Fansumer, The New Wind of Consumerism

Flamboyant balloons and sparkling happy birthday letters are hanging on the walls. The rest of the walls are decorated with printed posters of K-Pop idol, Jeno, a member of NCT. Scores of people are assembled in the cafe, drinking a cup of coffee equipped with a cup sleeve with his picture and enjoying specially decorated desserts with their friends. Even the playlist is full of songs of NCT. Here is Jeno’s birthday party without Jeno, celebrated by his fans. 

Birthday Café celebrations are common fan-organized K-pop related events in South Korea.Simply put, it is a small birthday party opened by fans and for the fans.Starting from planning, promoting, decorating and selecting a location, it is all 100% orchestrated by enthusiastic devotees. Upon your visit to such a café,with 5,000 won, you can grab a cute cup sleeve with your favorite K-pop idol’s picture, photocards and special goodies. Also, with extra money, you are also able to taste specially decorated desserts like cakes or cookies with your bias's picture drawn on it. The one and only goodies and desserts are sincerely designed and created by fans for their satisfaction and happiness of other supporters as well.

In this cafe,admirers have a blast talking about their favorite K-POP singers, seeing high quality photos of their idols and watching their videos with wide screen all together. For K-POP lovers, it is part of their to-do lists to visit all of the birthday cafes in Seoul. Furthermore, fans across the globe visit Seoul only to enjoy birthday café celebrations. Beyond Asia, these cultures emerged as a worldwide sensation even in Singapore, America and Europe.  

Here are interviews from two K-POP enthusiasts from Japan’s Showa Women’s University who have a special bond with Sungshin Women’s University through the Asian Women’s Leadership Exchange Program:

Riho: In January, I stayed in Korea to look around EXO Kai’s birthday café with my friend. I collected some related information from Twitter. Attracted by the cup holders and photo exhibition by Hompage master*, I decided to tour the birthday café. When I entered café, I couldn’t repress a smile. The atmosphere was so nice that me and my friend could stay there for hours. I don’t have any experience of holding this kind of event, but if there is a chance, I wish to! But managing this kind of event from A to Z is a hard nut to crack.

Haruka: I visited EXO Kai and D.O’s birthday café with Riho. The information about the event was mainly gleaned from Twitter and websites. I got some photocards and goods of Kai and D.O. Me and my friend stayed in Seoul a few days to celebrate our beloved artist’s birthday in his home country. Although the cup holder was no really necessary to me, since touring birthday cafés are one of K-POP enthusiasts’ ritual, I had fun and unforgettable time with my friend. I wish to go back to Korea again! 

This type of phenomenon can be explained by 2020's neo-term 'Fansumer'. First introduced by Professor Nando Kim from Seoul National University, ‘Fansumer’ is a compound word of 'Fan' and 'Consumer’, describing consumers who are not only engaged in giving one-sided affection and consumption, but reciprocally investing and planning. Simply, they can be described as both passionate and productive consumers. As the millennial generation’s consumption trend has changed from ‘experience’ to ‘engagement’, there are various activities of fansumers besides birthday café events.

A few years ago, ‘Produce 101’, a survival program required audiences’ votes and participation to their favorites among 101 K-POP boy band and girl group trainees. Also, ‘Mr.Trot’ and ‘Miss Trot’ can be another example of fansumer oriented tv-shows, especially enticing middle-aged fans. Both are alike in that the viewers vote and promote their favorite participants avidly for their adored ones’ debut and promotion. Moreover, the birthday advertisements designed and paid by fans are hung in Seoul’s crowded areas like Hongdae or Gangnam station to congratulate and advertise their celebrities’ birthday. The impact of Fansumerism can be found even in the Crowd-funding market.Crowd-funding is the best example to represent Fansumerism. For instance, the production of movie <Kim Ji-Young, born in 1982> was the result of crowdfunding by the fansumers who were fans of the original book.

Engaged in both investment and production processes, consumers ardently support and consume due to the feelings of amusement and achievements. For this reason,more and more people are proud to be fans. Also phrased as the ‘By-Me Syndrome’,believing great and small changes are occurred by the ardent consumers,themselves. They are slowly but steadily broadening their spectrum.

Even though the concept of ‘Fansumers’ can be totally new, it already pervaded our daily lives. It is not just a distinctive phenomenon cropped up only in K-pop culture anymore. It is profoundly related to the new type of consumerism, hugely influencing as a new culture. At the onset of fansumer, what do you think about experiencing K-pop birthday celebration with your friends as a refresh to your plain life?

*Homepage masters (Homma):Ardent admirers who run sites or social network service accounts for fans of certain K-pop stars. They are not paid; they take a picture of K-Pop idols with high-performance DSLR cameras and share high-quality pictures and videos of K-Pop stars on their homepages. (ABC news)

By Kim Chaiwon Reporter (chaiiwonn@gmail.com)