K P O P S T A N
ETHNOGRAPHIC C U L T U R E REPORT WRITTEN BY: CADY HAMBY JORDAN PLEASANT MAKAYLA THORNTON TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
HOW DID PEOPLE DISCOVER KPOP?
WHAT IS STAN TWITTER?
CULTURAL INFLUENCE
WHAT DID THEY LEARN?
CONCLUSION
PAGE 1 KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 2
INTRODUCTION
Our research project was on the topic of kpop stan twitter and how being a part of the community has allowed them to expand on their ideologies. Now, I am totally aware that half of that sentence may have sounded foreign to you so let me explain.
Kpop is a shortened version of Korean Pop music but has been shortened to kpop in order to explain it internationally. Kpop is a very broad genre of music consisting of hip-hop, rock, and pop that originated in South Korea. It is mainly boy bands and girl bands but also consists of solo artists and mixed-gender groups occasionally. In the past five years, kpop has been put under the spotlight for people all around the world to see, such as groups like BTS, NCT 127, and Blackpink who have gone on world tours and done interviews in countries other than South Korea.
Fans of groups such as these groups have become their own subculture with fans all around the world of every race, gender, ethnicity, etc. With these fans being all over the world, they find certain platforms to use in order to communicate with each other and keep up with information on their favorite kpop idols. Although there are fans all over almost every social media platform, we found that there are millions of fans on Twitter so that was where we observed our kpop stans.
To define what a kpop stan is, they are fans of kpop who dedicate a certain portion of their time to learn more than just the songs of a kpop group. KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 3
For example, if someone were to be a BTS stan, they non-kpop twitter users or even fans of American would probably learn all seven members names and bands behaved. Kpop stans have been known to draw their birthdays, learn most or all of their songs, from Korean culture, such as fashion, language, food, follow them on social media and talk about them on history, etc., and stan culture, buying lightsticks and that platform, and maybe even buy merchandise other merchandise, going to concerts, and making from them along with many other things. Basically, twitter accounts specifically for a group, after getting the line between fan and stan is how much into kpop. This is why we specifically asked how information someone cares to learn about the group. kpop has changed their ideologies since it seems to So, kpop stans are a group of dedicated fans that have this strong impact on most fans lives. We have have collectively joined social media, or Twitter in broken down our research in order to show you our the case of our research, in order to express their findings in the most efficient way possible. interest in certain kpop idols to other fans and to stay up to date on what kpop groups post. We will start with talking about how people generally got into kpop since that is a very important process We chose this topic because all three of us have for non- Korean fans then talk about stan twitter and interest or experience in the kpop community. how fans view and use it. Along with that, we will Makayla has a family member who is interested in talk about culture and what people have learned since kpop and is half Vietnamese which is where her joining the kpop community. We interviewed five interest arose. Jordan and Cady are both kpop fans kpop fans over phone call and text and observed 30 themselves, Jordan being relatively new to kpop stan different Twitter accounts in order to have a big twitter and Cady having been a part of stan twitter enough group of people to notice patterns. We for three years. recognize that our information is limited to English speaking fans but nonetheless felt that no matter who We had all noticed the difference within the we interviewed and observed, we would still get subculture of kpop stan twitter compared to how similar answers from the community. KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 4
HOW DID PEOPLE DISCOVER KPOP?
One thing we were very interested in was how a person in Germany or Brazil or any other country outside of South Korea ended up finding kpop. In the US and many other countries, there is a slight stigma towards listening to music in different languages, so it was quite amazing to us that millions around the world got into kpop so easily.
We asked our interviewees how exactly they got into kpop since none of them are Korean or grew up in South Korea. Surprisingly, all of them got into it accidentally from either a friend or stumbling upon a meme or song while browsing on the internet. Almost all of them mentioned how when they got into kpop they were instantly intrigued by either how great they are at dancing or the actual songs themselves.
Meghan, one of our interviewees, mentioned that when she started listening to BTS their song BTS Cypher 4 was one of her favorites because it was “really catchy and exciting.” But even if they are very intriguing, many non-kpop stans are deterred from the music because they think it's hard to jump the language barrier hurdle.
