Beyond Being a Fan:

Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

Soc 334: Final Paper

Section/Group: SP2-8

Daston Lam 50206312

Parameswari 50293611

Saranya Vasudevan 50211040

Muhammad Idris 50208569

Glenmarie Lim 50212827

 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

ABSTRACT 2

INTRODUCTION 3

LITERATURE REVIEW 4
Mediums/Channels of K-Pop 5
Influence in Singapore 7
Levels of devotion 8
METHODOLOGY 9
Primary Research 9
Secondary Research 10
ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
12
Results 12
Findings 13
Analysis 15

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

15

REFERENCE 20

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

ABSTRACT

The ever-growing fame of Korean Pop music has been dominating the global music

scene for some time now. This paper examines the different factor(s) to determine the

authenticity and levels of devotion shown by Korean pop music fans. This paper also focuses

on the different type of ways on how Korean pop music culture changes as well as how it

affects the lives of the fans.

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

1. INTRODUCTION

As an exploration of a prominent popular culture in Singapore’s society today, the

purpose of this study would be to access the massive spread of its influence and the levels of

devotion dedicated to this culture. The popular culture would be an exploration of the Korean

Popular Culture in Singapore, a culture now deemed as a worldwide phenomenon. Its reach

has spread across vast audiences, going beyond the language barrier. From bands like

BlackPink and BTS, the Korean Popular Culture, especially its music has taken a huge step

towards a massive influence not only in Singapore but across the world as well.

The Korean Popular Culture is a culture comprised of not only its music. Korean

Fashion and even its dramas have reached audiences from all across the world. However, this

paper would be focused mainly on its music and the levels of devotion across the masses in

Singapore. Not only has its influence crept its ways into the hearts of young teenagers, it has

also attracted the attention of mature adults as well. This research paper, however, narrows its

focus on the teenagers in Singapore and the various levels of devotion present. The Korean

Pop culture is rather prominent in the lives of countless of teenagers in Singapore these days

and our aim would be to go in depth to provide a clearer understanding on this phenomenon.

Also known as Hallyu, the Korean wave began to spread its influence in 1999 through a

couple of movies and television shows. The Korean Popular Music, however, began its

development in 1885. As American Popular Culture became more accepted, their music

began to Americanized, hence giving birth to several bands such as The Kim Sisters (1959),

Han Dae-soo (1974), and Cho Yong-pil (1975).

However, it was not until the late 1990s, as part of the Korean Wave, that K-pop

started entering the pop culture across the world (Choe & Maliangkay, 2015). According to

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

Jin & Yoon (2017), the Korean Wave (hallyu in Korean) started with the spread of well-made

television dramas, popular music (K-pop), animation, and digital games around the world.

The Korean Popular Culture is one that has massive influence and it would be a waste not to

dwell deeper to analyze the several components of it. From field observations to interviews,

this paper will serve its purpose in enabling readers to further understand the culture and the

massive influence that derives from it.

Hallyu also reached a rapid outspread due to a few factors. Growing Korean brands

like Samsung and LG became internationally recognized and helped promote the culture. The

popularity of these leading Korean brands also led to increased R&D in design and quality of

many other brands in Korea. The Korean government has also shown continuous support to

promote the growth and spread of the Korean culture by running a Ministry of Culture. The

spillover effects of Hallyu includes the rise of K-pop and other brands ranging from

cosmetics product and clothes and integrating its culture into the lives of people all over the

world. We will also proceed to analyze the influence of K-pop on the fans and their levels of

devotion.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

As part of our research focus, we have focused on the levels of devotion of fans. To

understand how K-pop has affected the fans, we first examine what mediums it used to

spread its influence to attract fans. Secondly, we will bring the focus to how it spread in

Singapore and to what extent it has spread. Lastly, we will examine how deeply it has

affected the fans in Singapore. We hence ventured into existing materials in said areas of

study and found several interesting information supporting our research. Generally, we

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

confirmed Korean-Pop’s extensive influence as illustrated by the immense devotion as well

as its penetration through society.

