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#189: your basic intro to k-fandom

Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 9:56 AM

THE K-FANDOM

(click the cut text below the labels, if you will)

Fandom is defined by the urban dictionary as:-

Fan Domain
A domain in the internet about a comic, a book, a tv show, a video game etc. There are several fandoms all around the internet, where fans converge and the comunities are really big, many have forums, fanfics, fanart, etc.

but to honestly define it simply, fandom is basically one of the basic things you would have heard about and known if you listen to music, use the computer, etc. and i presume you must do the latter if you're reading this right now. so welcome to the basic intro to k-fandom! /throws confetti

the first thing about fandom are the groups/idols. in this case, korean idols. k-fandom is a lot more complex. it stands quite far away from just the idols. i've never seen anything like it and it's honestly simultaneously intriguing and frightening. first things first:

1. FANCLUBS
in k-fandom, fanclubs are the norm. honestly, they're everything. you'll always see an artist go 'i'm nothing without (my) _______ etc etc etc'. that blank is filled in with the words 'fans', or the fanclub name if the artist isn't a complete loser and has one in the first place lol jk. but seriously, almost every group/artist/actor/whatever in k-fandom has a fanclub. and in k-fandom, its important to have strong supportive fans, so fanclubs normally come with three things: fanchants, balloons and lightsticks (both in the artist's official colour). there's a lot more crap about fandom where this came from but we'll just leave it at that.

2. LINGO
or in layman terms, 'words you use'. sound simple enough? not quite. k-fandom consists of it's /own/ particular terms of words, mostly because us stans happen to be lazy douchebags who hate typing things out in full and prefer confusing the other 5 billion people of the world's population with our never-ending stream of douchebag-gy letters. acronyms aside, the most common terms you'll hear in k-fandom are:

stan (v) ; this is not a name. it is the general term used by fanboys/fangirls to roughly tell the world who they fangirl/fanboy for, w/e. for international fans (ie fans not in korea lol), 'stanning' can also generally apply to keeping updated with basically any and every piece of news dealing with your idol etc etc (ie metaphorically stanning). physically stanning an idol would be for fans that 'chase' their idols when they come to their country (international fans). 70% of the time this term is used, it is used with the utmost precaution not trying to imply that the fan will actually 'stalk' the idol.
eg: i stan my oppar and only my oppar /screams

(n) ; in it's noun form, this term is used to self-proclaim a fangirl/fanboy of being a 'hardcore' fan. the term was derived from the two words stalker and fan. it can apply to being 'more than a fan', which is about its actual meaning.
eg: i am a /hardcore/ H. O. T stan lfhaslfhaskgfa

note: this term can be used in any form only the present tense (ie stanning, stan, etc). not applicable as an adverb.

otp (n) ; an otp refers to the 'one true pairing' (literal acronym meaning) used between groups (ie member x member) or solo artists (artist x another artist). this is used by fangirls/fanboys to proclaim their favourite pairing between groups/artists/throughout the k-fandom. otps can derive from the presence of (mostly long-term) friendships between artists/members, skinship, closeness or any other reason a delusional fangirl/fanboy can find to use as an excuse to prove their otp is real. it can also be formed from a fan's favourite two members, but 80% of the time is formed because of the first few reasons. an otp name is formed by mixing the two names of the artists together (ie jonghyun and key = jongkey/keyhyun). since korean words come in two syllables, the first is mixed with the second and vice versa. names can also be formed based on what sounds nicer while sometimes following the formerly stated principle. do not be surprised if otps come in boy x boy or girl x girl. since kgroups are mostly divided by gender, this is normal. every fandom has an otp. otps and their behaviours/interactions can also be the root of fanfictions and vice versa.
eg: eunhae is the best fucking otp evarrrrrr

