The Success Factor of K-pop Music from The Fan’s Perspective

Abstract
The original contribution of this paper is to identify a list of success factors of K-
pop music and to validate the reliability of the factors identified. A quantitative
survey was tested on K-pop music fans to find how these factors affect the fans’
general satisfaction. An online survey form was generated and posted on the social
media. Fans were asked to rate sixteen statements in terms of how likely each
statement describes the reasons they like K-pop music. At the end of the survey,
fans were also asked to rate their general satisfaction of K-pop music. A total of
207 samples were collected, and data taken from the respondents were processed
with factor analysis, reliability test, descriptive statistic test, and multiple
regression tests to obtain results. All the sixteen statements were found to be highly
reliable. The results also showed that three scales are important elements in
increasing fans' general satisfaction, with Korean culture as the most important
scale, followed by the talent, and performance scales. However, the idol aesthetic
scale was found to be statistically insignificant in this study. Implications of K-pop
music’s crossover with other music genres are discussed in this paper.

Keywords: consumer satisfaction; Korean Wave; K-pop music; popular music

Introduction

K-pop music is a term that has been literally derived from the word ‘Korean’ and ‘pop

music’. The K-pop phenomenon was first conceived when South Korea was going

through a series of cultural policy revolution which was known as the Korean Wave

(Hallyu). The government voluntarily supported the cultural movement, as they wanted

to push the country’s identity to an internationally acclaimed level, further improving the

country’s global standing in various areas, such as economy, art industry, society, culture,

tourism, and ethnic reunification (Yim 40-41). This strategy, which was defined by Nye

as ‘soft power’, is an ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through

coercion or payments.

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 While many scholars in the past may have analysed the success of the Korean

Wave and K-pop music (Cha and Kim; Chua and Iwabuchi; Lee), some literature such as

Oh implied that K-pop has nothing that can be considered as ‘Korean’, as in their opinion,

K-pop music’s success merely consists of a timely, commercial combination of global

liberalization of music markets in Asia and the rest of the world (3). The music itself is

merely an import of foreign resources and integrating them with Korean elements before

exporting out again to the world, and the rapid development and utilization of digital

technology such as YouTube has helped to speed up the outreach process of global

distribution (Oh 8-11). Nevertheless, K-pop music remains addictive with its own

contemporaneity and uncontemporary hybridity as discussed by Jang and Kim (103), and

it continues to make significant impact to the world.

Research Significance

K-pop music has been significantly enjoying its globalised popularity since the 1990s. It

is not surprising to know that 12,000 tickets to concerts of Korean boy bands such as

Super Junior and Big Bang could sell out within 15 minutes (Badeges 4). In Austria, many

K-pop fans from nearby countries such as Poland, Hungary, Germany, France, and Czech

Republic were willing to travel internationally to events held at local venues at all costs

(Sung 97). Staff Writer cited another example of tremendous globalised craze for a recent

Korean boy group named EXO. Twelve countries featured the group within top ten of the

iTunes chart, and their album was 1st in Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand; 2nd in

Vietnam; 3rd in Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan; 5th in Finland; 6th

in Turkey; and 7th in Sweden. Countless successes of K-pop music were observed around

the world. However, the need to study why K-pop music has received love from its fans

is crucial as the underlying factors of its vehement popularity could be utilized to develop

new marketing strategies for new music businesses. The research aims and objectives are

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mainly exploratory, with a particular emphasis in finding what fans like about K-Pop

music. They could be defined as follows:

• To investigate the degree of general satisfaction of K-pop fans.

• To identify the factors(s) that could help to increase fans’ general satisfaction.

Literature Review

Fans’ General Satisfaction

Many definitions of consumer satisfaction exist in the literature, but the lack of a

consensus definition limits the breath of consumer satisfaction studies. Giese and Cote

reviewed the literature and conducted interviews and finally concluded that consumer

satisfaction is a summary affective response of varying intensity, with a time-specific

point of determination and limited duration, directed towards focal aspect of product

acquisition and/or consumption (2). Very few studies on consumer satisfaction of K-pop

fans exist in the literature, and this is perhaps due to the fact that K-pop idols had already

received intense love from fans around the world and therefore no studies were conducted

on them. The lack of academic quantitative empirical research on K-pop fans’ satisfaction

has inspired the current research, and the works by Prince and Lee Soo Man’s cultural

technology framework cited by Chen formed the basis of this research.

