Pop City by Youjeong Oh

Author:Youjeong Oh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cornell University Press

The Formation of International Fandom

K-pop producers’ recent profit-diversification schemes are designed to meet demand from global K-pop fans. The formation of international fandom has opened substantial new markets for the Korean idol industry, which had fully saturated the small domestic market. The globalization of K-pop, however, did not come about entirely accidentally; planning and preparation for overseas expansion, mainly on the part of the major agencies, had been going on for over a decade. SM Entertainment has been at the forefront of this endeavor; its distinctive departure from its own Japanese models of idol production lies in exports. The member composition of each idol group reflects these outward-looking intentions: even the first-generation idol groups in the late 1990s had at least one member who was fluent in English, such as Tony in H.O.T or Eugene in S.E.S. Lee Soo-man, a founder of SME, talked about the three steps in SM’s globalization process: exporting cultural products, international collaborations, and globalization. Lee stated: “The first level of Hallyu is the exportation of cultural products, which is exemplified by BoA and TVXQ’s advancement into Japan. The collaboration between KangTa and Taiwanese singer Vanness Wu is an example of the second level.”36 Exports are conducted through indigenization, or localization, a process in which idols brush up on the language of the local market in which they will be sold. In the first case of localization, BoA set about launching herself in the Japanese market by strategically creating a nationless image: she perfected her Japanese and did not mention her nationality. Coproduction with a Japanese entertainment firm, AVEX, also helped in branding BoA as a hybrid commodity. Building on BoA’s success, more SME artists, including TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, and Super Junior, were able to break into the Japanese market.

The final step in localization is completed through the direct training of local talent. Agencies scout young talents from various national backgrounds, educate them in Korea, and launch a group for the local markets by combining them with Korean members. EXO-K and EXO-M were twin groups that performed the same songs in Korean and Mandarin. Although it finally broke up after Chinese members took SME to court to be removed from the group, EXO-M originally consisted of two Koreans and four Chinese who were trained in Korea. The members of SME’s f(x) include one Chinese and one Taiwanese American, and JYPE’s TWICE is made up of three Japanese and one Taiwanese. Chung Wook, a chairperson of JYPE, has also suggested similar strategies for globalization: “The final goal is to export our system and product content using the local talents in local language. We try to establish a platform in which the local capital can cooperate with our system.”37

Entertainment agencies’ export and indigenization strategies have nurtured a sizable K-pop fandom in the East and Southeast Asian market. Besides producers’ efforts, however, a variety of factors have contributed to the expansion of international K-pop fandom beyond East Asia, including to North America, South America, and Europe. Most credit

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