Purchasing Behavior of K-Pop Idol Goods Consumers in Korea 3 Tunes, Family-Friendly Lyrics and Fiendishly Catchy Hooks” 1996)
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Journal of Fashion Business Vol.22, No.6 Purchasing Behavior of K-pop Idol Goods — ISSN 1229-3350(Print) Consumers in Korea ISSN 2288-1867(Online) — J. fash. bus. Vol. 22, No. 6:1-13, December. 2018 https://doi.org/ Yu Jin Kim* ‧ Jieun Lee** ‧ MiYoung Lee† 10.12940/jfb.2018.22.6.1 *CHIPS inc., Production Development, Korea **UBASE International, Overseas Sales, Korea Dept. of Fashion Design & Textiles, Inha University, Korea Corresponding author — MiYoung Lee Tel : +82-32-360-8137 Fax.: +82-32-865-8130 E-mail : [email protected] Keywords Abstract K-pop idol, Idol goods, Idol goods refer to products such as cups and towels, or mementos or fandom, Idol identification, souvenirs that are manufactured to gratify the desires of fandom and may purchase intention include the facial images of a star. The objective of this research was to explore the purchase behaviors of K-pop idol goods. Two hundred and sixty female idol goods purchasers in their twenties participated in an online survey. Cheering tools were the most often purchased idol goods, followed by idol slogans and dolls. To investigate the difference in idol goods’ attributes they considered when shopping, respondents were divided into three purchase groups based on their annual total expense for purchasing idol goods. There were significant differences among light, medium and heavy purchasers in terms of goods’ price, practical features, and scarcity. The light shopper group was majorly guided by price and practical features as compared to the other two groups, and heavy shopper group was majorly guided by scarcity attribute than in the other two shopper groups. The more they identified their favorite idols, the more they worked hard, the higher their income, the higher the expenses of investing in idol products, the more likely they were to repurchase idol goods. In term of post-purchase behavior of idol goods, most idol goods purchase by fans were stored rather than used, and few indicated that they purchase two identical idol goods for use and storage. 2 Journal of Fashion Business Vol.22, No.6 I. Introduction Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the market size of idol goods and idol portrait-related products amounted to An idol is someone whose talents, achievements, status, about 75 billion KRW as of 2014 (Yang, 2016). It is or physical appearance are especially recognized and estimated that the scale of the idol goods industry has appreciated by his or her fans. Since objects of exceeded 100 billion KRW. The items being sold have idolization come from various domains of life, sport diversified to include a variety of merchandise, such as champions, movie actors and actresses, television cellphone cases, bags, pouches, key rings, albums, personalities, pop stars, and political or religious leaders posters, postcards, and cheering sticks. The price range can all be idolized figures (Raviv, Bar-tal, Raviv, & of these idol goods is also wide, with the market Ben-Horn, 1996). The fandom culture of Korean pop showing affordable products, such as a cheering stick idols which started in the 1990s is a collective culture priced at 18,000 KRW, as well as high-priced goods, formed by affection and enthusiasm for stars (Bae, such as earphones priced at over 1.2 million KRW. 2012). Over the years, fandom culture has brought great The negative aspects of fandom have also been changes to not only consumption patterns but also the emphasized along with the long-standing treatment of way profits are generated. This culture is a complex fandom culture as a subculture of teenagers or a culture media product targeting the masses and has a system exclusive to women (An, Kim, Jeun, Jin, & Chung, optimized for the environmental changes in the media 2012). Recently, however, fandom has no longer been industry (Kim & Yoon, 2012). With the development of regarded as an exclusive phenomenon among teenagers as digital music and streaming services, it is difficult to more teenage girls who have participated in fandom reach increasingly high break-even point in the activities are maintaining their activities even in their entertainment market with album sales alone. adulthood (Oh, 2007) and the scope of fandom is Accordingly, management agencies in the entertainment expanding. In fact, a growing number of studies are market are seeking as many ways as possible to generate reporting the positive aspects of fandom in people in maximum profit in a short period of time. One of the their 20s and the possibility of fandom as a type of ways that is drawing great attention these days is goods leisure activity (Kim, 2011; Sohn, 2012). Considering the (Jung & Lee, 2009). consumption aspect of fandom, the market, especially for With idols recently becoming mainstream in the music adult fans in their 20s who have purchasing power, is industry, the K-pop music market itself is experiencing too important to be neglected. Therefore, this