Taking K-pop Fandom to the Next Level.
Besides patronizing the groups and artists music and activities, fan clubs have added new functions as an organization. These clubs have become an advocate of charity work. Fan clubs of the various K-pop artists and groups have done charity work not only to benefit the ones in need but also build the image of their organization and the artist they are supporting. But what really is it that these groups influence in the society and the minds of the people Does the Kpop culture also promote any social structures that also affects the society Does globalization has anything to do with this Wherefore, this paper problematizes on the effects of K-pop fandom on young individuals and how it influences the society as a whole.
2. Discussion
Korean Pop MusicK-pops popularity grew in the year 1992 as Seo Taiji and Boys emerged in the music scene. The grouped has mixed various elements of music such as rock, rap and techno which became the reason for its popularity (AsiaFinest).
Various idol groups and artists with dance-oriented acts followed after the emergence of Seo Taiji and Boys. Rock music also became a mainstream with the national recognition of artists such as Yoon Do-hyun Band. On the other hand, trot, a less popular genre in K-pop was from the influence of Japanese songs during World War II. After WWI, western-style music became the mainstream in K-pop (AsiaFinest). In the present time, the Korean music industry is bombarded with teen idol groups. Among the most popular groups are TVXQ, Big Bang, Super Junior and the Wonder Girls. The song Nobody by the Wonder Girls even entered mainstream music in the U.S.A. when the group had an opening act for the Jonas Brothers (Chun).
Fan Clubs
To express love and support for these artists and idol groups, various fan clubs have been formed. These fan clubs gather at events like concerts and fan meetings with the artists. Often times, they also gather to celebrate the birthdays of the artists and offer their tribute. One of the most popular fan clubs in South Korea and according to the 2008 Guiness World Record is the Worlds biggest fan club with 800,000 official members is TVXQs Cassiopeia (allkpop.com). Cassiopeia is not only based in South Korea but also has fanbases in different coutries around the world, particularly the Asian countries surrounding it (e.g. Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and etc.). Other official fan clubs are Super Juniors E.L.F. and world star Rains Clouds.
Fans even have a distinct fan club color for their favorite artists which is usually used during concerts and other fan gatherings. For example, members of Cassiopeia wear red shirts and bring red balloons and red glow sticks which are used for cheering the members of TVXQ. On the other hand, E.L.F. members fan club color is Sapphire Blue, which is also a track sung by Super Junior in their 2nd studio album.
Charity Work by Artists
Artists with great number of fans generate huge revenue in ticket and album sales alike. That is why some artists and music producers do charity work by holding charity concerts and albums. The proceeds are donated to various institutions and groups of people who are in need of financial support.
Last year, Jackie Chan together with renowned Korean music producer Jin-young Park (JYP), and other famous Korean stars such as the Wonder Girls, Kim Ah-jung, Park Yong-ha, and Korean skater, Kim Yu-na, recorded a project album which benfitted the victims of the earthquake in Sichuan, China. The title of the project album is I Love Asia with its intention of Asia becomes one in showing love (Pops in Seoul).
There are also other ways of showing support by artists in different projects. Last May of this year, Jewelry member Seo In-young held a charity bazaar with other Korean stars to help children suffering from cancer. Being a fashionista herself, Seo In-young featured shoes and new apparel she bought from the U.S.A. The proceeds of the event were donated to the children affected by cancer (Pops in Seoul).
Artists also do volunteer work. Last year the biggest oil spill in South Korea happened at the Taean Peninsula. Singer and Actor Shim Eun-jin, TVXQ member Max together with other Korean stars volunteered for the clean-up efforts at Taean Peninsula (Pops in Seoul).
Not only by generating money through concerts and albums, some artists do volunteer work by visiting and caring for the sick in hospitals. Idol groups like TVXQ and Super Junior have visited the sick and children in the hospital.
Charity Work by Fans
Following their favorite artists and idol groups foot steps, Fan clubs have also made efforts to donate to various charities under the name of the artists and groups they are supporting.
TVXQs fan club Cassiopeia has made various charity efforts under the name of their favorite idol group. The fans of TVXQ member Xiah Junsu offered a donation of 8,000 under his name as a birthday gift. The donation is for the benefit of the hearing impaired so that they could get proper surgery and treatment (Pops in Seoul). Another charity effort the by Cassiopeia is working with an international development and relief agency called Adra Korea. which worked with a disaster relief project in Cambodia this year. The agency together with Cassiopeia worked on a disaster relief project in the poorest village in Cambodia. Adra Korea is working to improve the childrens condition of living in the village. To honor the donation, the village was named Xiah Junsu Village.
Cassiopeians also released a song entitled Love Melody which was dedicated to the members of TVXQ who are undergoing difficult times. The fans wrote the lyrics of the song and sang it. With its outstanding quality the song was released as a digital album in different websites and portals. The proceeds of the album went to charities as well.
Additionally, artists work with fans in doing various charity efforts. Recently, world star Rains own music agency, J-tune Entertainment announced that it will be starting a foundation providing free services on Lasik surgery for people who cannot afford it. To be able to avail these services, the patient can be recommended by an official member of Rains fan club Clouds so that he or she will be permitted to have the surgery. Patients related to the official member of the fan club can also have the surgery. Moreover, the patient can register as an official member of Clouds in Rains official website. This foundation is teamed up with Eye Eye Vision in Gangnam having the project label of Creating a Bright New World.
