The Dark Side of K-pop: Anti-fans

By: Janie Shin

 



(Source: Allkpop)

No matter where you go in the music industry there are always fans that support the idols but there are also some that do not, called, the anti-fans. Anti-fans are fans that do not like the idols and tend to constantly attack them with rumors, lies, and even threats of harm. The anti-fans on the nternet are called, netizens. Netizens like to attack behind the computers and attack the idols with rumors and lies in the world of the internet. They feel empowered because on the internet, they are unknown and they feel like they can get away with anything. An example of this cruel act is seen in the life of a singer/rapper named Tablo from the K-pop group, Epik High. Netizens attacked Tablo on his education background because he graduated from the prestigious college, Stanford. They refused to believe he graduated from there and constantly attacked Tablo with threats and harassed him saying he was a liar. When Tablo was asked about his situation he said, “I thought my life was over. They called me a con man, a swindler, a fraud, and said they wouldn’t believe me because I was like that. I wondered if my family was like this because I was in this business. I had to accept reality, but I was scared." There are many more situations like this where netizens tend to go a little too far. And because of the netizens, Tablo eventually had to get involved in a heated battle against them with lawyers and won the case. But the harm had already been done and Tablo and his family already suffered too many wounds from those netizens. In the end when Tablo won his case, the netizens that accused Tablo apologized and announced they would finally stop harassing Tablo and his family.

                            

Within the world of anti-fans in the K-pop world, there are also extreme fans called, sasaeng fans. Many anti-fans go over the limits of idols but sasaeng fans are a whole different realm. They do not necessarily hate the idols but claim to love them and are almost as bad or even worse then anti-fans. The word sasaeng is derived from the Korean word meaning “private life”. And so, sasaeng fans invade personal space and try to break into the personal lives of idols without stop. The video on the right shows a popular Korean idol being slapped by one of his sasaeng fans. There are many extremities involved in the daily life of a sasaeng fan. They like to chase after their idols in taxis that they have bought for the day and costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Stalking their idols is not enough for these fans, there are even incidents when “One sasaeng even offered $100,000 USD if the company could steal her idol’s underwear.” So with the rising fame of K-pop comes with the rise of anti-fans all over the world. Some have attempted to guess in why there are so many anti-fans in K-pop but the main reason is still unknown. Fans are one of the main reasons why K-pop idols survive in this industry but the anti-fans need to understand their boundaries and stop bullying and harassing others. All in all, K-pop would be a better and safe world without anti-fans.

 

 

(Source: Allkpop)

 

 

 

Jenny , Will. "Epik High’s Tablo talks about how he felt during his controversy." 30 2012: 1. Print. http://www.allkpop.com/2012/10/epik-highs-tablo-talks-about-how-he-felt-during-his-controversy.

 

Vital, Sign. "Reporters uncover the dark truth behind the daily activities of sasaeng fans." 15 2012: 1. Print. <http://www.allkpop.com/2012/03/reporters-uncover-the-dark-truth-behind-the-daily-activities-of-sasaeng-fans>.

 

 

 

Korean Pop Idols / The Path of a Trainee

Korean Pop Idols / The Path of a Trainee
Author: Jeffrey Li

2PM's Nichkhun (Source: Soompi)

Ever wondered how to become a Kpop star? In all Kpop videos, you see a variety of men and women, boys and girls, dancing and singing, expressing their individual capabilities. Underneath all the fame and glory, however, each member of each group has gone through a tough and strenuous training process, starting at a very young age. Most Korean Pop idols are chosen at a very young age, around 9 or 10 (WSJ), while others are foreigners that are chosen from global entertainment auditions held by large Kpop companies like SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and Cube Entertainment. 

An example of a Globally Selected Kpop Idol is 2PM's Nichkhun. Once a trainee is selected, training begins soon after. Hundreds of talented children are put through rigorous training, involving daily vocal training, dance practices, "How to act around media" classes, and normal subject classes like math and history (GTG). For around 5-7 years of daily training is required before a trainee is chosen to debut. At any given moment, a company can drop you as a trainee, so you must try your hardest everyday to outshine all the other trainees. However, the entire idol training process is not just stressful for the trainee. According to chief executive officer Kim Young Minhim from SM Entertainment, 2.6 million dollars was spent on each of the 9 members of the Kpop group girls generation. This shows how much time and effort goes into each Korean Pop group. And on top of this, there are more and more groups rising each month, and this number will only continue to grow.

Girl's Generation (Source: South Korea Addict)

However, not everything in the Korean Pop Idol training goes smoothly. Sometimes trainees get dropped from Companies because of lack of dedication or lack of confidence. Jaejoong left his family at the age of 15 to pursue a career in Kpop and had to work various jobs just to pay for training lessons. Other idols such as Doojoon and Hyunseung were dropped from YG Entertainment and JYP, but were later picked up by Cube Entertainment to form one of the most popular boy groups around, BEAST. All in all, it is an industry and definitely not an easy career path to maintain, however the benefits are very great if you succeed.

Sources: 

Woo, Jaeyeon. "Journey to K-Pop Star, 'I Am'" Korea Real Time RSS. Wall Street Journal, 3 May 2012.     Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2012/05/03/journey-to-k-pop-star-i-am/>.

Chan, Boon. "Triple Treat: Chinese Pop Music's A-list." Home. The Jakarta Post, 30 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/08/30/triple-treat-chinese-pop-musics-a-list.html>.

Trevor V's Blog

Source: http://ryanseacrest.com

Korean pop or K-pop has been taken over by the artist known as Psy. He has taken me and most of the world by surprise when his music video “Gangnam Style” went viral. One of the aspects of this music video which many people who have watched it enjoy is the dance. The dance is very funny and boisterous.  Shonali Muthalay describes the dance in his article “Decoding Gangnam Style” by saying, “Hands in front. Gallop. Shuffle. Imaginary lasso. All done Gangnam style.” This surprisingly is very accurate. This dance easier to catch than the common cold, it is very energetic.

The song is also very catchy because it is so out-of-whack compared to what we normally hear on the radio. The song as an object, represents culture bonding and mixing. According to Tom Snee in his article “Gangnam Style and substance”, “the video, especially, is an example of the song’s cross-cultural barrier breaking.” He also continues on to state that their (Korea’s music videos) are exactly like the ones in North America. While it may not look like it, PSY’s Gangnam Style has many A-list celebrities and idols just like the music videos here at home. Imagine if someone were to shoot a music video with the president. How much publicity would you expect the video to get? A bunch should be your answer. That is one of the many reasons this video spread so rapidly.

In the end, the video itself is quite hilarious. Whipped cream, vibrant colors, and even an “iconic horse dance” are all parts of the video which have attributed to its fame.  This video could be the ticket that k-pop needs to succeed in the United States. All music has to start from somewhere right? Why not from an elevator shaft in which a famous dancer is performing pelvic thrusts from above. Oppan Gangnam Style!

- Trevor Venable

Muthalay, Shonali. "Decoding Gangnam Style." Hindu. 17 2012: 1. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/decoding-gangnam-style/article3907181.ece>.

Snee, Tom. "Gangnam Style and substance." Iowa Now. 11 2012: 1. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://now.uiowa.edu/2012/11/gangnam-style-and-substance>.