K-pop Performance

According to the definition in Oxford Dictionary, the word ‘performance’ simply means

an act of presenting a play or a concert. The empirical evidences of Shi suggested that

different colors have the effect of drawing a different range of customers and serve as an

important image-creating tool from a business and marketing perspective (1). Judy Park

also indicated that fashion is not merely about dresses, but about the ideas, the way we

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live, and what is happening around us (23). Shin et al. also found in a survey that the color

preferences of a Korean traditional wear between two different nationals were

surprisingly similar. They suggested that the similarity of color preferences might be due

to the exposure of global media that convey the same aesthetic value from the same

cultural context (57). Hence, it is not surprising that many young K-pop fans around the

world have adopted very similar fashion depicted by their Korean idols in music videos,

concerts, and television programs. According to Kim, the biggest and most successful K-

pop entertainment companies such as SM and YG have their own in-house visual design

department. A visual director is usually in charge of the designs for logos, albums,

posters, music videos, costumes, and stage (139-141).

A K-pop performance also involves high concepts and elaborate themes, which is

especially true during the debuts and comebacks of K-pop groups. For example, EXO

debuted in 2012 with a unique concept of superpower-wielding members from a planet

far outside our solar system (Stamper). K-pop music videos are also known to highly

resemble the Broadway-style musicals, which usually have colorful backdrops and stage

designs, glimmering costumes, catwalks, thick mascaras, heavy eyeliners, colorful gloss

lipstick, striking facial expressions, and sexy poses (Kim 136-137). Wonder Girl’s

Nobody (Herman) and Girl Generation’s Gee (Hodoyan-Gastelum) clearly illustrate the

above-mentioned style in both music videos and live performances.

Lyrics and music in K-pop are heavily influenced by European and American

origins. For example, SM Entertainment extensively imports works from European

songwriters and producers (Kim 137-138). However, Gilsung Park argued that K-pop

music is a combination of qualities from both the United States and Japan (20-21).

Americans tend to focus on the production side and conceive songs that sell consistently

while staying longer on the charts, whereas the Japanese prefer quick-selling hits with

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less longevity. Nevertheless, Korean music shows much more innovation and usually

involves very catchy and easy to remember melodies and choruses. With its occasional

attempts to instil English lyrics into the mostly Korean-oriented content (Jin and Ryoo),

the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-verse is the most commonly American-adopted

structure. This highly favorable structure, as stated by Stachniak, is especially effective

for pop music, alternating a blend of both new materials with the verses and a repeated

chorus or ‘hook’. Sometimes, either the bridge or one of the verses is incorporated with

a rap. The medium-length songs are usually very easy to be adopted into various styles to

suit different artists.

The choreography and dance in K-pop music also plays an integral role in

attracting fans to their performances. Asian and Western influences have been

amalgamated in K-pop music, and the dance moves and styles have received the same

fate of hybridism. According to Oh, the dance moves and styles that have been commonly

adopted include Japanese pop, American pop, Hip Hop, R&B, rock and roll, and

electronic music (6). He also examined the ambiguity of gender crossover in K-pop dance

and choreography (130-157). For example, some Korean male choreography depicts the

‘flower boy’ concept, which resembles cuteness and feminine appearance as depicted in

boy band Boyfriend’s debut song Boyfriend. In contrast, their female counterparts

sometimes show masculine empowerment and adaptation of black femininity (Benjamin)

in music videos, such as Miss A’s Bad Girl Good Girl and GLAM’s I Like That.

Nevertheless, K-pop groups’ synchronized dance shows typical Asian discipline due to

their rigorous training. These dance formations always strive to enable each member of

the group to take turns in receiving the spotlight during the course of singing and dancing

(Jang and Kim 90-93).