study aims saturation. In the entertainment market, management to explore the purchase behaviors of adult K-pop idol agencies are zooming in on goods to generate maximum goods consumers over the age of 20, an area that has profit in a short period of time, expanding related rarely been discussed in previous studies. businesses, such as opening and operating on/off shopping malls. For example, SM Entertainment is II. Literature Review operating SMTOWN COEX Atrium in Samseong-dong, the company’s official store, which offers star-related 1. K-pop Music and Idols content products, and FNC Entertainment is operating a goods shop, FNC WOW, in Myeong-dong. In addition K-pop, an abbreviation of Korean pop, refers to a to operating its official (online) shopping mall, YG popular music genre originating in South Korea and Entertainment is also expanding its business into the encompassing a variety of styles (Wikipedia). K-pop does restaurant industry with its brand YG Republique not represent a song; rather, it is a genre that “fulfills operating restaurants in Seoul, Jeju Island, and Malaysia both the eyes and ears, like a musical production” (Fhur, (Kim, 2018). According to the Korea Trade-Investment 2015, p.82). K-pop hit songs tend to have “upbeat Yu Jin Kim ‧ Jieun Lee ‧ MiYoung Lee / Purchasing Behavior of K-pop Idol Goods Consumers in Korea 3 tunes, family-friendly lyrics and fiendishly catchy hooks” 1996). The adoration of celebrities such as idols is a (“What is K-pop...,” 2016). K-pop songs are usually normal part of identity development in childhood and paired with big-budget music videos in which perfectly adolescence (Giles & Maltby, 2004). Studies show groomed girl or boy bands perform flawless that the idolization of celebrities decreases with age choreographed dances . and it is more prevalent among girls than boys. Girls In most cases, the source of K-pop’s popularity lies were also found to place more emphasis on singers' with idol groups. The “idol” culture is prominent in the features than boys (Raviv et al., 1996). Korean entertainment industry, and major entertainment companies, such as SM, JYP, and YG, audition, select, 2. K-pop Idol Fandom and train teenagers to debut in groups, such as girl or boy bands, rather than as individual artists. Teenage Fandom is a compound word composed of “fan,” trainers usually spend five to ten years acting, developing meaning “fanatic,” and “-dom,” a suffix that refers to a personally, singing, and dancing to debut. “Idols” are domain, kingdom, or collection of persons. The origin of often subject to strict rules regarding their personal lives “fanatic” can be traced to the Latin adjective fanaticus to conform to a perfectly managed public persona and is used to refer to a person who enthusiastically (“What is K-pop...,” 2016). From casting to debut, the loves someone or is absorbed in a certain field (Reysen entertainment companies in Korea perfect their young & Branscombe, 2010, p.177). Fandom in Korea is a acts, encourage them to get along, and censure scandals diachronic cultural phenomenon that has existed since (Ono & Kwon, 2013). the establishment of the entertainment industry, including An idol refers to a person whose talents, An idol the modern movie and music industries. Since the refers to a person whose talents, achievements, mid-1990s, when young idol stars managed by big status, or physical appearances are recognized and entertainment companies started to appear, fandom has appreciated by his or her fans (Cheung & Yue, 2000). been enthusiastically enjoyed by teenage girls and women The objects of idolization come from various domains in their twenties. Fandom is often understood as a group of life, such as sport, entertainment, music, politics, of individual fans among the public, but in the field of and religion. Thus, pop stars, along with sport cultural studies, fandom is considered a kind of social champions, movie actors and actresses, and politicians phenomenon and cultural practice (Jung & Lee, 2009). or religious leaders can all become idolized figures In the past, female fandom was regarded as a (Raviv et al., 1996). It is proposed that the idolization subculture exclusively organized by adolescents and of pop singers, beyond the consumption of music and many negative aspects of idol fandom were expressed collection of basic information about it, which also (Kim & Yang, 2013). However, recent idol fandom has reflect a normal appreciation of music, is based mostly shifted away from being the exclusive property of on two important components: worship and modeling teenagers to a leisure activity of people in their twenties. (Cheung & Yue, 2000). Worship refers to an Such fan base expansion can be attributed to two unusually intense admiration of an idol. This can be factors: first, fans who were in their late teens when expressed in behaviors such as actively collecting their idol stars first emerged in the 1990s and continued information or items related to idol groups or trying with their fandom activities into their adulthood, and to meet the idolized figure in person.