¿?sick beats?¿ Special Edition: K-pop fans

Designed by: Lay Kai En, Ashley (21-O1)

Ah yes, the “kpop stan.” Just entering “why are kpop stans so…” into Google search will show a multitude of words used to autocomplete the search: “cringe”, “annoying”, “crazy”. The last word is especially interesting, as it really emphasises the intensity of the love that some Korean Pop (K-pop) fans have towards the genre, whether it be the music produced or more commonly, the idols singing and dancing to their songs. 

Many of us either are, or have friends who are, fans of K-pop and it’s easy to see why: the increasing relatability of idols and the lyrics of the music they produce, highly stylised and choreographed dance moves that make the music videos and stage performances movie-level productions, and just the sheer eye-candiness of our favourite idols (or “biases”, as lovingly coined by social media). However, there are some fans who undoubtedly take their love for these idols too far, and are thus termed by the internet as “stans”. 

But what is a “stan”? There are two theories as to the origin of the word being used to describe obsessive and unhealthy fan behaviour. Firstly, Eminem’s 2001 song featuring Dido, “Stan”, which traces the journey that the titular Eminem fan takes through several letters that Eminem raps about. His obsession with the rapper goes so far that (spoiler alert!), he locks his pregnant girlfriend in the trunk of his car, and drives the both of them off a cliff. Another theory to how the word came about is much simpler: simply the combination of the words “stalker” and “fan”. From these two theories about the origin of the word, we can already see how intense the love these fans have towards their celebrity loves and idols is. 

K-pop has especially gotten flak for the toxicity of their stans whereby they would go to lengths just to prove that their favourite band was better than everyone else’s. A particular fandom comes to mind - ARMYs, the community known notoriously for tearing down anyone who does not place BTS on a pedestal like they do. A fan of another band could make a simple remark on how BTS’ new song did not excite them and they would be doxxed in one second with death threats hurled at them. Such behaviour feels eerily similar to those of a cult, wherein every member needs to have the exact same opinion in order to fit in and will be dealt with severely if they express a different view. Whenever a new single is released, there will be an endless scroll of praise for their boys with no constructively critical remark in sight. 

To ensure that their favourite bands are seen as the kings or queens of K-pop, fans are also avid critics of other groups who may be more, equally or even less successful than their idols, giving rise to the phenomenon known as “fanwars”. Fans of different groups take it out on social media usually to unleash utterly demeaning remarks about other groups who may have recently gained traction, just so the spotlight is not shone away from their idols. The classic example of EXO fans and BTS fans illustrate this very well - every time either group makes a comeback, the other group’s fans will immediately criticise the members’ dancing and singing skills and even their appearances. They always make sure to end off their ranting episodes with a comparison with their boys. Tweets like “exo’s choreo is not as hard as bts yet they still manage to screw it up. Pack it up”, though cringe-inducing, are not uncommon. 

Even worse, some Kpop fans have gotten so obsessive that they start intruding the homes of or chasing the vehicles that idols use. These fans are typically termed as “sasaengs”, and their behaviours are usually unwarranted, sometimes getting heavily criticised by their fandom members or the Korean media. Instances of such unfortunate incidents include when WAYV, the China unit of K-pop boy group NCT, was filming one of the videos in their undisclosed schedule. Despite the freezing weather, sasaengs were spotted photographing the members at their filming location. They were later called out publicly by members on social media. 

Furthermore, such actions from these overzealous fans actually negatively impacts their idols' psychological health. It is known that idols struggle very much when dealing with such fans. They develop mental conditions like paranoia and anxiety which affects their performances. However, most entertainment companies can only take this much legal action or encourage their idols to adopt public shaming methods. Being a “sasaeng” fan usually doesn't end well. They face fines and jail terms, but what happens after that? Let us all give the idols the privacy they deserve! 

However, it would be too one-dimensional to say that all K-pop fans are bad, since there are also fans that stand up for their idols. For example, when Got7 was about to disband, AhGaSe, their fandom, were upset that their company JYP was not taking care of their members properly over the years. The last straw was the contractual situation of Got7 being mishandled. AhGaSes’ had enough of their idols getting mistreated or forgotten for company activities, thus they sent a truck in front of the company office with captions displayed demanding the company to treat the members better. While the #FairTreatment for Got7 was trending worldwide on Twitter, many fans supported their idols doing solo activities and being in charge of themselves. It can be seen that not all fans are toxic in nature and that there are fans out there that are genuinely concerned about their idols. 

In summary, the view that K-pop fans are purely toxic and even dangerous may be too one-sided and based on a few bad apples within the community. Even so, K-pop fans should remember to heed the boundaries set by the idols, their managing company and even normal social boundaries. Nonetheless, the love for K-pop is able to enrich lives and fuel people to support those that they love and idolise, as well as build a wholesome community. So go ahead, be a fan, and belt your heart out alongside your favourite idols! 

References

1. A. (2020, June 26). Stop Celebrating Stan Culture. It’s Toxic. Junkee. https://junkee.com/stan-culture-toxic/259044

2. Times, K. (2018, August 6). When K-pop superfans turn ugly – the dark side of the Korean pop culture phenomenon, where admiration turns. . . South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2158408/when-k-pop-superfans-turn-ugly-dark-side-korean-pop-culture-phenomenon

3. Vanderstraaten, J. (2019, January 22). Are All BTS Fans Just Unstable, Toxic, Screaming Teenagers? RICE. https://www.ricemedia.co/culture-events-are-bts-fans-unstable-toxic-screaming-teenagers/