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Idol’s Aesthetic

As mentioned earlier about the combinational nature of Western and Asian hybrid in K-

pop music, K-pop idols are very often seen and loved from different perspectives by

global fans. As cited by Jang and Kim, Nusrat Durrani, the general manager of MTV

World, once mentioned that K-pop idols have a certain innocence and naiveté that fans

are addicted to, and these personality qualities are not found in the American pop scene

(89). On the other hand, many Asians see their Korean idols as sophisticated, modern,

and polished, very often something that the Asians look up to and want to progress into.

With such a unique blend of personality characteristics perceived, it is no wonder that K-

pop idols have successfully won the hearts of fans from diverse national backgrounds.

Korean idols are usually specifically chosen to depict a certain degree of desirable

Korean beauty benchmark. Jang and Kim mentioned about how entertainment companies

deliberately choose to establish new images for their singers as having both Asian and

Western qualities (89-90). A typical company would prefer stereotypical Asian facial

features that consist of Asian complexions with black eyes and hair, and on the other

hand, would also require new trainees to have European physiques such as taller

physiques and well-defined body and facial contour. Thus, it is not surprising that almost

every K-pop star goes through cosmetic surgery, which ranges from minor double-eyelid

operation, V-shape chin shaving, to skin and body shape fixing in order to achieve that

ideal look (Wang 41).

K-pop Talent

The Korean society has evolved tremendously, and the dynamic country whose

government had once severely banned K-pop music because it was considered ‘too

Japanese’ or ‘too Western’, and some lyrics were deemed to be ‘politically subversive’;

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‘too pro-North Korean’, and ‘contain improper cultural messages’ (Oh and Lee 106).

However, Korean parents now perceive the rigorous training to become a K-pop idol as

stepping-stones into a life-changing career, or if not, it is also seen as an effective way to

turn their children into better ‘filial’ people (Ho 487-499). Korean idols are usually

seasoned performers even during their debut stage, as Korean entertainment companies

usually accept trainees as young as 12 through auditions held in various locations. Ho

also described the typical ‘training factory’ of K-pop idols as a corporate-owned

accommodation, which houses trainees that have daily dawn-to-dusk schedules that are

tightly filled with lessons on singing, dancing, mock commercials, personal grooming,

body weight management, foreign language lessons, and at times even classes about

cosmetic surgery (479-480). This is also the main reason why idol groups usually consist

of individuals that possess diverse talents that fans don’t get bored of watching. Leung

documented examples of trainees’ training lives, which very often get rigorous; and even

when they finally get to debut, they are often not compensated appropriately (28-33).

Many idols continue their performing journey out of passion and with the hope to be

successful as solo artists one day.

Korean Culture

Scholars have documented that Confucianism dominates the foundation of Korean

philosophy (Chen 29; Yim 38). Traditionally, Koreans highly value humanity, ethical

morality, and spiritual self-cultivation. With the increase of Western influences in the

1960s that brought commercialism, materialism, violence, and sensuality, Koreans

suffered an identity crisis. As the new contemporary cultural policies were introduced,

the Korean culture was reshaped with new amalgamation of the best of both Asian and

Western worlds. Some examples of the Korean culture – also widely known as Hallyu –

include television dramas, movies, dance, video games, food, fashion, tourism, language,

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and last but not the least, K-pop music (Jang and Phaik 196-200). The various Korean

cultures mentioned have achieved success extensively not just locally in Korea, but all

around the world. Korean government also utilizes gastrodiplomacy as a tool for

international communication and nation branding. In 2011, Korean Food Foundation

drove its own food truck on the streets of New York City as a part of its campaign in the

United States (Pham 9-10). The all-time favourite K-drama Winter Sonata received a

spectacular television program rating of 20.6% during its broadcast in NHK, Japan’s

national public broadcasting company (Jung, Transnational 74). Many people took up

Korean language classes just to be able to understand K-pop music and K-drama

(Gordon). However, the interlink between the various Korean cultures is endless, as

Korean culture followers usually start to explore one cultural area and discover another

along the way.

