Fandom: A Closer Inspection on Kpop Fandom

As I’ve stated in the past I’m a fan of Korean Music and one of the largest pieces of this interest comes with the collective of the fandom. Personally I’m not usually one to be extroverted, but when it comes to things like concerts or fanmeets…well this is one area where I will actually go out so that I can join the masses so I can actually experience something with the crowd. It’s an amazing experience that is hard to really put into words, but being able to see something first hand and getting to share it with thousands of other people at an event is just one of the best feelings in the world to me. Plus I’ve made many friends when going to these events and I’ve been given a chance to meet many people from other states and countries that I met previously via online due to being in similar circles involved in fandom.

That being said though, there is a negative to fandom that can be quite deterring when you’ve been a part of it for so long. When you're in a fandom where a good majority of the girls involved are probably in the 13-18 demographic it is common to find things involving jealousy when a band member either is casted in a movie where he has to kiss a girl or a scandal breaks and he is suddenly in a relationship you knew nothing about. Just recently the news broke about Lee Taemin of Shinee getting a chance to join We Got Married. This is a show where two idols are paired together for a season and go through all the steps as if they have been married and the ups and downs that can come with it. Previously his bandmate Kim Jonghyun had a scandal that involved him dating Shin Sekyung, which ultimately resulted in a large drop out of Blingers (fan name for Kim Jonghyun fans) in the fandom. It was only when the news came out that they had broken up that he really found his footing again with some of his fans. 

The negative though that I am getting sidetracked from is about delusional mindsets. When fans stop realizing or taking into account that the people we enjoy to watch and fanboy or fangirl over are actually 'people'. Not just some supreme being that does everything right and is forever just commercially produced for our enjoyment. They have a job, they are doing their job to entertain us. They are also people that need some sense of joy outside of that job also and they shouldn't have to worry that any little misstep of theirs is going to lead to the fallout of the fandom for them. It's days like this that I feel like the latter person above. I wish to sometimes step back from the fandom so that I only have to support the music group while not partaking in the fandom side of it anymore.