Our interviewees all claimed that the language barrier “did not matter at all” or bother them only slightly at the beginning before they actually committed to it. Our interviewee, Stephanie, put it simply and said, “the idea of foreign language was not foreign” to her because she grew up around Nigerian family that spoke Ebo and also watched anime in Japanese. KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 5
None of the other participants had experiences like These groups include Ateez, NCT 127, Monsta X, Red that that they mentioned but they all did agree that Velvet, Seventeen, Stray Kids and many more. Kpop language is not a huge factor in enjoying music for stans who stan more than one group are referred to as them. Interviewee Tara spoke about her feelings multis by other kpop stans showing that they basically saying that “as long as it sounds good to me, I don’t just stan multiple groups. Two of our interviewees, really care too much that I don’t always understand Meghan and Stephanie, and most of our observed what it’s saying,” which was also the mentality of accounts considered themselves to be multis after getting Meghan and Stephanie. into kpop because they were intrigued by more than just the groups they started with. Even though none of them mind not understanding exactly what kpop groups are saying, all five of the With stanning all these groups, we wondered how these interviewees said they put time into trying to learn people kept up with so many different idols. All of them Korean specifically for kpop but none of them speak use Twitter to keep up with their idols along with a few it fluently since it is quite a hard language to learn. other apps, such as Weverse and Vlive. Twitter is not We also saw on Twitter a few people talked about only the place where their idols have accounts to post trying to learn Korean and one user (@bswn07 aka content and occasionally interact with fans but has also yacki) even set up a “Korean Class” thread so they become a place for kpop related news sites to give out could help others with learning Korean. Learning information. Korean seems to be very important to some people in the community and more like a side fun thing to All five of our interviewees said they got into Twitter do for others. The goal is to be able to communicate specifically to pay attention to whatever extra content with their favorite idols for most fans at least. kpop idols post. We noticed generally that idols post a lot of selfies and loving words to their fans either checking Four out of five of our interviewees and over half of up on them or thanking them for their support. Stan our observed Twitter accounts turned out to be BTS twitter has become a special place for many fans and stans and some only stan BTS, such as Tara and with numbers of fans growing every day, their Chante (aka @crankdattaytay), while others liked community has become an interesting place. them along with many other groups. KPOP STSN CULTURE PAGE 6
When asked about their experiences attending these KPOP'S concerts, most of our interviewees took a moment to reflect and remember the amazing events they had CULTURAL witnessed. They spoke about how life changing these INFLUENCE concerts made them feel. One of them, Tara, stated and I quote: When it comes to the cultural impact Kpop has made on the world, many of those who indulge in this “I’ve been to a BTS concert in 2018, the Love specific music genre would say they have been Yourself: World Tour, and it was one of the best heavily influenced by the culture. From attending experiences of my life. I’ve been to over a concerts and spending tons of money on albums and merchandise, to becoming inspired to change up their hundred concerts in my life, and this was by far appearance and style, or dipping into other Korean the best overall music/event experience I’ve ever based media such as Kdramas, award shows, online attended. The people, the crowd, the sheer inspired events and so much more volume of people and passion was so amazing to see first hand, and I’m so grateful to have been A large part of engaging in Kpop culture is attending able to experience such a life-changing event at concerts and other events in support of popular Kpop least once in my life, but I’ll be seeing them groups such as BTS, Ateez, BlackPink, NCT127 etc. again next year, too!” These bands go on various tours, occasionally traveling to the west coast to provide international fans the opportunities to experience once in a lifetime Another interviewee of ours, Chante, stated: shows, many of which can never be forgotten. With tickets ranging from $200 to $800, many Kpop fans “It felt like I was right at home.” do not hesitate to save up their money months in advance in order to purchase the best seats possible. Meghan, one of our first interviewees, went on to further describe how connected she felt to the Because of the rapidly growing popularity of Kpop, fans around her during one of BTS’ concerts. She most people are quick to buy their tickets, as the was one of the lucky ones who managed to entire process can sometimes be quite chaotic and purchase a ticket on the floor of the stadium. fast paced. What I mean by this is that so many people often spend hours waiting for the exact Some common things Kpop fans do almost moment for the tickets to drop in order to be the first ones to complete their transactions. If not fast ritually are collect music albums and enough, fans may experience the crashing or freezing merchandise to support their preferred Kpop up of websites due to the amount of people online at groups. One of our interviewers, Stephanie, once trying to get a hold of their tickets. It’s almost talked about how after every concert she attends, like a battle ground, with both life and death on the she will buy the album that the Kpop group line, but not literally. would be promoting during that tour. KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 7