Methodology

The research has adopted a conclusive research approach with a causal research design

being applied. According to Malhotra and Birks, the conclusive research approach helps

the researcher to make decisions, evaluate and choose the best action to achieve the best

result. The conclusive research design could also be integrated, where it is designed based

on the cause and effect relationship that involves other factors, specifically those that deal

with human perception and attitudes. Judgement sampling is used to draw the entire

sample from one “representative” population, even though this population includes all

regions from all around the world. When using this method, the author is confident that

the chosen samples from the K-pop fan group in Facebook are truly representative of the

entire population of K-pop fans all around the world.

A quantitative study that reported reliability, mean, descriptive analysis,

correlation, and multiple regression was used. Sixteen statements and a general

8
satisfaction rating were created and adapted from the work by Prince. Fans were required

to rate the statements with a 10-point Likert scale in terms of how likely the statements

explain the reasons they love K-pop music (1=very unlikely, 10=very likely). The study

enabled the fans to decide on their reasons of satisfaction more discreetly by rating on a

10-point Likert scale. The rating scale offers a better opportunity to detect changes and

has more power to explain the fans’ views if compared with its 5-point and 7-point

predecessors. In addition to this, the 10-point Likert scale also helps the participant to

decide on a wider spectrum of scale rather than solely depending on their own bias

(Preston and Colman 11-13). The survey form was posted on several Facebook K-pop

Fan pages. A total of 207 samples of respondents were received, and the samples were

finalized for further factorial analysis and reliability test.

Ethical issues were considered, and it was found that the research questionnaire

forms will need parental approval if the research would involve respondents age sixteen

and below. Hence, the age group below sixteen was removed from the questionnaire

forms. A brief letter was also included with the questionnaire, emphasizing that

participation is voluntary, and all respondents could remove their response any time

before the date stipulated.

Results and Findings

Factor Analysis

Principal component analysis was utilized in the study, and the primary purpose of

conducting this analysis was to load the data obtained from the sixteen statements into an

extracted model. A four-factor model was chosen over the two, three, and five factor

models. It was found that the loadings of the item statements into a four-factor model

were a better fit in the current hypothetical model discussed in the literature review.

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According to the analysis of the rotation component matrix illustrated in Table 1, all

readings that are above 0.50 were chosen for the loadings for each factor.

[Table 1 near here]

Based on the rotated component matrix result, the study justified the final measure and

conceptual framework used in this study. The result identified four components of fans’

satisfaction predictors: performance, Korean culture, talent and idol aesthetic. The

statements were categorized, and the four factors were carefully named according to the

reoccurring theme implied in the statements involved as well as information gathered

from the literature review. The names of the four factors were carefully chosen so that

they could form the basis of the conceptual framework that explains K-pop’s fans’ general

satisfaction.

Component 1 is named the performance factor, and it relates to how K-pop music

and performances are conceived and delivered. The four statements include:

• Statement 5: K-pop lyrics and music always tells a story. The melodies and

lyrics especially in the choruses are catchy and are very easy to remember.

• Statement 6: The dance routines of K-pop idols are always synchronized within

the group as well as with the music.

• Statement 7: K-pop performances are trendy and usually with an interesting

concept or theme.

• Statement 8: K-pop performances are colorful visually and with elaborate

costumes, backdrops and lightings.

Component 2 is named the Korean culture factor and this factor explains how

the existing Korean Wave movement was used to amplify the differentiation of K-pop

music. The statements are:

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 • Statement 13: I like Korean food, arts, and culture, so I like K-pop music

naturally.

• Statement 14: K-pop music helps me to learn Korean language.

• Statement 15: K-pop enables me to know more about the people and culture of

the country.

• Statement 16: K-drama is part of Korean culture, and it is fun to watch K-pop

idols act in dramas.

