We all have our interests, so how do you enthuse over yours? In Korea, there are some unique forms of fandoms. If you are interested in K-pop idols, sports, or any other field, pay attention! This could be right up your alley.
Fandom Culture Where Real Fans Talk
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Ⓐ Who Likes Idols “It’s impressive to me that fans share their fan goods with others for free. It’s also awesome to have a culture of giving out prizes through a lottery if you participate in the text voting in the audition program for idols. Since text voting determines the ranking of idols they support, this encourages people to vote by giving out expensive products through the lottery. In addition, there is a culture of fans posting birthday hashtags for their idols on SNS, such as Twitter. Fans not only post birthday hashtags but there are also must-visit restaurant hashtags that include celebrities’ names. The reason why fans use hashtags is because it is one of the windows of communication with their favorite idol, in the hope that their supporting idols will see their hashtags and visit the place. I was surprised when I learned it all started with a loving heart.” |
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Ⓑ Who Likes Baseball “Korean baseball has a lot of cheering in the stadium. It is characterized by the players’ appearance song, cheering song, and team cheering song. Popular songs are usually played when each player walks onto the field. The cheering songs vary depending on the team and the players, while some players use their own cheering songs. The same goes for the team cheering song. Recently, there has been a culture of fans sending coffee trucks to cater to the athletes. I think these points are different from foreign baseball fandoms.” |
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Ⓒ Who Likes Plays and Musicals “One of the biggest characteristics of fandoms for plays and musicals in Korea is “hoejeonmun”. It means “revolving door” in English, which is used here to mean someone who watches the same play several times without leaving, like if you get stuck in a revolving door. T Daehakro, located in Seoul, is a theater street where small and medium-sized theaters are clustered. These theaters seek to benefit from enabling this trend. The performances held in the Daehakro theaters hold accumulated stamp events mainly for the “hoejeonmun audience”. Production companies usually provide live OSTs, videos, or related products when the audience accumulates a certain amount of stamps.” |
Fandom Culture in Jeonju
Among the stories heard through A, B, and C, there is a “birthday cafe” in the common culture of fangirling. This refers to a cafe decorated to celebrate the birthday of an idol, athlete, or actor. Fans usually decorate the cafe themselves with pictures of their favorite celebrity and make coffee sleeves. It provides a space for fans to gather and talk. Sometimes the idol, athlete, or actor will visit the cafe themselves.
There is a place in Jeonju where you can feel the passion of fandom culture. Hollys Coffee Jeonju Haga branch is a place where birthday cafe rentals and events are held frequently. How does the rental of the birthday cafe proceed? Mainly people who live in major cities contact cafes about the hosting of birthday cafe. Therefore, online inquiries using social media are coming in more than offline inquiries. If you want to host a birthday cafe here, first, follow the Hollys Haga branch account on Twitter. Next, inquire about the rental schedule you want. Finally, you will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis as long as it does not overlap. After coordinating the schedule or quantity of goods with the manager, the event is confirmed. Since there is no separate rental fee, fans do not have to worry about the cost.
There are various events at these fan-held birthday cafes. Fans who prepare the birthday cafe provide photo cards, stickers, and cups to other fans who visit. In addition, fans display photo cards or albums and create photo zones for taking and sharing photos. Tark Ki-dong, owner of Hollys Coffee Jeonju Haga branch, said that it is difficult to go to birthday cafe events in rural areas. “Most idol events and birthday cafe events are held in major cities. Rural areas have poor cultural benefits compared to cities, so I thought it would be nice to have a place for fans to communicate offline like a birthday cafe in Jeonju.” He said that celebrating someone is a happy moment and that fans can make precious memories through the birthday cafe. He added, “Fans usually come with their friends, but I hope more people will enjoy it with their families in the future.”
Positive Influence of Fandom Cultures
The developing fandom cultures are having a positive impact not only on fans but also on society. An example is the donation culture in which the fandom donates a certain amount to a charity on the birthday of an artist. “Lisianthus” is the official fan cafe of actor Yoon Kyun-sang. In commemoration of actor Yoon Kyun-sang’s birthday “Lisianthus” made various donations, including donations to Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation and Korean Organization for the Protection of Cats. Recently, actor Yoon Kyun-sang’s official fan cafe, “Lisianthus”, sponsored a hometown love donation to Jeonju in celebration of actor Yoon Kyun-sang’s birthday this year.
Having the passion to love and support something is a great blessing! Being able to support what you like together with others can be a great pleasure. If you have something or someone you appreciate, find your own fellow fan-mate. If you don’t, why not appreciate the fandom culture and enjoy it yourself sometimes?
| Park Ji-woo Editor-in-Chief, Kim Young-eun Cub-Reporter