I. Mediums/ Channels of K-Pop:

As noted in the Introduction, the Korean wave, also known as Hallyu in Korean, has

hit a global level. However, how does it actually spread its influence? Through mediums such

as television dramas, movies, and music, the Korean culture has paved its way into countless

lives. As quoted by Segers, 2000, “According to Hollywood Reporter, Korea has transformed

itself from an embattled cinematic backwater into the hottest film market in Asia” (Shim,

2006). Media liberalization caused the Korean wave to spread across Asia in the 1990s. The

Asian retail revolution also is a contributor to the Korean wave phenomena. As mentioned by

sociologist Dr. Solee Shin, this played a crucial role in informing individual consumption

patterns together with the activities of intermediaries that strategize based on said

consumption demand.

A regional television channel, Channel V, featured Korean music videos, hence

forming a broad fan base in Asia. The first boy band to reach its peak was the band H.O.T.,

topping the charts in China and Taiwan. Its popularity led its sales to skyrocket even after its

break-up in mid-2001. Bands proceeded to do their concerts worldwide, including China

where they gained a crowded comprising of 30,000 Chinese youth.

Improved digital literacy among youths of today also largely allows the spread of the

Korean culture where there is immediate transmission of information via platforms such as

social media and blogs which affect consumers. In particular, they help create a sense of

identity among consumers. As explained by Rettberg, curation which is defined as process by

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

which bloggers present their identities through records they keep online. This in-turn is

consumed by blog post readers who then relate to the formed identity. There are several blogs

singing praises of Korean-pop bands as well as culture where such identity formation and

strengthening is evident. To name a few, “K-pop, K-fans”, “K-pop Ranter” “Koreaboo” and

“Soompi”. These blogs have highly opinionated readers and writers that serve bias views

regarding K-pop, with a proud shared group identity. Apart from this, they also engage in

peer-teaching and learning (language) and collaborative support. Which facilitates the spread

of Korean culture more easily.

Jung (2014) also emphasizes on participatory youth culture, that it is economically

substantial in this new era of transnational distribution that view youths as active agents of

the transnational circulation of popular culture. In other words, youths have the power of

influencing one another to the extent of devoted fandom or mere consumption which entails

the worldwide spread of Korean-pop. One notable way this is done and well-received is

through “reaction videos” on YouTube where one can watch the music video simultaneously

with a fan’s reaction. Sometimes, these are scripted so as to bring about intended effects of

new found fandom.

To add on to this global revolution, Korean Pop celebrities have become cultural icons.

Korean stars have had a big impact on consumer culture, including food, fashion, makeup

trends, and even plastic surgery. Where they set the ideal to be followed. People take drastic

measures to keep up with the Korean pop scene. According to ISAPS International Survey on

Cosmetic Procedures, South Korea has been ranked first country with highest ratio of

cosmetic procedures per ten thousand people, among all age groups. Moreover, the existence

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

of “Beauty Belt”, comprising of over 300 aesthetic surgery clinics prove to show the

obsession over the desire to look like the standard beauty as portrayed by Korean-pop stars.

II. Influence in Singapore:

Influence of K-Pop in Singapore and many SEA countries may have started/expanded

from the booming Korean dramas that have taken hold of the SEA region from the mid-

2000s. Korean dramas like Stairway to Heaven (2003) and My Wife is a Superwoman (2009)

has had a profound impact on popular culture in SEA, creating a cultural boom as well as a

boon for the Korean peninsula. K-pop in Singapore may be a unique phenomenon as

compared to other geo regions of the world as Singapore lacks any kind of entertainment

culture as compared to other Asian countries (Wong, S.Y, 2016). Singapore imports most of

its Pop culture and it is yet to be seen if Singapore would be able to develop its own in Pop

culture in the near future.

To some Singaporean fans of K-pop, one of the driving factors to follow K-pop

bands, are their almost perfect dance routines, over the top fashion with “too good to be true”

good looks aided by plastic surgery and impeccable make-up. This heavy influence of near

perfect beauty and fashion within the K-pop industry has had a profound impact on the way

many Singaporean girls and guys look at themselves in comparison to their K-pop stars/idols

(Hong, S. 2017). For instance, Korean cosmetic brands such as “Etude” and “Innisfree” were

able to expand their business with such ferocity in Singapore simply due to endorsement

deals with famous K-pop personalities such as Yoona and Lee Min Ho. To look more

“Korean”, many Singaporeans have modeled themselves after their favorite K-pop stars, even

going as far as going under the knife to attain that “perfect” look (Cheah.U, 2017).