Component 3 is named the talent factor. The factor includes how K-pop is

marketed and differentiated from other genres of popular music by utilizing and training

the idols for several years before debuting. The statements are listed as:

• Statement 1: K-pop idols are musically talented. They composed songs, write

lyrics, sing well, and very often able to play one or more musical instruments.

• Statement 2: K-pop idols are equally talented on the television screen.

• Statement 3: Members of K-pop groups can communicate well in different

languages with fans, as they are either born overseas, or took language classes

during trainee years.

• Statement 4: K-pop idols’ interaction within group members, with other

celebrities and with fans is interesting and fun to watch.

Finally, component 4 is named the idol aesthetic factor, a factor that relates to how

specific idols’ physical and personality features that were chosen to attract fans. The

statements include:

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 • Statement 9: K-pop idols have Asian looks (fair smooth skin/complexion, dark

hair and eyes) and Western body features (tall, slender, female hourglass figure,

male six-pack, male broad shoulders, sharp and distinct facial features).

• Statement 10: Plastic surgery among K-pop idols is very common so they are

either pretty or handsome. Their facial attractiveness is usually addictive and

mesmerizing.

• Statement 11: K-pop group idols are always with innovative facial make-up,

and they are daring to try new fashion looks and outfits.

• Statement 12: K-pop idols have certain innocence and naiveté that fans are

addicted to, and these personality qualities are very unique compared with idols

from other music genres.

Measure Reliability

The reliability of the four-factor scale used in this research was further tested using the

Cronbach’s Alpha test. The model reliability for the four scales read a moderate high

value of 0.786. This value was then compared with the Cronbach’s Alpha value if an item

was deleted as illustrated in Table 2. All items showed value less than 0.786 if an item

scale was deleted. Hence, all scales used in this model will not be rejected, as deleting

any of the scales will cause the decrease of the Cronbach’s Alpha’s reliability value.

[Table 2 near here]

Descriptive and Multiple Regression Analysis

Table 3 shows the frequency result for gender of participants in this study. The table

indicates that K-pop fans that participated in this survey were mostly females (90.80%),

followed by the minority of male fan participants (9.20%). This descriptive statistical

result of participants’ gender is similar to findings of several studies by other scholars,

12
and all found that K-pop fans are predominantly females (Kim et al. 80; Um 32, Yang

128). Glasby had discussed that this phenomenon occurs as the society still perceives

male K-pop fans as a prejudice, and this type of music genre is supposed to cater for

young females. The society is still uncomfortable to see boys publicly expressing such

infatuation for their favorite Korean girl or boy band.

[Table 3 near here]

The descriptive statistical results for age group presented in Table 4 reveal that

the majority of K-pop fans who participated in this study were school-aged students

(41.06%) and young adults (35.75%). Only 48 working adults (23.19%) age 25 and above

participated in this study. This is not an alarming finding, as many working adults don’t

usually use social media as often as the younger fans. It is also common to find school-

aged or university students to be passionate followers of K-pop idols, as they have more

leisure time if compared to the working adults.

[Table 4 near here]

According to Figure 1, participants in this survey are mostly reported to live in

the region of Asia Pacific (39.10%) and North America (39.10%), and followed by

Europe (20.3%), with the least come from Africa or Middle East countries (1.0%). These

results indicate that fans of K-Pop music come from various regions around the world,

and this genre of music had successfully penetrated the market of both the East and the

West.

[Figure 1 near here]

According to Table 5, the mean score for the statements that topped all the others

are Statement 4 (talent scale), with the highest mean score (M=8.725). Then, this is

followed by Statement 6 (performance scale), Statement 7 (performance scale), and

Statement 1 (talent scale), with mean scores 8.575, 8.469, and 8.251 respectively. The

13
finding for Statement 4 indicates that fans mostly enjoy the idols’ interactions within the

group members or with other celebrities, as they are fun to watch in both live concerts as

well as in reality television shows. According to Statement 6, fans also felt that K-pop

idols’ dance routines capture their hearts. Their dance routines are always completely

synchronized within the group and with the music. The dance routines or choreography

are trendy and usually complement the music very well. Some dance moves are also the

main elements which attracts and reminds listeners of the catchy melodies in the music.

