Fans Or Foes: Parasocialism In The K-Pop Industry

When it comes to K-pop, love for the industry is much more than just the music. There’s so much to appreciate and adore, from music videos and concepts to performances and wardrobes; the industry is multifaceted and groundbreaking. 

What makes it all the more unique, however, is the culture that seems to exist within it. While it’s important to note that this only concerns a select number of them, fans of K-pop artists tend to get overly comfortable with how they act towards their favourite singers, more commonly referred to as “idols.” 

Events hosted by K-pop artists increase opportunities for fans to interact with idols, often having them partake in “fan service” — a phrase used by fandoms to describe things idols will do at the request of their fans, like saying a cheesy line or showing their muscles. 

With these interactions comes a handful of uncomfortable situations for the artists who have to find ways to react to inappropriate and flirtatious comments or odd requests in ways that don’t anger their fans. 

For years, fans and artists seem to be locked in a cycle where fans exploit a sense of entitlement to control their idols and the artist simply complies. Whether it’s a minor event like waiting for an idol to arrive at the airport or something extremely questionable like making an idol end their relationship, parasocialism in K-pop is a pressing issue, to say the very least.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, by definition, “parasocial” means “involving or relating to a connection between a person and someone they do not know personally.” While the music industry, as a whole, has never been a stranger to these kinds of fan and artist relationships, recently, the phenomenon has gotten out of hand.

Enter Seunghan, a 21-year-old K-pop idol who made his debut as a member of the boy group RIIZE in September 2023. Unfortunately, his skills, talent, and mere existence as an artist were not enough to prolong his career. 

In November, just two months after his debut, Seunghan was put on an indefinite hiatus for mild reasons that shocked many, especially fans outside of South Korea. 

In the months prior, on two separate occasions, private photos showing Seunghan with a girl and smoking in public were leaked and circulated online, igniting an uproar of conversation from social media users. 

These accounts of Seunghan’s private life were deemed just too unacceptable by some fans, who sent immense amounts of hate and criticism the idol’s way. Fans in support of him went as far as making petitions in hopes of getting RIIZE’s production team, Wizard Entertainment, to end his hiatus; Seunghan would ultimately be absent from group activities for 10 months. 

On Oct. 11, 2024, it was finally announced that Seunghan would be returning to the group, and fans in South Korea went ballistic. 

Despite both an official statement made by Wizard Entertainment and a handwritten letter posted by Seunghan on the social media platform Weverse, it was instantly clear that people still hadn’t forgotten his “un-idol-like” past and would stop at nothing to keep him out of the group.

This disapproval from RIIZE fans led to the horrifying initiative of sending funeral wreaths to the group’s company, SM Entertainment, headquarters.  

With messages attached to them saying phrases like “Rest In Peace Seunghan” and “Seunghan Out,” these wreaths surrounded the company’s building, making two things obvious: fans will not hesitate to voice their opinions over a decision that was not theirs to make, and fans will go to whatever extent to make their opinions heard, no matter how inconsiderate. 

Fans’ reactions to Seunghan’s return were the complete opposite of what was expected that, just 48 hours after the initial announcement, Wizard Entertainment made another official statement. But this time, it detailed Seunghan’s decision to permanently leave RIIZE and end his time with the group. And like for his return announcement, Seunghan again posted a handwritten letter through Weverse. 

Mentioning how coming back to RIIZE had caused more hurt and outrage than relief and satisfaction, both the official company statement and Seunghan’s personal letter discuss how departing from the group was the best decision. 

With the group of angered fans based in South Korea finally satisfied, fans from other countries were not. Those who were wishing for the end of Seunghan’s hiatus couldn’t properly celebrate his return before having to then discover his permanent withdrawal from RIIZE. 

The reaction from these fans sparked a public petition that garnered more than 300,000 signatures to protest Seunghan’s departure and try to get the attention of SM Entertainment to hopefully reverse their decision.  

While Seunghan’s run with RIIZE has reached its end and his leaving the company seems set in stone, this storyline is just one of many that portray the intense and unethical motivations of some K-pop fans. 

But what makes this situation different from the rest is that it seems to have sparked the most amount of discussion amongst the community, grabbing the attention of idols too, because, how could it not have?

The hate Seunghan received came at a time when other scandals amidst companies were happening. This all brought Seungkwan of the boy group SEVENTEEN to make a post on his personal Instagram account addressing the recent turmoil in the industry. 

In the long, vulnerable caption, the post voices Seungkwan’s wish for fans to treat idols’ lives with more grace rather than seeing them as items they can easily judge and create narratives about. 

Addressing fans, Seungkwan explains, “We are not people whose work has been easy and gentle to the point of receiving judgement and rumours so easily by you. You don’t have the right to so easily meddle into our story.” 

Through this heartfelt post, Seungkwan addresses the biggest problem in the industry: actions going way too far. 

As David Tizzard writes in the Korean Times, “An idol is not meant to have opinions, not meant to date, not meant to be subjective or demonstrate agency. An idol is to be a pure creation. It exists only for the fans’ happiness.”

But that shouldn’t be the case. Fans shouldn’t feel the liberty to dictate and manipulate simply because they bring artists success. 

With all the events that have ensued one after the other in this short time, the K-pop industry is in dire need of repair. There are issues of entitlement and respecting boundaries, and this must change. It shouldn’t take the destruction of a young man’s career or the begging of an established idol to do so. 

When it comes to the relationship between fans and idols in the K-pop industry, there shouldn’t be the question of where the line defining what “appropriate conduct” is. Instead, the question that should be asked is, why is the line only just starting to be drawn now?

• entertainment
• fans
• idols
• kpop
• music
• parasocialism
• riize
• seventeen kpop