, the demand for Korean pop music has spread globally. Key aspects of K-pop fan culture include learning choreography, purchasing albums and other merchandise, and engaging with other fans on social media platforms.
Many fans travel overseas to see their idols on tour, and tourists commonly visit South Korea from Japan and China to see K-pop concerts. A K-pop tour group from Japan had more than 7,000 fans fly to Seoul to meet boy band JYJ in 2012, and during JYJ's concert in Barcelona in 2011, fans from many parts of the world camped overnight to gain entrance. A 2011 survey conducted by the Korean Culture and Information Service reported that there were over three million active members of hallyu fan clubs.
Bang Si-hyuk, the music industry executive behind BTS, expressed that K-pop idol fans view their idol differently from how music fans view a typical singer. Idol fans want to feel close to and be a part of their idol's lifestyle, even outside of live performances.
An article by The Wall Street Journal indicated that K-pop's future staying power will be shaped by fans, whose online activities have evolved into "micro-businesses." K-pop groups commonly have dedicated fan clubs with a collective name and sometimes an assigned colour, to which they will release merchandise. For example, TVXQ fans are known as 'Cassiopeia,' and their official colour is 'pearl red.' Some of the more popular groups have personalized light sticks for use at concerts; for example, BigBang fans hold yellow crown-shaped light sticks.
Fan clubs sometimes participate in charity events to support their idols, purchasing bags of 'fan rice' in order to show support. The rice bags are donated to those in need. According to Time, for one of BigBang's shows, 12.7 tons of rice were donated from 50 fan clubs around the world. There are businesses in South Korea dedicated to shipping rice from farmers to the venues. Another way that fan clubs show their devotion is by sending lunch to idols during their schedules, and there are catering companies in South Korea specifically for this purpose. Increasingly, fans participate in activism that extends outside of the K-pop community.
A unique feature of K-pop fandom is the "fan chant". When an idol group releases a new song, chants, usually consisting of group members' names, are performed by live concert audiences during non-singing parts of songs.
Some idols and idol groups have faced problems from obsessive fans who indulge in stalking or invasive behavior. These fans are known as sasaeng fans (사생팬; 私生팬; sasaengpaen), from the Korean word for 'private life,' which alludes to their penchant for invading the privacy of idols and members of idol groups. There have been accounts of extreme behaviors from fans trying to gain idols' attention. South Korean public officials recognize this as a unique but serious concern.
Some idols have responded towards sasaeng fans, for which some have received backlash; including members of JYJ, Kim Heechul, and Kim Jaejoong.
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Impact and popularity of K-pop AI simulator
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Impact and popularity of K-pop
While the industry of K-pop originates in South Korea, with the rise of the Korean Wave, the demand for Korean pop music has spread globally. Key aspects of K-pop fan culture include learning choreography, purchasing albums and other merchandise, and engaging with other fans on social media platforms.
Many fans travel overseas to see their idols on tour, and tourists commonly visit South Korea from Japan and China to see K-pop concerts. A K-pop tour group from Japan had more than 7,000 fans fly to Seoul to meet boy band JYJ in 2012, and during JYJ's concert in Barcelona in 2011, fans from many parts of the world camped overnight to gain entrance. A 2011 survey conducted by the Korean Culture and Information Service reported that there were over three million active members of hallyu fan clubs.
Bang Si-hyuk, the music industry executive behind BTS, expressed that K-pop idol fans view their idol differently from how music fans view a typical singer. Idol fans want to feel close to and be a part of their idol's lifestyle, even outside of live performances.
An article by The Wall Street Journal indicated that K-pop's future staying power will be shaped by fans, whose online activities have evolved into "micro-businesses." K-pop groups commonly have dedicated fan clubs with a collective name and sometimes an assigned colour, to which they will release merchandise. For example, TVXQ fans are known as 'Cassiopeia,' and their official colour is 'pearl red.' Some of the more popular groups have personalized light sticks for use at concerts; for example, BigBang fans hold yellow crown-shaped light sticks.
Fan clubs sometimes participate in charity events to support their idols, purchasing bags of 'fan rice' in order to show support. The rice bags are donated to those in need. According to Time, for one of BigBang's shows, 12.7 tons of rice were donated from 50 fan clubs around the world. There are businesses in South Korea dedicated to shipping rice from farmers to the venues. Another way that fan clubs show their devotion is by sending lunch to idols during their schedules, and there are catering companies in South Korea specifically for this purpose. Increasingly, fans participate in activism that extends outside of the K-pop community.
A unique feature of K-pop fandom is the "fan chant". When an idol group releases a new song, chants, usually consisting of group members' names, are performed by live concert audiences during non-singing parts of songs.
Some idols and idol groups have faced problems from obsessive fans who indulge in stalking or invasive behavior. These fans are known as sasaeng fans (사생팬; 私生팬; sasaengpaen), from the Korean word for 'private life,' which alludes to their penchant for invading the privacy of idols and members of idol groups. There have been accounts of extreme behaviors from fans trying to gain idols' attention. South Korean public officials recognize this as a unique but serious concern.
Some idols have responded towards sasaeng fans, for which some have received backlash; including members of JYJ, Kim Heechul, and Kim Jaejoong.