She does this because she believes it gives the album Award and game shows often revolve around the that much more meaning by taking her back to that Kpop idols themselves, and by tuning in, fans are moment in time where she got to witness her able to witness their favorites win well deserved favorite groups. awards for their hard work. Fans are also able to connect with and be entertained by gaming shows So far, she has purchased several albums, all of Kpop idols are featured in, as it gives them a chance which she has attended concerts for. She, as well as to show their fans a more relaxed side to them, much others, has also collected various Kpop merchandise different from the choreographed versions of since becoming engrossed in the culture. These themselves seen at concerts and in music videos. items may include, but aren’t limited to, light sticks, While scrolling through Twitter and observing the T-shirts, photo cards (which are just photos of thirty accounts my team and I created, I saw lots of different members to each group), posters, Kpop fan accounts discuss topics regarding these keychains, stationary and so much more. These different media forms as a way to express their frequently collected items, accompanied with the thoughts and opinions. purchase of concert tickets, have cost our interviewees an average amount of $200 to $400 Fan accounts never hesitated to retweet videos and dollars. Many of them are gifted these items by fan cams from other fan accounts, captioning those family and friends, but most go out of their way to retweets with all capital letters to further exaggerate purchase for themselves for material satisfaction. their love and appreciation for their idols. Fans even went as far as to create memes out of these short Meghan, our first interviewee, tells us about how her videos, many of which I saw would be posted under entire room is decorated with various posters of other fan accounts tweets while discussing different Kpop groups. She has also gone as far as getting a topics. piercing and dying her hair pink, two things she told us she would have never done prior to getting They also used a peculiar form of lingo, or text; one involved with Kpop. Other interviewees expressed that you don’t just see anywhere. Words like how they often show off the fact that they are Kpop “mutuals” or “moots,” were used by these fan stans through T-shirts and other small knick-knacks accounts to describe the relationships they made that might compliment their appearance. But overall, with others on Kpop stan twitter. Others included they try not to overdo it, as they are rather content in things like, “bubs,” to replace, “babes,” “oomfs,” to their already established style too much to mimic the replace the phrase, “one of my followers,” aesthetics of Kpop idols. “sksksksks” to replace “lol” or simply to express laughter. Through many hours of observation, I have noticed that the growing interest in Kpop has also led many The list goes on and on. It seems as though many fan fans to dive into other forms of Korean media, such accounts have developed their own unique forms of as watching Korean dramas, Korean award shows, communication among one another, which they Korean game shows, and so much more. Many shamelessly use both when discussing topics dramas today can be found on popular streaming regarding Kpop and personal life. networks such as Netflix and YouTube. KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 8
They would share very opinionated feedback on the idols' decisions whether it be about their appearance, musical talents, their alleged relationships with other Kpop idols and more. These fan accounts often perpetuated a purist idea onto their favorites, which many other fan accounts did not approve of. While studying the arguments between the fan accounts expressing their purist ideals and those who opposed them, I realized that many of the users behind these purist fan accounts possessed an unhealthy obsession with Kpop their idols.
This obsession often extended as far as harassing the idols underneath their posts from their main Twitter accounts, retweeting the idols' posts and saying hurtful words, or simply just putting down specific Kpop groups out of what seemed like jealousy over their success. These actions often caused a rift on Kpop stan Twitter from time to time, shifting the once happy go-lucky vibes of the community to one that was more rockier.
