REVISED Last Fans Standing: Veteran Fans of K-pop

Crystal S. Anderson, PhD Associate Professor of English, Longwood University One of the things that happens when conducting qualitative surveys is that they can raise more questions than they answer. This is what happened with the preliminary data from Last Fans Standing: Longtime and Adult Fans of Korean Popular Music (K-pop). Response rates were unusually low,…

Like Vs. Love: Research Reveals Degrees of Attachment Among K-pop Fans

K-pop is well-known for the introduction of new groups, even while established groups continue to thrive. But are fans fickle in their K-pop choices? Do they abandon older groups for newer groups? Research suggests that while K-pop fans readily accept new groups, they have a deeper connection with veteran groups. These conclusions are based on data…

f(x): The Perfect Formula

f(x) debuted in 2009 under the SM Entertainment label. That same year, After School, 2NE1, and BEAST (B2ST) also were introduced to Kpop fans. f(x) has five members: Song Qian (Victoria), Amber Josephine Liu (Amber), Park Sun Young (Luna), Choi Jin Ri (Sulli) and Jung Soo Jung (Krystal). The group is known for its international…

iFans Case Studies Status Update

If you keep with research on K-pop, you may be aware of the iFans: Mapping Kpop’s International Fandom project.  The surveys that make up the qualitative studies seek to understand how the fandoms differ from one another and their relationship to the groups they support. K-pop fans know that the fandoms are unique. Because they…

Pure Love f(x): Feminisms and K-pop Girl Groups

Crystal S. Anderson, PhD Associate Professor, Elon University (U.S.) K-pop girl groups tend to be described as sexy, fierce or cute.  Some suggest that images of fierceness encourage girls to be empowered, while images of cuteness take away their agency.  However, responses by fans of f(x), a K-pop female group, suggest that fans prefer unique…

iFans: Mapping Kpop’s International Fandom

IFANS: Mapping K-pop’s International Fandom is a scholarly research project that examines global fan attitudes and activities through surveys, collection of information on online communities and analysis of websites.  Crystal S. Anderson, PhD (Elon University) is the Principal Investigator of the studies and Curator of the iFans project site.

KPK 2.0: The Next Generation of K-pop Profiles

As you know, KPK is dedicated to collecting information about Hallyu-era K-pop. To that end, we are in the process of creating enhanced profiles of Kpop artists and groups, with even more information! KPOPIANA is a collaborative digital humanities project that aims to collect and organize information about Korean popular music of the Hallyu era (1992-present)….