The Impact of "Liveness" on Domestic and Global Fans

Written by: Jessie Li

Q3: How is the K-pop industry’s concept of liveness, as shaped by live broadcasting models and live voting practices (discussed by Kim Suk-young in chapter 2) a commentary on its expectations for both domestic and global fan behavior?

The concept of liveness, shaped by live broadcasting models and live voting practices impact the behaviours of domestic and global fan. Liveness, on a primary level, refers to the co-presence of performers and spectators being at the same place at the same time (caMP Anthropology, 2018).

The live broadcasting show, After School Club (ASC) is an example of liveness. The program is broadcasted on South Korea’s English-language radio and cable TV channel, Arirang. ASC claims to be the first TV program with “a unique approach to K-pop as a forum for live interaction between performers and fans around the world” (Kim 2018, 76). I believe that ASC is more catered towards the global demographic as it provides international fans with the opportunity to interact with their favourite K-pop groups in their own language. ASC is one of the very few programs in Korea that adopt bilingual communication using both Korean and English by “providing real-time translation services” for both (Kim 2018, 79). With ASC overcoming language barriers, global fans are more inclined to participate. Fans worldwide will eagerly send in their questions and requests knowing that it will be translated and hopefully answered. The chance of having a video chat with the guest stars are also made possible using Google Hangouts which is a universally developed application that is not only exclusive to domestic fans. With convenience and accessibility, I believe that global fans are more willing to invest time and effort just to have the higher chance of interacting and connecting with their beloved idol.

Produce 101 is a program that demonstrates liveness through live voting practices and live performances. I will specifically focus on Produce 101 Season 2 (PD101S2) where the eleven-member boy group Wanna One was purely formed based on the votes of the viewers, the “nations producers”. PD101S2 had great expectations on domestic fans as they were given complete voting power. Domestic fans invested their emotion, time, and money to vote daily in attempt to create their ideal group, support their favourites at live performances, watch the show that aired weekly, buy fan merchandise and so on. However, global fans had limited access and were also excluded in the voting practice; therefore, they did not have a say in which contestants would make the final lineup. Despite not being able to vote, international fans conducted their own poll where nearly 1 million votes from 132 countries were received (Soompi 2017). The poll results proved that the final international PD101S2 lineup was noticeably different from the domestic lineup. I can argue that as a global fan, without equal accessibility, voice and exposure to liveness, attachment and behaviours are less prominent as opposed to domestic fans.

Fans long to feel connectivity, community and congruence with their favourite idols. Liveness through live broadcasting models and live voting practices provide fans with the opportunity to do so. The behaviour of fans on a domestic and global scale, will constantly vary depending on the circumstances such as exposure, convenience and accessibility.

Word Count: 500

Bibliography

Kim, Suk-Young. K-pop Live: Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018.

“Exclusive: According To International Fans, This Is The Final “Produce 101 Season 2” Lineup.” Soompi. https://www.soompi.com/article/998861wpp/exclusive-according-international-fans-final-produce-101-lineup (accessed 10/23/18).

“Suk-Young Kim on her new book, K-Pop Live” caMP Anthropology.

https://campanthropology.org/2018/08/06/suk-young-kim-k-pop-live/ (accessed 10/23/18).