Another toxic observation noted seemed to reflect a It seems as though, through observing these thirty much bigger issue, the Black Lives Matter accounts, that Kpop has had a relatively positive movement. This movement, having become a main impact on the lives of many. Despite many of the topic of discussion recently, seemed to be a very accounts often including personal topics, for the important topic many fan accounts tweeted about most part, they have had nothing but good words to daily. From expressing their thoughts and opinions say about the culture as a whole. However, there on the racial injustice systems in America, to were times where it appeared that some sort of tweeting and retweeting petitions to sign along with conflict would arise between the accounts we important and valuable information that would help studied and others outside of our list. These bring justice to those who fell victim to police conflicts often revolved around the toxicity that brutality. Many of the users I studied, I learned were can sometimes come with being a Kpop stan. of African American or Black heritage, so these issues seemed to strike closer to home for them. A good example of some instances where toxicity Others, however, didn’t seem to be phased by these was present were how some fan accounts run by important discussions, which made other fan users who often treated their favorite Kpop idols like accounts feel a sense of betrayal and usefulness children. within the community. KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 9
Threads of tweets calling out these fan accounts who Tara, another interviewee, stated: seemed quiet during these times filled my timeline as I continued to observe and scroll. Apparently, “I would describe the community as well many non-Black Kpop stans were a little too quiet in rounded, but also very efficient and friendly. regard to the Black Lives Matter movement, which That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of toxic angered those who had been using their platform to people - there are - it’s just that the positive bring awareness and protest. Because of their silence, many of the fan accounts protesting their interactions seem to outway the negative for me timeliness often expressed their disappointment in personally anyway. I’d say the majority of the the community, and specified how they no longer people I’ve met on stan Twitter have been very felt they could rely on their fellow mutuals to friendly and nice to get to know, while others support them in their times of need. Many felt have proven to be not so easy to get along with. unsafe, backed against a wall, with no one to go to. I’ve made a lot of good friends on stan Twitter.” Some fan accounts became too overwhelmed with everything that was going on not just on Twitter, but Overall, it seems that Kpop has had a pretty positive in the world. So they took social media breaks, impact on individuals who have immersed although they seemed to return within the next day themselves in the culture. Almost all of those whom or two. When asked about her opinion on the Kpop we interviewed were active on Kpop stan Twitter, stan community, one of our interviewees, Chante, and weren’t shy to admit that there were some bad stated: apples within the community. But I think despite these bad apples, the overwhelming impact that “Chaotic – I’m on Black stan Twitter though Kpop has had on stan Twitter trumps those who are which is a totally different entity. We make a lot committed to entertaining chaos. of cultural references that others may not get and really feel like a community on that side.” KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 10
WHAT HAVE PEOPLE LEARNED THROUGH LISTENING TO KPOP?
We noticed that not only did people participate in with Korean friends and idols. She also the culture surrounding stan Twitter, they also mentioned she was doing a study abroad so she became very interested in Korean culture. This could get immersed in the culture and truly includes learning the language, food, fashion, and appreciate it. We saw multiple accounts also history of South Korea. We noticed learning about talking about politics and how the mayor of culture in at least one way was very common among Seoul was found dead and how politics lead to our interviews and observations. In our interviews, his “suicide,” as they are calling it. we asked participants what were some of the things they had learned or wanted to learn about since getting into K-pop. In every interview, the Another aspect of culture we were very participant said that they were very interested in interested in was Korean food. We found that it learning about the language but other aspects of was very common for people to try Korean food culture differed for everyone. once they get into Kpop. When we asked interviewees about getting into Korean cuisine In Meghan’s interview, she talked about how she every interviewee could name their favorite was inspired by Korean street fashion to change the Korean dish they’ve tried. Some examples of way she dressed, dye her hair, and get a new their favorite dishes were rice fried chicken, piercing. In another interview, Teeda said that she kimchi, and Taiyaki. In one of our interviews, learned that South Koreans respect their elders much Tara stated that she has now started going out of more than Americans do and even have special phrases based on if someone is your elder or not. her way to try Korean food once she got into Chante said that she learned about South Korea’s Kpop. Chante also took it upon herself to learn relationship with other countries like the United the origins of traditional Korean food so she States and Japan and the history of their dynasties could know where what she was eating and how that has shaped Korea into the country it is originated. now. One thing we noticed as well was that we had Even in our observation, we found people talking some interviewees get into Korean drama about teaching or learning language and even some television shows, also known as Kdramas, and talk about Korean politics. An account with the watching dance practices the Kpop groups post display name Yacki (@bswn07) talked about how so fans can learn their dances. she learned the language so she could communicate KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 11