The mean result for Statement 7 also implies that fans enjoy K-pop music, as the

performances are trendy and very often packaged with interesting concept and themes,

while Statement 1 indicates that fans are also attracted to the fact that K-pop idols are

musically talented in many ways.

[Table 5 near here]

The results from these statements that have high mean scores (Statement 4, 6, 7

and 1) are further supported by Yang’s findings. According to Yang (138-139), the

discovery of K-pop idols’ is not accidental, and their success is contributed by several

important elements. He explained that idols gain their first and foremost respect mostly

from the way they are systematically selected and trained for many years in music, dance,

interaction, as well as in their command over different languages. Secondly, their training

and songs targeted international audiences besides domestic market, and their

synchronized dance routines and music have received ‘treatment’ from international

trainers and songwriters. On the other hand, Statement 10 has the lowest mean score

(M=6.720), therefore, implying that idols’ facial attractiveness is not the main criteria for

gaining fans’ love.

The mean score results were further complemented by the multiple regression

results. Multiple regression tests were applied to the total score of the four factors against

14
the general satisfaction percentage held constant. Table 6 shows the R-values from the

regression table. The model has moderate high R-values (>0.5), which implies that the

model used is adequately strong. This also indicates that satisfaction of fans is difficult to

predict, and one model does not always fit all situations. Apart from that, the p-values in

the ANOVA result in Table 7 shows <0.001; therefore, all hypotheses made using the

model are reliable.

[Table 6 near here]

[Table 7 near here]

On the other hand, the coefficients result in Table 8 indicates that the four scales,

which consist of talent, performance, and Korean culture, are significant predictors of K-

pop fans’ general satisfaction. Korean culture factor shows the most influential factor in

increasing the general satisfaction, with B-value 0.211. The finding also indicates that for

every unit of increase in the talent factor, there would be an increase of 0.168 units of

fans’ general satisfaction. This is followed by an increase of 0.147 units in fans’ general

satisfaction for every unit of increase in the performance factor. However, the idol

aesthetic score was found to be statistically insignificant, as the p-value is greater than

0.05. This aligns well with the lowest mean score recorded in the descriptive analysis

done earlier. Nevertheless, the performance, talent and Korean culture scales all consist

of positive B-values, and this suggest that the three predictors all significantly contributed

to the rise and fall of general satisfaction among fans.

[Table 8 near here]

Discussion

The success of K-pop music is governed by the summary affective response of varying

intensity, with a time-specific point of determination and limited duration, directed

towards focal aspect of product acquisition and consumption. This affective response is

15
known as fans’ general satisfaction. The findings gained from this study justified the

importance of its success factors that consist of performance, talent and Korean culture.

These factors are the main elements that make fans unconditionally loved their favorite

K-pop idol groups.

Performance factor is highly dependent on innovation. Innovation is one of the

most crucial business marketing strategies that exist in any organization’s everyday

objectives. The talent factor consists of differentiation elements that contribute to the

success of K-pop fandom by “grooming” and “packaging” the artists, and this

differentiation forms the ‘concrete pillar’ for the success of the performance factor.

According to Hana, knowledge is the key to creativity, innovation, and differentiation

(93-94). With the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities, it is possible for companies

to generate new innovative ideas that can place an organization on a very competitive

advantage scale. On the other hand, the Korean culture factor is seen as an important

driver for the success for the other two factors previously discussed. Wong, Everett, and

Nicholson discussed about the impact of crossvergence of different cultures on

innovation, and they found that when a diverse pool of talents from different nations

contributes to innovation, alternatives that contain a mix of cultures and economic

ideology would produce ‘something different’ (701-702). Many researchers (Jung,

Playing; Oh; Unger) have explored how K-pop music successfully combines influences

from both the East and the West in order to create ‘something different’ Jang and Kim,

however, argued that the three peculiarities such as time/space hybridity; the ‘red queen’s

race’; and cosmopolitan striving have placed K-pop music on a different platform from

its Western counterparts (103). They believed that the success of K-pop music did not

originate from any differentiated identity or culture.

