The Curious Adventure of a K-pop Fan
[vc_row][vc_column][thb_border][vc_column_text]The Takeaway
We have seen too many inexplicable cases where a fan tries to express their love for their idol, but KMM is somewhat special. She breaks the stereotype of a K-pop fan. Between her life as an ordinary woman and a passionate fan for her idol, she seems to be able to maintain a delicate balance.[/vc_column_text][/thb_border][vc_column_text]
On a Saturday morning, KKM overslept her alarm, realizing there was little time for her to make it in
time to the airport and take the next flight to Korea. She drove her car out of the garage in a hurry and saw a black cash truck in front of the bank near her house. Driving in drowsiness, she thought the space was enough for her to drive through but she still scratched the cash truck. Startled by the sound, the security guard came to her window with a gun and motioned to her to stop for a while. Hands on the steering wheel, the sound that echoed in her mind were the tickling of the clock and roaring of plane engine.
Currently working in a state-owned corporation, KMM is also the founder and the only member of the site “Collapsar0330” , a fan website of Korean Rapper, pop group Winner’s member Song Min Ho.
“Why do I Fly To See Someone So Far From My Life?”
In 2013, after watching the competition that Song Min Ho took part in, KMM immediately fell in love with this ambitious and energetic boy. In 2014 she saw Song in flesh for the first time at his concert tour. “I started this fan site because I thought he was really a talented boy but was not so popular. I wanted to do something for him and let more people know about him and like him. I am not the person with big dream, but I will be happy if I can help to achieve his.” KMM said.
She said she didn’t expect that her affection to this idol would lead her into being a webmaster that follows idol everywhere. This is her first time being a fan.
Normally, a webmaster will find like-minded fans to help him operating the website after he establish one since the basic things that he has to do such as buying gifts, following idol, taking picture, beautification and supporting all cost money and time. But KMM is different. She takes all the routine work for the website, at her own cost. She said: “It is more convenient to do things solo. I made my own effort, spent my own money and don’t need to discuss with anyone else.”
In In the view of other fans, the webmaster of Collapsar0330 leads a very happy life since she can often fly to different places to see her idol and join all kinds of activities- Song Min Ho has even worn the clothes and shoes KMM sent. At the same time however, there are also people judging her as a spoiled silver-spoon kid.
But KMM’s job is not that easy. The tightest schedule she remembered was taking a flight in the late night to Korea after getting off work, going to the concert the next day, and taking the latest flight that day to go back to China. There are also cases where she had to suffer financial losses. For example, one Friday the working conference ended late and she hurried to the airport after work. On the road, she hit another car by accident. No time to wait for the insurance company, she was extorted by that driver a thousand RMB and moved on.
Why did she have to take part in those kind of backup activities? KMM also felt confused sometimes, wondering “why am I here” and lost the sense of space and time when she landed in Seoul. “Why do I force myself to catch the flight to see someone so far from my life?” She felt really tired, “I could have been home and sleep after work if I don’t have to take a flight this weekend.”
Another experience is flying to Korea to see a one-minute public appearance of Song. She said that was a special activity because the group Song was undergoing a gap that last a year and a half, during which period many fan websites closed. So, she thought she had to fly there even she could only see him for one minute. She felt it was not a pity as long as she can deliver the letters and gifts to the agent.
Last year Song Min Ho took part in a competition and was under great pressure in the beginning with many vicious criticisms. She felt there was nothing else she can do to help him except going to the recording room to support him through every record. Since the show was recorded on workdays, she used perhaps a hundred reasons to ask for leave: catching cold, having fever, receiving tooth extraction, having urgent family affairs, handling procedures for house purchase and so on.
After spending that hard time with her idol, she went back to the normal pace of life and only went to those activities that would not influence her own work. Basically, she would be present in all the activities that were arranged in weekends.
“This is the relationship between idols and fans. Our purpose is simply to let him know that we are there to support him.” KMM said, and added: “Isn’ it strange?”
When introducing these experiences of hers, KMM was just talking blandly. “I only feel that I was indeed making too much effort after someone described me as ‘die-hard fan’. But from my own point of view, I am just a fan that would go to see her idol when time and money permit.”
The Account Book For Chasing a Star
“I pay for my idol. My family pay for me.”
If not to be a fan, KMM imagined her life to be simply staying in home, watching TV after work, shopping with friends on weekends, buying things she likes with salary and spending her vacations, twice a year, travailing in places she hasn’t been to. Now although she is not living very frugally with all her journeys, when she runs out of makeups, she has to casually grab some in the airport duty-free shops and continue her rush to the boarding gate. When she shopped in Korea, she could only take the clothes she fancied and paid without trying on because there was not enough time left before the rehearsal she was going to see.
Actually, there are potential fortunes await for the operators of fans websites.
Some of the fan-site operators will buy albums for the fans from Korea and sell products to make up for their expenses in following idols. There are also posts written by experienced operators telling how to make a fans website more influential through fans fundraising. But KMM doesn’t want to raise such funds. “If you ask operating partners to cover expenses together, you have to consider about his or her opinions and feelings, and things will be more complicated. Maybe that will also deprive me of my pleasure in making effort for this website.”