Stephanie expressed that her passion for dance was than just the music. Kpop stans have created influenced by getting into Kpop and said that if she their own subculture and are making changes for had not gotten into Kpop, she probably would not the better to become a force to be reckoned with. have been as unto dance as she is now. She is also in a Kpop dance group at Kennesaw State where she Another aspect of culture we were very and her members do covers of different Kpop songs. interested in was Korean food. We found that it was very common for people to try Korean food One challenge we thought Kpop listeners would have was the fact that Kpop is in Korean so it would once they get into kpop. When we asked be hard to determine what the songs were about. In interviewees about getting into Korean cuisine our findings, we learned that even though the music every interviewee could name their favorite is in Korean, most listeners did not mind and Korean dish they’ve tried. Some examples of actually liked the language difference. In Tara’s their favorite dishes were rice fried chicken, interview, she said that the Korean language was kimchi, and taiyaki. In one of our interviews, weird at first, but it encouraged her to learn Korean Tara stated that she has now started going out of and to just like songs for the vibe and not just what it her way to try Korean food once she got into is saying. Meghan and Teeda said they have tried to kpop. Chante also took it upon herself to learn learn Korean but they both gave up even though the origins of traditional Korean food so she they are very interested in learning because it is a could know where what she was eating very hard language. We also had multiple twitter originated. After going through our research, we have noticed that being a Kpop stan has had a much bigger One thing we noticed as well was that we had influence on people than we originally thought. Not some interviewees get into Korean drama only did Kpop stans learn about their groups and television shows, also known as kdramas, and participate in stan Twitter, but they also created watching dance practices the kpop groups post communities to spread their opinions about politics so fans can learn their dances. Stephanie and topics other than just Kpop. such as the Black expressed that her passion for dance was Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ+ rights, and the influenced by getting into kpop and said that if debacle about masks in America. Kpop stan Twitter she had not gotten into kpop, she probably has become more than just a place where people would not have been as unto dance as she is express their love for their favorite idols and is being used to help better the world like how BTS fans now. She is also in a kpop dance group at worked together to donate a million dollars to BLM. Kennesaw State where she and her members do Not only that but Kpop stans are starting to learn covers of different kpop songs. more about Korea itself and appreciating their culture. Tourism in Korea has skyrocketed since the rise in Kpop because fans are so interested in more KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 12
CONCLUSION
After going through our research, we have noticed that being a kpop stan has had a much bigger influence on people than we originally thought. Not only did kpop stans learn about their groups and participate in stan Twitter, but they also created communities to spread their opinions about politics and topics other than just kpop. such as the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ+ rights, and the debacle about masks in America. Kpop stan Twitter has become more than just a place where people express their love for their favorite idols and is being used to help better the world like how BTS fans worked together to donate a million dollars to BLM. Not only that but kpop stans are starting to learn more about Korea itself and appreciating their culture. Tourism in Korea has skyrocketed since the rise in kpop because fans are so interested in more than just the music. Kpop stans have created their own subculture and are making changes for the better to become a force to be reckoned with. KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 13
GLOSSARY
Kpop - A very broad genre of music consisting of hip-hop, rock and pop that originated in South Korea
Stan- they are fans of kpop who dedicate a certain portion of their time to learn more than just the songs of a kpop group.
Oomf- shortened version of “one of my followers”
Bio- the paragraph at the top of a social media profile to describe what the account is about or used for
Display name- the name of the account that shows up with the username
Kpop idols- the individual member of a kpop group Photocard- a 2x3 picture of 1 member of a kpop group generally included when you buy a kpop album
Lightstick- is a portable lamp/ flashlight type thing that kpop fans use at concerts
Kdrama - Korean TV shows ranging from various genres, including romance, comedy, drama, pyscological, horror, action, etc. KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 14
SOURCES
BTS Fans Say They've Raised $1 Million for Black Lives Matter Zaveri
GroupsZaverihttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/arts/music/bts-donate-black-lives- matter.htmlCite
List of K-pop concerts held outside Asia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_K-pop_concerts_held_outside_AsiaCite
What is Kpop? Here is everything you need to know in 2020 Josep hhttps://www.90daykorean.com/what-is-kpop/
How K-Pop Stans Became an Activist Force to Be Reckoned With Will Bedingfield https://www.wired.com/story/how-k-pop-stans-became-an-activist-force-to-be-reckoned- with/Cite
Seoul turns to music industry to boost local tourismTimes Times https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1166264.shtml KPOP STAN CULTURE PAGE 15
SOURCES (CONT.)
Here's a Glossary of All the Stan Culture Terms You Should Know by NowKhorma https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a28139206/stan-culture-glossary- definitions/
BTS Fans Discovered Another 'Unfair' Treatment the Group Receives Compared to Other Popular Artists
Tram Anh Ton Nu More Articles July 19 https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/bts-fans-discovered-another-unfair-treatment-the- group-receives-compared-to-other-popular-artists.html/