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

A direct result of K-Pop influence in Singapore is the creation of Beaunite, much to a

lot of criticism and scorn from the general public (Tong.E, 2017). Beaunite is Singapore’s

unofficial first K-Pop girl group comprising mainly of school children, but due to

overwhelming bad publicity and negativity towards the budding new “talents”, Beaunite had

to disband in 2017.

III. Levels of devotion:

In Korean popular culture, there are hordes of fans worldwide who immerse

themselves in the Korean culture as one of the many forms of showing their devotion to their

favourite pop star or girl/boybands. According to an article written by Doobo Shim(2006), he

mentions that the Korean pop culture’s popularity has made regional fans, in particular, the

desire to study the Korean language as well as traveling to Korea. This, therefore, gave an

opportunity for the Korean pop culture scene to exploit the Korean pop culture fan craze into

being consumers of Korean services and products.

Borowiec (2019) from Channel NewsAsia reported that the fans of K-pop band, BTS

were referred to as “Army”. This indicates the fans’ immense dedication towards supporting

the group. He also noted that a day before the scheduled performance, there were BTS fans

heading towards the venue of the concert to shop for merchandise as well as posing for

photos in a pop-booth. This is another example displaying the dedication of K-pop fans

towards their idols.

One of the major social concerns over K-pop which has come to light amidst teenage

fans falling deeply in love with their K-pop idols. As explained by Gao(2013), Gao noted

that, in Singapore, the negative influence affects teenage fans in some way obsess over their

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

K-pop idols by either obsessing over them online or spending their parents’ hard earned

money on Korean-pop merchandise. There are also instances where a fan’s obsession with K-

pop idols could affect others around them in a more negative light. Take for instance where a

13-year old female fan who took her fandom towards the K-pop group, EXO a little too far

and was chopped into pieces by her father in 2013. It seems that a heated argument between

the girl and her father about how the girl’s obsession could potentially affect her results in

school. The last straw was when the girl proclaimed her undying love towards the K-pop stars

compared to her parents, which led to her father actually killing her. Such extreme scenarios

reflect the lengths that K-pop fans can go to in proving their love and dedication to Korean-

pop.

In conclusion, the Korean Popular culture has spread all over the globe and has

intertwined into the lives of countless teenagers in Singapore. In our primary research, we

have thus focused on further enquiring reasons behind above-mentioned phenomena.

3. METHODOLOGY

For our study, we have conducted both primary and secondary research. Specifically, the

research methods that we have used for our projects would be interviews, document analysis,

and naturalistic observation.

I. Primary Research

For primary research, we have done interviews and naturalistic observation. A total

number of thirteen semi-structured interviews were collected. Our aim of conducting these

interviews would be to gain an in-depth point of view on the levels of devotion for the

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

Korean Pop culture in Singapore. The levels of devotion for K-pop varies across the

population in Singapore and we hope to be able to identify such levels through the interview

questions that we have collated. We were able to do these interviews with the help of people

that we already knew, hence eliminating the need for rapport building. We managed to

conduct these interviews face-to-face and over telephone calls. Through the interviews, we

were able to probe and get further insight which might not have been very possible for

surveys.

For the naturalistic observation, we attended a Korean Pop concert held on 22nd

March, at the Gateway Theatre. The place was filled with fans and we got to learn about their

trends and the several ways that were used to support the girl group known as Dreamcatcher.

We decided to study the pre-concert atmosphere. The concert was scheduled to begin at

around 6:30 PM and we decided to arrive half an hour before the stipulated time in order to

conduct our observations and possible interviews.

II. Secondary Research

The secondary research method that we have conducted would be document analysis.

From music videos to social media and western award shows, the popularity of the culture

has spread massively and a document analysis would therefore help us to study it. Videos

posted on YouTube allows the fans to watch their favourite artist’s performances as many

times as they want, some even watching them countless of times in order to increase the

number of views, in an effort to break records. The K-pop bands also post videos and pictures

about their daily lives, which tell the fans more about their lifestyle and culture.

