Crazy Love of K-pop Fans and Celebrities

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For those who are not K-pop fans, the actions of Karina, whose real name is Yu Ji Min, are confusing. On the other hand, this action opens a window into the world of “hard-core fans” of celebrities.

Ironic, actually. They sing love songs, but are not allowed to date.

BBC News, on Sunday (24/3/2024), reported that a number of Karina fans brought a advertising truck to the management representative’s office. They protested Karina-Lee’s relationship, saying “We support Karina’s bright future, believe in dreaming together. However, it seems we were wrong. Was the love given by your fans not enough?” as written on the electronic billboard.

Cedarbough Saeji, an expert in Korean and East Asian Studies from Pusan National University, evaluates that the Karina incident is a classic case of fans who want to discipline celebrities. They are angry because Karina is in a relationship.

Then, they are also angry because Karina apologized in the wrong way. Fans feel that Karina should have uploaded her apology on a special fan forum instead of on social media. “K-pop stars have almost no privacy,” said Saeji.

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US columnist who often writes about K-pop, Jeff Benjamin, offers a different perspective. “I think Karina published her apology because she has a leadership responsibility in Aespa. She wants to assure her fans that she will continue to work hard. It’s actually ironic. They sing love songs, but they’re not allowed to date,” he said.

Unlike fans in South Korea, Karina’s fans outside of South Korea are angry that Karina had to apologize. “She does not deserve to be treated like that,” one comment on X wrote.

“Karina apologized just because she liked someone. This is crazy,” another comment wrote. For international fans, what the fans in South Korea did actually embarrasses South Korea.

Illusion of relationship

According to South Korean columnist Jeong Deok-hyeon, the Karina case happened because fans felt rejected. K-pop fans often feel they have a parasocial relationship with their idols.

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The relationship is a psychological condition in which someone considers their idol as a friend or even closer. Fans feel like they have a close relationship with their idol. However, this is only a one-sided feeling. It’s just an illusion. False intimacy.

People who experience parasocial relationships are willing to spend money, time, and even emotions on their idols. However, the person being idolized may not even know the person idolizing them.

Fans of K-pop, among other things, celebrate their idols’ birthdays this way. Parties are made lively, sometimes renting special shops. Only one thing is missing: the person who is having a birthday.

In the context of music, fans feel like they have been fighting for the career and have played a role in the lives of celebrities. They can play their idol’s music all the time to improve their ranking on the charts. Even when they are sleeping, they let the music play without sound.

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They also organize mass voting sessions during award seasons. They even sometimes sponsor digital billboard advertisements in crowded places, such as Times Square, New York.

“Fans work hard to ensure the success of a group or celebrity. They consider their idol as a product. If they want to see the product remain successful for a long time, the artists, fans, and management must work hard together,” said Jeong.

The hard work, among others, was carried out by ARMY, the BTS fan group. There are millions of people in various countries who are members of ARMY. They, among other things, carry out various charity activities in the name of BTS. ARMY also operates an account on social media X which translates all content related to BTS. Starting from song lyrics to members’ social media uploads.

Jeong is concerned about an increasing desire among fans to receive some kind of compensation for their “investment.” This will contribute to fan demands that sometimes approach threats. However, this is not solely the fault of the fans.

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The entertainment industry also encourages fans to express their support for their idols. The industry encourages fans to buy various things related to their idols. This consumerist behaviour is profitable. Management takes advantage of “false intimacy” and illusory relationships to profit.

Fragile career

There are many ways to facilitate such deception. Celebrities are prohibited from dating or even having a personal phone. Agencies also create virtual interaction applications for their artist protégés. Posts on the application provide a glimpse into the idols’ daily lives for fans.

In the application used by SM, a company that forms many K-pop groups, it seems that fans can receive messages from their idols. There is even a message containing an offer for video teleconferencing. However, the message is sent once to thousands of people in the application channel.

Jeff Benjamin stated that some idols may feel “obligated to make their fans happy”. This is because the average career lifespan of K-Pop celebrities is only five years. In that short period, even with hard work, a luxurious lifestyle becomes part of their daily routine as K-Pop stars.

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According to Allied Market Research, the global K-pop market is worth 8.1 billion US dollars in 2021, and is projected to reach 20 billion US dollars by 2031. K-pop albums have recorded a revenue of 243.8 million US dollars overseas from January to October 2023. Japan, the US, and China are the top three buyers.

Hatred

The problem is, having many fans or followers is not always enjoyable. Hannah Milton (21), who has 1.6 million followers, experiences this. She regularly uploads videos of herself dancing or joking on social media.

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The digital marketing student at Cardiff University who creates content on social media has many fans and haters. “When my video went viral, that’s when a lot of people started trolling,” he said.

Troll is internet slang for someone who deliberately tries to incite conflict, hostility, or quarrel in an online social community. Milton admits that young people are not always ready to face fame on social media.

Fortunately, his mother always helps him deal with those online troublemakers. People think that creating social media content is an easy thing to do. In fact, Milton puts a lot of effort into it. He becomes even more exhausted when confronted with hate spreaders.

Content creator and manager of Milton, Abi Butcher, admitted that influencers or celebrities often become the center of public attention. People will always watch, leading to a lot of pressure accompanying them.

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Success at a young age can make influencers easily exploitable. Therefore, he suggests influencers to stop creating content if they start to feel their mental well-being is disturbed.

An extreme example of fan or follower behavior can be seen in the case of Catherine, Princess of Wales. The unclear whereabouts of Catherine or Kate Middleton (42) makes conspiracy theories run wild. Kate is reportedly hurt because she was left behind by her cheating husband, Prince Williams.

In her video recording, Kate admitted to having cancer and undergoing preventive chemotherapy. Kate needs time to recover with her family. However, it turns out that the confession is not enough.

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There are also those who question her facial expressions and speculate as to why her dimples are not visible. “Conspiracy theory adherents are cruel people who promote fear and false information,” said misinformation expert Timothy Caulfield from the University of Alberta, Canada.

A social psychology professor at the University of Kent, Karen Douglas, explained that people don’t believe what they see and read. “When seeds of doubt are already sown, people lose their trust. This is where conspiracy theories become very interesting,” she said.

Even fans who love their idols deeply can easily be swayed by conspiracy theories if they don’t have clarity. Perhaps this is because the fans feel a sense of dislike, yet longing, for their idols. (AFP)