Making icons: the rise of the K-pop adjacent industries

Abstract

Much scholarship on the labor of Korean popular music (K-pop) fans has focused on the work they do to produce popularity of their favorite groups, such as campaigns to chart a new release. The focus of this article is how fans have become producers of items and services consumed by other fans, not just cheerleaders or consumers. In tandem with K-pop’s success, an entire secondary industry that is dependent on K-pop’s popularity, while also amplifying it, has emerged. The K-pop industry is now supporting and supported by a multitude of people, some of whom seek the lime-light and others who eschew it, who may be earning money through various K-pop-dependent activities—secondary yet autonomous industries. These participants support K-pop fandom, and may even become secondary stars. I conducted in-person and online interviews with producers and consumers of goods and services related to K-pop. These industries have become an integral part of K-pop today, introducing and enabling personal encounters with K-pop and Korea. As the young entrepreneurs of the K-pop adjacent industries pour energy into not just consumption but also creative endeavors, they make K-pop highly interactive. First, these industries have created a bridge—an area of interaction, exchange, and education between Korean musical stars and their non-Korean fans. Second, the industries have emerged as an economically significant aspect of the K-pop ecosystem. Third, this K-pop adjacent industry demonstrates a future area of tension over ownership of culture.