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 K-pop music is unique by itself, and it has gained its own identity as a typical

Korean music genre despite its influences. In this study, the performance scale—which

consists of lyrics, music, and dance choreography that were imported and received new

treatments—definitely had proven its strength in attracting global fans. Furthermore, K-

pop music has been known as a part of the Korean Wave culture that was actively

promoted by the government, and these cultural values further differentiate this genre of

music as a cultural product, which couldn’t be easily found in any other countries. Apart

from that, K-pop music is also cleverly packaged with high profile concepts during live

performances as well as in music videos.

In addition to this, the highest mean score result confirmed that the personality of

idols and their interactions in performance and variety shows were in fact integral aspects

that instigate fans’ general satisfaction. Zohar and Tenne-Gazit found that independent

effects for group centralization of the communication and friendship networks exert

incremental effects on climate strength over transformational leadership (744). While

centralization of the communication network was found to be negatively related to

climate strength, centralization of the friendship network was found to be positively

related to it. Crevani, Lindgren and Packendorff also proposed that leadership ideals

should be replaced by less individualistic and more humane constructs, where the

potential of leadership in every social situation is emphasized (84). Hence, it is crucial to

challenge the dominating leadership discourses and redirect focus onto the mundane and

relational aspects of leadership work. The interaction of idols, which is highly correlated

with leadership, is found to be an important predictor of the success of K-pop music. The

talent to interact consists of the ability to foster positive interactions between idols, other

celebrities, as well as with the fans, and this captures the hearts of the fans to become

followers. The fans were found to be attracted to the idols that have very individualistic

17
character, fashion sense, charisma, and personality. Interaction among idols and with fans

is a part of their job on stage, and this duty on stage is better known as ‘fanservice’. This

finding is especially true, as fans extensively review and rank their favourite idols’

personalities on the Internet. Nohara’s webpage has compiled a list of K-pop idols that

have wonderful personalities, and many members of Big Bang topped the list. Some of

the endless compliments of K-pop personalities that were found to be desirable were

humble, sense of humor, friendly, caring, straight forward, polite, smiley, cheerful,

hardworking, and many more.

Apart from the idols’ interaction ability and personalities, all idols are undeniably

talented. It would not be unusual to state that K-pop entertainment companies have the

most systematic yet rigorous training for all trainees prior to debut when compared with

many other countries around the world. The trainees have very little sleep and tight daily

schedules, and school-aged trainees have to juggle between their training schedules and

schoolwork diligently. The trainees are bound by a contract, and very often their private

and social lives are heavily restricted.

Conclusion

The research has found answers to the first research enquiry presented – the mean results

showed that the degree of fan’s satisfaction is high. Based on the justification of the

Coefficients table results, the satisfaction of fans is influenced by three important factors:

talent of idols, the performance, and the Korean culture. This finding thus answers the

second question of the study which strives to find the factors that could help music

industry to increase fans’ satisfaction. On the other hand, idol’s aesthetic factor is not

statistically significant. Despite that, satisfaction and human behaviour is known to be

very difficult to predict in any one particular research conducted. Hence, the high mean

result of several elements in idol’s aesthetic could have suggested positive influences.

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The elements such as talent and personality could also form the basis of idol’s aesthetic

apart from physical attractiveness. The research also recommended that commercial

music would have high potential in return of investment if it is cleverly packaged and

marketed with fusion of many successful elements. Therefore, it is essential to call for an

open-minded attitude in order to conceive successful marketing innovations in

commercial music business.