Like the spread of K-pop around Asia and the world, some fan clubs from different coutries have also made efforts in donating to charities. In the Philippines, the first K-pop convention was held last December 5, 2009. This fund-raising event was attended by various fan clubs of idol groups such as TVXQ, Super Junior, Rain, SHINee, F(x), 2ne1, Girls Generation etc. Not only these fan clubs had enjoyed a 5-hour program consisting of singing and dancing contests, special awards and performances but also they have donated to a charity supporting the less fortunate children. The proceeds of the event will go to Gawad Kalinga, a Catholic-driven organization that aids victims of poverty and natural disasters with a variety of assistance programs for education, food sufficiency and other venues of support.
3. Theoretical Foundations
Theories attempt to explain phenomena in the society. In the context of the influence that the Kpop music brings to the society, it can be said that they continue to establish new forms of notions and suppositions that shape the minds of the people. Thus in order to deconstruct certain elements in Kpop music this study will embrace theoretical assumptions. The use of theories is divided in two parts micro- individual level and macro- societal cultural level. The division is made in order to separate the influences that Kpop brings on the individual stratum and the societal- cultural stratum.
Fritz Heiders theory on Attribution states that the causes of behavior of other people can be explained in a variety of reasons (Heider). Thus it can be said that the way that people who are influenced by the Kpop culture can be analyzed in a myriad of ways. The way that they behave in accordance to the influence that the Kpop groups give may be best analyzed in different ways. If they support the fund raising activities that their groups sponsor then it can be inferred that this behavior are actually caused by a myriad of other reasons. It is important that the attribution that is assigned to a certain form of behavior such as the support that the fans give to their groups must be deconstructed in which the behavior took place.
In Social Judgment theory by Muzafer Sherif, Carolyn Sherif, Carl Hovland, they stress that the statement or any form of message that humans accepts or rejects is based on the their cognitive maps. Humans accept or reject ideas based on their own ego- involvement and if it is within the sphere of their own acceptance (Sherif Hovland). Therefore it can be said that the people or the societies that generally accepted Kpop are those people that saw that they are apt for the kind of cognitive maps that they have and they fall within the context of their own sphere or latitude of acceptance. Thus it can also be said that if they feel that the Kpop groups that they are supporting are promoting charitable actions for others then most likely they would begin to help them as well because of the influence that they gave on them.
On a societal- cultural level, another theory can be used to explain the phenomena on the influence that the Kpop music gives to the society. As stated by Herb Schiller on his Cultural Imperialism theory, he said that the the ideas and notion in the western countries dominate the media all across the world which means that it has a direct effect on the Third World countries. The effect is seen on the way that the views of the western countries are imposed on them and in the end destroy the native cultures and traditions of the affected nations. This theory appears intriguing because on a deeper note, the effects of the western traditions on the pop culture can be clearly seen on the way these pop groups present their music. In a nutshell, the language used by the Korean groups are of their own but the style clearly are western. This could have been the reason why many nations, most specifically in Asia, had quickly accepted this kind of music. The fact that the music is indeed of an entertaining quality, it is also hard dispense the fact that it is also very westernized in many sense. It is a given fact that the Asian nations patronizes almost all of the ideas of the west hence at the end of the day this could have been the reason why these Asian nations were quick in accepting this new form of popular culture. Thus it can also be inferred that Kpop groups had been accepted quickly because of their western appeal has also have on a hauling effect on their people that support them.
In this regard the idea of globalization may somehow explain why this popular culture had been widely accepted by the society. The idea of globalization has indeed influenced many societies and other ideas in the world. Thus the idea of globalization also plays an integral role on the influence that the Kpop culture creates in the society. Since globalization is more commonly defined as a continuing process into which societies and their cultures and economies are intertwined with the world and that they are now open to trade these with other societies and other nations. Thus it can be said that it is circulation of ideas and notions of different nations in the world. It is also divided into several other forms such as economical, political, technological, biological and cultural. In the context of this paper, it can be distilled that this kind of idea is a form of cultural globalization in which a new form a cultural idea has entered in a nation. What does this mean This means that since many nations most specifically parts of Asia had opened their doors for globalization then the entrance of ideas and other forms of popular culture is very lax. This would also mean that the society is exposed to this kinds of pop culture hence may influence the society most especially the youth that are listening to the Kpop music.
3. Summary and Conclusion
Therefore it can be distilled that the influence that these Kpop groups made on the people that support them may be best deconstructed and analyzed on their behavioral patterns (with importance given to the context into which these behavior was made), cognitive maps and acceptance latitude, effect and adaptation of westernized styles and cultural globalization. It is important to understand that this behavior of the supporters are developed on the way that their cognitive maps and latitude of acceptance had worked to create the actions that they are doing. Consequently, it can also be said that the way that these behaviors are made is based on the fact that these are influenced first, by the cultural globalization and henceforth on the influence that the groups themselves provide. Thus at the end of the day the behavior of the supporter or the fans, as they are popularly called, can be analyzed on the way that they are governed by the influence that this Kpop groups provide. More importantly the interplay of cultural globalization and western influence are also important criteria to look at.
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