Are you an “army” of BTS? A “blink” of Blackpink? Or perhaps an “NCTzen” of NCT? For the uninitiated, these are the names of some of the world’s biggest K-pop – or Korean pop music – idol groups. Names that flow through the cafeterias, classrooms, and hallways of just about every school. And their influence on teenagers’ lives, from daily routines to behaviors and even financial decisions, cannot be overstated.

BTS, currently the most celebrated K-pop idol boy group, has taken home an astounding ten Billboard awards over the past four years. Meanwhile, BLACKPINK – also from South Korea – has garnered more than 1.6 billion YouTube views since releasing their music video, “DDU-DUDDU-DU,” three years ago. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as the genre is saturated with innumerable acts, and a constant stream of programming continuously pumps out new groups and new fans that, in turn, create new “fandoms.”

But what does it mean to be part of a fandom? And just how deep can a teen fall into it?

Fandoms can be fun!

The primary reason many teenagers begin their journey in K-pop culture is simply for fun. Oftentimes, joining a fandom is the result of innocuously clicking on a YouTube video or following the recommendation of a friend, and then developing a crush on the idol. Ideally, an innocent bond forms and the fan gets to attend events where they have the opportunity to meet new, like-minded teens.

Fandom as an entrepreneurial endeavor

An often-overlooked advantage of joining a fandom is that participants actually stand to develop some pretty incredible organizing skills on their fan journey! One of my friends, 15-year-old Dora H. – who’s currently studying in the US – is a fan of a popular Chinese boy band. To celebrate one member’s birthday, she contacted two other fans online and put together a three-day event, hosted at a café in Sanlitun. While some might balk at the idea of throwing a birthday party for a celebrity, the process allowed Dora to develop some important life skills such as making agreements with the café, promoting the event, and creating unique merchandise to be given out to attendees.

The event was a huge success, attracting numerous fans whom the girls had never met before. By contributing to the fan community, then seeing her efforts appreciated by others, it gave Dora – and countless other youths who organize similar events for their fandom – a unique sense of belonging, the kind that makes you feel like you’re contributing to a greater community; something larger than yourself. Similarly, another friend of mine who attends Harrow International School Beijing (HISB) made more than RMB 800 by selling merchandise she designed for her favorite idol group.

Likewise, because the idols are “decorated” by their companies, i.e. creating a persona that’s all but flawless, teenage fans are thus motivated to be better people in their own right.

And yet, while there are a ton of benefits, we can’t overlook the flip side, for there are some darker corners lurking in any fandom…

Fandoms require a lot of dedication, sometimes at the expense of other priorities

For students, myself included, time is scarce. And unfortunately, it requires a lot of time and effort to follow all the news about an idol, watch all of their performances, recognize all the members in a group – which sometimes get into the double-digits –  and remember everyone’s “character.” This is time that could have been spent studying or doing other, perhaps arguably more meaningful things.

Fandoms aren’t cheap

Another overlooked downside is the cost involved. Given that serious competition can develop between different fandoms, both eager to prove their idol group is the greatest, fans will sometimes spend insane amounts of money to buy multiple copies of their albums to drive up sales numbers, not to mention other merchandise and products that are endorsed by their idols.

When fandoms enter the public sphere

There’s a litany of other minor, but annoying issues that impact the public as well. For instance, fans will commonly wait at airports for their idol’s arrival, resulting in astonishingly massive crowds. As a fan myself, I totally understand this behavior as I too have been motivated by the desire to see my idol. However, there’s no denying that it poses a serious inconvenience for airport staff and travelers.

When big business exploits fandoms

Lastly, one of this year’s hottest idol producing programs, Youth With You (青春有你), was sponsored by a beverage company. While it’s not uncommon for companies to sponsor such programming, what launched this particular sponsorship into controversy was the fact that one way to vote for a participant was to buy the sponsor’s products. One can of their drink equaled one vote. As a result, many fans bought enormous quantities of the drink, only to dump it all out and use the vote. The insidious product advertising that slipped into this fandom truly belies the positive image that pop idol culture tries to sell.

As teenagers, we are both consciously and unconsciously looking for role models to emulate. We need these fandoms, but what we don’t need are the obsessive behaviors that burn through our wallets, and create problems for others. So let’s try to keep that fan fever in check.

Are you a pop idol fan? Tell us about your favorite in the comments below!

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Images: Dora H, BLACKPINK，BTS&GOT7 via Instagram

The beginning feels like the end. The end of traditional Chinese entertainment brought forth new beginnings, namely Korean pop idol culture, which grew globally like a golden apple tree against the frosted Eden of artistic consumerism.

K-pop idols have dream lives, dream talents, and dream hearts aglow a dreamy spine. They thrive on phantasmagoric scopes of intricate choreography, synthetic voices, and eccentric stage fashion, but ultimately, their modus operandi to achieving elusive popularity is archetyping: K-pop idols must share personality traits of a fan’s ideal self-image to sell a self-inserting fantasy.

Interestingly enough, this entire construct of fresh and whimsical manufacturing, packaging, and marketing of archetypes also appears in Beijing. Here, it shows up on TikTok, Instagram, and WeChat Moments, which teenagers browse daily, hourly, and with crackling candor, minutely. To fully grasp this mushroom garden of Chinese archetypes, blooming after the summer pour of Korean pioneers, we shall compare some examples.

The Queen Bee

Did Elizabeth want to be the queen of England? No, she was born to be. BLACKPINK member Jennie Kim fits this Queen Bee archetype: A natural leader; a crowning debutante. She’s all about European vacations and luxury fashion.

The Chinese version is strangely skewed, namely the ABG (Asian Born Gangsters, an awful, awful name!), which entails a confident socialite who’s typically bold, chaotic, and wields marvelous make-up. Whilst the Korean prototype portrays conservative chic, the Chinese doppelganger involves some materialistic lust in the stylings of American pop culture, such as carousing and modeling. This certainly appeals to an exclusive milieu of young, audacious, international teenagers.

The Nymphet

Another idol archetype is for “maknaes” (a Korean term for the youngest in a group), also called the “Nymphet”, derived from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel “Lolita”. Think American Sweethearts, Lana Del Rey, red lollipops, red lipstick, hair ribbons, and baby doll dresses.

This archetype usually makes its appearance in Beijing via Japanese anime cosplay, which in itself spawned an entire Lolita subculture. Typically, Asian or culturally neutral archetypes gain greater success than western ones because the latter is deemed too “ostentatious” or “suggestive” for reticent Chinese youth. Nonetheless, occidental students at international schools enjoy powerful, flamboyant archetypes like the ABG, rather than simpler, cuter aesthetics.

Therefore, Chinese archetypes reside on two opposite ends of the spectrum, in order to satisfy these two often clashing audiences: The traditional “Girl-Next-Door” charm of minimalism, innocence, and natural beauty, or the Americanized “Rich Suburbanite” implosion of materialism, worldliness, and extravagant fashion.

Unfortunately, neither of the Chinese replications transcended their Korean instigators. K-pop idols are more unique and unpredictable because they blend western boldness smoothly with Asian genteelness. This cultural ambiguity means a random teenager can strike up small talk with her favorite archetype, be friends, and eventually become her rather easily because she is extremely believable, relatable, full of human curves and warmth.

Akin to cherry phosphates, too much gas distorts the flavor, while too much cherry smothers it instead. It will require time and practice for Chinese archetypes to concoct their own golden grace.

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Images: Red Velvet Album Cover, Jennie Kim, Dominique Swain, Jang Won Young