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

As for social media and the music videos, we analyzed both the positive and

negativecomments or tweets that fans posted. Instagram also included such comments, under

the bands’ or artist’s account, with fans all across the world supporting, or speaking rather

harsh opinions about the band. Content posted by the bands was also looked into. Analyzing

the interactions between fans from all around the world allowed us to get an inside on the

influence and spread of the Korean Popular culture in Singapore. Fan bases based in

Singapore created twitter accounts in support of their favorite bands and singers and tweeted

out information regarding these bands. Information such as the bands’ concert details, to the

new release of music had been tweeted about or retweeted about countless of times.

Having conducted both our primary and secondary research, we are actively moving

towards the completion of our research mostly in our focused direction.

4. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS

Our findings thus far had shown that K-Pop has had a phenomenal influence on a

global scale and on a local level in Singapore. K-Pop fans range from casual to professional

fans , where K-pop shapes many facets of life for these fans. Our primary research involves

the use of interviews to gauge general K-pop sentiments of local fans. In total, we had 14

willing participants for our research interview, with 9 females and 5 males who participated.

Our secondary research findings include document analysis that spans many mediums and its

effects on the rest of the world.

I. Results

The age group amongst participants ranges from 13-19 for interview.

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

Age 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Pie
Male 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 (Total:5)

Female 0 3 2 2 2 1 1 (Total:9)

Total: 1 5 2 2 2 1 2 (Total:14)

chart for participant fandom

Pie chart for maximum amount participants are willing to spend

II. Findings

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

Unsurprisingly, most K-pop fans interviewed are fans of K-pop groups of the opposite

gender from their own. Out of the 14 interviewees, only 2 (14.28%) showed fandom for their

preferred K-pop group which shared the same gender as them. Of the 2 who showed a liking

for the same gender K-pop group, both are females who happen to like all female K-pop

groups in Dream catcher and SNSD. None of the males were fans of all male K-pop groups.

There is a wide range of amounts that participants are willing to spend for their K-pop

fandom, from basically zero to the highest amount being S$800. It seems like there is no

preferred amount to spend on K-pop, suggesting that the fans come from all kinds of socio-

economic background and/or varied levels of fandom and dedication.

The ways that the fans show their dedication and support is also extremely varied,

from the downright malicious where a respondent would silence and “burn” other K-pop

groups fans that are in direct competition to the fan’s own K-pop group, to fans who would

go down to K-pop birthday exhibitions, to fans who just do the bare minimum in support of

their K-pop groups. Unfortunately, many of the respondents chose not to answer this part of

the interview in regards to support shown, with 5 of the participants stating “NIL” in regards

to support shown.

III. Analysis

Perhaps the strong connection for fans showing interest in K-pop bands with the

opposite gender comes with the supposed sex appeal of the K-pop groups. It also needs to be

noted that out of the 14 interviews, only 2 were made with strangers which might show better

insight into the lives of a K-pop fan, as the remaining 12 interviewees would be more

comfortable sharing about this aspect of their lives with us. Telephone interviews might also

lessen any form of embarrassment for the interviewees and can be done at the leisure of the

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

interviewee, creating less stress and awkwardness and hopefully more in-depth answers to

our research questions. The amount that the participants were willing to spend and the ways

they showed support for the K-pop group is extremely varied from very little money spent

and little support to spending upwards of 800 SGD and attending birthday exhibitions of the

K-pop groups. This suggest that K-pop fans can come very casual or be as “professional” as

they come.

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

From our study, we can conclude that K-pop is spreading its influence around the

world on a larger scale than ever before. It is deeply intertwined with the fans’ lives, thus

creating a strong level of devotion shown in them. They are willing to go to great lengths to

satisfy the devotion and have adopted their devotion to their lifestyle.

Our findings matter because K-pop is one of the biggest trends in the world right now,

so much so that they are comparable to the popular American singers and group bands.

Moreover, the spread of K-pop is rampant and rapid compared to other foreign music genres.

By studying the levels of devotions of fans, we find out more about what makes the fans

deeply connect and relate to their idols. We can also have more insight into how K-pop

influence the fans and how they integrate it into their lives despite the different culture.

From the interviews we conducted, most of the fans admitted that K-pop has

influenced their life not only in their taste of music but also in other aspects of their lifestyle.

They became more interested in Korean culture and tried to adapt it into their lives. This is

apparent in the increase in their consumption of Korean products such as makeup, Korean

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

food, fashion, and even piqued their interest to visit Korea. This shows that even if it is only

through music, K-pop idols managed to promote the celebration of Korean culture to their

fans. However, we have to take note that some interviews done in a public setting may have

affected the interviewee's response and may not be an accurate depiction of K-pop fans.