acronyms ; since basically most all the words are acronyms, the most common would be 'lmao', 'lol', 'idgaf', 'waylt', 'bb' and all that. k-fans have the uncanny ability to side-eye and bully and be really sarcastic, but they can be awfully nice, so before any 'bigshot' k-fans give you any and all kinds of crap, start by being nice, humble and polite. 'lol' and 'lmao' in their small letters signify no interest at all whatsoever in your comment/views and is mockery of the basic level to signify 'bish, wtf are you saying'. i'm sure we all know that by now though. if they are in full caps though, it signifies half-amusement with your comment. then proceed to be pleased with yourself. k fans are also very witty in their comments, which is very amusing 40% of the time. the next three acronyms, 'idgaf', stands for 'i don't give a fuq' (i'm just spelling it as fuq to be polite). no explainations needed. then there's 'waylt' = 'why are you like this'. alternate variations can also refer to 'wayblt' (why are you being like this) or 'wailt' (why am i like this). simply, fans can also use 'wae', which is the korean-romanized word for 'why'. when asked this question, it is 80% rhetorical based on circumstances. do not reply unless your reply happens to be very witty and impressive etc etc. the third one, 'bb' is common term for 'baby', which is a term of endearment for one's idols.
eg: lmao omg waylt bb you're so perfect ilu

3. THE FIVE CLASSES OF FANDOM
fandom can be divided into classes of people, or 'types'. generally, these are the people you'll have to see/get over/deal with in fandom. ie

Casuals
these are the people who have no idea what k-fandom is/not interested in it. they just happen to 'cling on' to this k-fandom train (pardon my poor metaphorical skills) and ride along because they either want to blend in or are making a mockery of k-fans/themselves. they are the basic insignificant life forms of k-pop. some casuals may later develop into real fans, although some do give up because k-fandom is hard to get around.
Haters
note now that haters are different from antis. they are of two completely different classes. though almost similar, haters are people who have no idea what k-fandom is and hate it as a whole. antis, on the other hand, are people who are biased against a particular group and hate on only them. while they are also interested in k-fandom, antis usually stan one group and believe them to be the best/hate another artist and their fanclubs because of an incident relating to their idol(s) or fanclub that may have hurt either one or both/have nothing better to do. haters usually profess their undying hate for k-fandom/an idol/a member/a group because they don't understand the whole thing about k-fandom and believe it to be thoroughly immature or extremely loser-like. some haters just cannot stand a particular group or member/person/solo artist because of them being too overrated or have too much 'attitude' that displeases them. haters that dislike one group or member or artist mostly eventually grow to dislike all of k-fandom.
Antis
these would be one of the scariest people you would have ever met in k-fandom. if you lived in korea. antis have the uncanny ability to think of evil schemes to ruin the idols or groups or fanclubs they hate. this has been widely known in k-fandom because fans have the ability to be very possesive and may lead to evil ;_; if you happen to be interested, i have a whole thread here on anti-fans and the things they did that happens to be quite interesting. i doubt it's everything that happened before though.
Wannabes
a general name for fans that self-proclaim having their idols as /theirs/ and 'spazz' about k-pop excessively everywhere till you have this irresistible urge to punch them right in the face very hard and hit them with a chair are try-hards/wannabes. wannabes irritate just about everybody and have the most rl haters (see above).
Normies
this is the unofficial term for people who have a clingy, healthy obsession with korean fandom and music, but do not profess it. they prefer to keep it low-profile and would rather leave their love for these things to take care of themselves and (occasionally moderately) declare it somewhere else (ie on sites like lj/tumblr/blogger/occassionally twitter; note: obsessive declaration on twitter is a wannabe thing). normies are mostly the people who choose not to let the world know how much they love k-fandom just so they can blend in with most others (one way is not by publicizing their biases/whatever k-fandom plans/news irl). normies may be and sometimes are huger stans than wannabes despite not showing it (a fair base of comparison would be normies that don't proclaim their love but care enough to stan internationally like every other fan, fangirls/fanboys with their own friends privately and queues with the utmost patience and care and love whilst investing time, effort and money into supporting their idol etc etc compared to a wannabe who does nothing but talk).

and this would be the end of the basic intro to fandom which took me two hours to compile solely on my own because i refused to do my emath homework lol. that's all then ~

Labels: kpop, unofficial guide for dummies