Further research in the future to enhance the already recognized emotion-stirring

factors such as talent, performance, and Korean Culture is crucial. The research can also

be extended into the horizons of investigating the intrinsic factors and motivation of fans’

satisfaction. This exploratory study, however, only primarily justifies the underlying

success factors shown by the characteristics of K-pop music. The enhancement of future

satisfaction survey based on the conceptualized factors gained from this study can be

studied. The winning factors of K-pop music studied in this research were all cleverly

packaged with Korean cultural elements called the ‘Korean Wave’. The cultural element

that forms the foundation to the talent and performance differentiation of K-pop music is

proven to be an important underlying element that drives K-pop music towards a global

success. Due to the fact that cultural influences are intangible in nature, further research

should be conducted on whether a different culture will produce the similar ‘million-

dollar’ effect on new idol groups in order to gain fans’ satisfaction, or perhaps the same

cultural concepts have to be adopted or fused to gain success. The most relevant nations

that have most similar cultural potentials to integrate similar strategy as the Koreans

would be China, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia.

It is also not surprising to find that Asians living in Western countries or even

Caucasian artists can adopt similar concepts. Despite the discussion on the dispute of

authenticity and racial skin color (Oh) in the cultural success of K-pop music, the

19
potential for further research on music crossover fused with K-pop concepts is vast, if

biases can be avoided and fusion can be achieved regardless of origin, as what matters

the most is the final outcome.

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Appendix

Table 1. Rotated Component Matrix

Components
Items
1 2 3 4

Statement 1 . . 0.790 .

Statement 2 . . 0.833 .

Statement 3 . . 0.798 .

Statement 4 . . 0.635 .

Statement 5 0.749 . . .

Statement 6 0.905 . . .

Statement 7 0.808 . . .

Statement 8 0.856 . . .

Statement 9 . . . 0.753
Statement 10 . . . 0.915

Statement 11 . . . 0.580
Statement 12 . . . 0.550

Statement 13 . 0.723 . .

Statement 14 . 0.907 . .

Statement 15 . 0.824 . .

Statement 16 . 0.781 . .

Table 2. Cronbach’s Alpha Value If Item Deleted

Items Scale Cronbach’s Alpha Value

Talent 0.736

Performance 0.704

Idol 0.755

Korean Culture 0.741

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Table 3. Descriptive Statistic for Respondents' Gender

Gender Frequency (F) Percentage (%)

Female 188 90.80

Male 19 9.20

Total 207 100.00

Table 4. Descriptive Statistics for Respondent's Age Group

Age Group F %

16 – 19 85 41.06
20 – 24 74 35.75
25 – 29 21 10.15
30 and above 27 13.04

Table 5. Mean and Standard Deviation Table

Statement Factor N Mean SD

1 Talent 207 8.251 1.719

2 Talent 207 8.048 2.009

3 Talent 207 7.029 2.069

4 Talent 207 8.725 1.493

5 Performance 207 7.749 1.932

6 Performance 207 8.575 1.676

7 Performance 207 8.469 1.639

8 Performance 207 8.140 1.821

9 Idol Aesthetic 207 7.290 1.860

10 Idol Aesthetic 207 6.720 2.270

11 Idol Aesthetic 207 7.826 1.920

12 Idol Aesthetic 207 7.048 2.203

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 13 Korean Culture 207 6.758 2.583

14 Korean Culture 207 7.691 2.210

15 Korean Culture 207 7.609 2.174

16 Korean Culture 207 8.039 2.104

Table 6. Regression Table

Model R R2 Adjusted R2 SEE

1 0.605 0.366 0.353 4.048

Table 7. ANOVA Table

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Regression 1908 4 476.98 29.11 < 0.001

Residual 3310 202 16.38

Total 5218 206

Table 8. Coefficients Table

Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients

B SE Beta t Sig

(Constant) 16.405 1.864 0.00 8.801 < 0.001

Talent 0.168 0.063 0.190 2.678 0.008

Performance 0.147 0.063 0.176 2.329 0.021

Idol Aesthetic 0.054 0.056 0.067 0.966 0.335

Korean Culture 0.211 0.048 0.314 4.414 < 0.01

26
 ORIGIN OF RESPONDENTS
Asia Pacific North America Europe Africa or Middle East

Africa or Middle
Europe East
21% 1%
Asia Pacific
39%

North America
39%

Figure 1. Origin of Respondents

27