From a Fan to a Stalker: The Spectrum of Fan Attitudes in Korean Culture Industry

Authors

  • Marta Lewandowska Independent Researcher

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/LL.4.2022.006

Keywords

fan, fandom, idol, Korea, grassroots practices, parasocial relationship, Gilles Deleuze

Abstract

The article characterizes three fannish attitudes among South Korean audience of popular culture – the True Fan, the Ani-Fan and the Saseang (Obsessive Fan) by discussing fan activities and practices. The author puts particular emphasis on the Korean music industry, and its top-down way of structuring and manipulating the fan-object of affection as well as intra-fandom relationships through enforcing models of behavior and interaction with idols among fans. The category of parasocial relationship is key to this analysis as central to Korean pop culture industry; other concepts discussed include bottom-up and top-down practices and Deleuze’s rhizomatic concept of culture, especially fitting for a discussion concerning the fan niche system found in South Korea as well as the interactions between the fandom and the pop culture industry.

References

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Literatura Ludowa. Journal of Folklore and Popular Culture

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Published

2022-12-30

How to Cite

1.
LEWANDOWSKA, Marta. From a Fan to a Stalker: The Spectrum of Fan Attitudes in Korean Culture Industry. Literatura Ludowa. Journal of Folklore and Popular Culture. Online. 30 December 2022. Vol. 66, no. 4, pp. 91-104. [Accessed 18 May 2025]. DOI 10.12775/LL.4.2022.006.

Issue

Vol. 66 No. 4 (2022)

Section

Articles

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