Once KMM bought nearly 2000 albums from Korea on behalf of some fans. As a novice operator with no knowledge of market information, she only converted the price to RMB and even cut the odds for selling price. While other album agent sell at 85 to 100 RMB, she sold hers at 80 RMB only, and had to pay more than 2,000 RMB postage at her own cost.
She has made some theme calendars and mobile phone cases. She designed, contacted factories, affirmed the quality and followed the manufacturing process all by herself. These products were not made in large quantity and were exclusive so the cost was higher than she thought. But she still sold them at a very low price.When it comes to the money she spent on operating the fans website, she said, “Let’s not talk about money. From my point of view, whether you follow an idol or not, however much your salary is, you can never have enough money to spend.”
On Song’s birthday, besides sending birthday gift, KMM also spent 20,000 RMB to design and display a billboard in a busy Korean subway station. KMM designed the billboard creatively in the form of Instagram which cleverly revealed the Instagram account and fans website’s name.
Thanks to following Song, KMM learned a whole set of extra skills including supporting, photographing, photo processing, following schedule, following information in traveling, fashion and design, watching fashion week and paying attention to buyer shop and new designer brand. Sometimes she would stay up until 3 am, busy managing her website. She said that following idol makes her an all-round player. Starting without designing background, she now received many offers from design company in Weibo.
When KMM’s mother saw the beautiful website that her daughter created she was surprised and proud, curiously asking her daughter about the number of followers the website has, and praised KMM’s photography skills. In fact, KMM knew well that she could not have been following her idol so freely without the support from her family: the SLR she uses to take pictures was bought by her mother. Sometimes her father would drive her from the airport just to send her back to work in time.
Her dad once asked her, “This guy you like, does he sing well?”
KMM said with a serious face: “Dad, he is a rapper.”
“It Is Not That Romantic To Be Close To a Star”
KMM can’t speak Korean and doesn’t have time to learn, so she seldom leaves only messages for Song. “I only want to express my support. Sometimes it is not that romantic to be too close. Maybe the person I like just exist on stage; fans perceive idols the way they want to see.”
Many crazy female fans regard their male idols as imaginary boyfriend or brother and nicknamed them as “hubby” or “baby”. KMM said that generally she called Song Min Ho “Doudou” or just his English name MINO. She doesn’t have those intimate fantasies to be closer to her idol or even to be a part of his life one day.
In comparison to those peripheral fans, KMM has more chances to see Song. She even became a familiar face to his agents and guards. Once during album recording, KMM bought coffees for agents and guards who were standing in outside freeze. After accepting the coffee, the agent said that he would deliver it well, which confused KMM. After figuring out what he meant, she bought more for the staffs and said it was for them instead of for her idol.
After having an idol in her life, she felt that her own demands shrank. When she was shopping, she would involuntary stroll to men’s wear and thinking with happiness about which one could be a gift for Song Min Ho.
But fans will not leave their own appearance behind. KMM mentioned an interesting concept: fans’ burden. “Idols have their idol burden and so do fans.” To see their idol, fans would put so much effort putting on make up, getting new haircut, buying new clothes to dress up. Fans’ burden only appears in the occasions where fans are going to see their idols however; in daily life, KMM would rather skip make up for more sleep.
During the last national holiday week, KMM took a flight to Seoul and transferred to KTX to Daegu for a concert at 6PM. The next afternoon she went to a signing activity. On the third day morning, she hurried home to spend some time with her family and travelled to Japan for some more fans activities there over the weekend.
When KMM found herself again on the way to airport, the sounds that echoed in her mind alone-sides were the tickling of the clock and roaring of plane engine. She said she is a person with a job, a life, and an idol to follow. She said she is a person that wants to balance and keep these all.
Despite the constant exhaustion, she also thought herself as a little greedy sometimes. Fortunately, she was still enjoying the whole thing.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”8″][vc_raw_html]JTNDYSUyMGhyZWYlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnR3aXR0ZXIuY29tJTJGc2hhcmUlMjIlMjBjbGFzcyUzRCUyMnR3aXR0ZXItc2hhcmUtYnV0dG9uJTIyJTIwZGF0YS1zaG93LWNvdW50JTNEJTIyZmFsc2UlMjIlM0VUd2VldCUzQyUyRmElM0UlM0NzY3JpcHQlMjBhc3luYyUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMiUyRiUyRnBsYXRmb3JtLnR3aXR0ZXIuY29tJTJGd2lkZ2V0cy5qcyUyMiUyMGNoYXJzZXQlM0QlMjJ1dGYtOCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][thb_gap][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_cta h2=”” h4=”Credits:”]Translation:虫洞翻翻
Source:中国三明治
Original article (Chinese)：每个周末下班后，她都飞往韩国见偶像｜一位粉丝站长的日常[/vc_cta][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_cta h2=”” h4=”Related articles:”]Korean Fans Create Singular Culture – The Korean Times
More than just a pretty picture: Fansite culture in the K-POP fandom – Beyond Hallyu[/vc_cta][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][thb_postgrid columns=”3″ item_count=”3″ disable_excerpts=”true” disable_postmeta=”true”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]