From the naturalistic observation, we note that there are several lone fans who have

made their way as far as from neighboring countries as well as across the causeway to the

concert that could possibly show immense fandom and devotion towards the band. This could

also mean that K-pop not being popular among their individual friend groups do not bother

them.

We also noticed that the majority of the fans who attended the Dreamcatcher concert

was seen wearing outfits that are of shades of red in color. Upon questioning certain fans

present at the concert, we found out that one of the K-pop group’s band members had

actually requested the fans to do so and hence, through word of mouth and social media

(Twitter, Instagram, Facebook), the fans had gotten wind of this request and clearly delivered

as seen from the majority sea of red outfits seen outside the concert doors. Another thing to

note is that, the signs that were given out at the entrance by the organizers, translating to “go

over the sky, thanking you for coming to us”. Since the fans are to hold up this sign to show

their gratitude towards the K-pop band, Dreamcatcher for flying across to Singapore to

perform for the fans. This shows how the K-pop band and fans interacted to each other and

form a strong idol-fandom bond.

However, we realized that instead of going to the Dreamcatcher concert, we should

have gone to the Blackpink concert that was held earlier in February 2019. Blackpink is the

most influential and trendy K-pop girl band in the world currently, especially since they

recently made various appearances in American television and they are even invited to huge

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

American music events such as Coachella. Since Dreamcatcher’s influence around the world

is not as massive as Blackpink’s, the devotion and size of the fans might differ immensely.

Moreover, as the concert goers went alone and were very introverted, most of them brushed

off our request to interview them. Therefore, we were not able to find out more information

about them.

As for secondary research method where we studied existing material, there was an

abundance of information that could be found in relation to our focus of study helping us tie

correlations between both our primary and secondary research. That is why we conducted the

document analysis to further find out about how they establish a connection with their fans

and stimulate their interest in Korean culture. As listed in the findings above, they spread and

promote their culture through music videos and social media. They presented styles that are

distinctively Korean, not only in their dance moves or the language of their songs, but also

their outfits, their mannerisms, and even their slogans. Besides music videos, Korean artists

also often streamed and shared about their daily lives, such as what they eat, where they go,

and even use Korean style applications for their selfies. As being a fan means that you adore

your idol and you want to feel and be more like your idol, this motivates the fans to learn

more about their culture in order to be more like the idols. When fans managed to try and

adopt the new culture into their lives, they feel closer to their idols and can relate to them

more. As a result, K-pop fans often not only listen to the music, but also integrate Korean

culture into their lives.

Moreover, we found out that K-pop fandom has its own culture. It is a norm for the

fans to show a huge devotion to their favorite idols. Buying expensive concert tickets,

merchandises, and keeping up with their latest gigs and news are the most basic way to show

support to their idols. Some fans show deeper devotion by defending their idols on Twitter or

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 Beyond Being a Fan:
Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

Instagram comment wars among different K-pop supporters. Some super-fans even show

more support by celebrating their idols’ birthday and flying to Korea to get a glimpse of their

idols’ life. The more you show your love and support to your idol, the more professional you

are as a fan. This norm is accepted and shared among fellow fans, creating a strong identity

of being a K-pop fan. It seems unacceptable to call yourself a devoted fan if you are not

involved in any of the K-pop fandom scenes. Therefore, being devoted to their idols is a

reflection of K-pop fans’ identity.

Ultimately, our research experience has helped narrow down on a few key aspects

about K-Pop culture, but also led to some difficulties in interpreting the research data, as

some of the data collected was not as easy to make sense of or was unexpected. We were able

to find out a considerable amount of information about the levels of devotion of the K-pop

fans through naturalistic observation, interviews, and document analysis. There are some

methods that we could improve on but based on the information we found, we have gained

interesting results and are able to implement everything into our research.

In a nutshell, our study suggests that being a K-pop fan is more than just listening to

K-pop music. Being a fan means showing a deep level of devotion to their idols and adapting

Korean culture into their lives. As K-pop is still spreading very rapidly around the world, it is

likely that Korean culture will further influence the lives of many more people in the future.

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Authenticity & Devotion of K-pop

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