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EXPENSIVE K-POP STAN CULTURE

Friday, 20 Mei 2022
By Sayyida Qhadija

SHAH ALAM – K-pop is a significant phenomenon in Malaysia and a worldwide fad, particularly among Malaysia's youth.

Malaysian K-pop fans are considered to be one of the largest fanbase for today's popular K-pop groups.

Supporting their favourite K-pop groups by purchasing, streaming, and mentioning them is a wonderful example of the craze.

Farah Rahman, a 22-year-old K-pop fan and admirer of the group "EXO" which debuted in 2012, revealed that the album and any limited goods from the group's representative brands are the items she collects the most.

Farah began collecting K-pop goods, joining fansign and competition, and bought the group's representative brands such as the cosmetics and fashions brands which cost her RM30,000 or more.

Farah Rahman’s K-pop boy groups merchandise collections.

(Source: Berita DIMENSi/Farah Rahman)

Farah Rahman’s K-pop girl groups merchandise collections.

(Source: Berita DIMENSi/Farah Rahman)

“I began collecting items in order to show my support for the group that I enjoy. One of the ways to show our love and support is to purchase or stream the groups’ content.

“Apart from purchasing products, streaming their songs on YouTube will give them recognition to others who are not fans because the higher the views, the better,” Farah said during an interview with Berita DIMENSi through a video call.

Farah stated that streaming their music videos on YouTube might be difficult at times because the fandom has their own goals to meet in a certain amount of time.

“To be honest, it depends on the groups' comebacks, but on average, once their music video is released, I will stream it with five devices for at least three or four days straight,” she explained.

“There are also other extreme fans who will rent a couple of cybercafes just to stream the music videos using the computers there,” she added.

Meanwhile, Aisya Anizam, a 24-year-old K-pop fanatic, exclusively invests in albums and Photocards (PCs) for which she would pay at least RM15,000.

Aisya Azira’s K-pop PCs collections.

(Source: Berita DIMENSi/Aisya Azira)

Aisya began purchasing PCs in 2013 to express her support for her favourite groups, which she realised would be a solid long-term investment.

“Consider K-pop merchandise in the same way you would any other high-demand item. For example, because guys enjoy football, they may purchase a shirt or a World Cup ball edition, or they may purchase the same exact football shoes as their favourite player.

“Since I do not have much time to keep streaming their music videos or catch up with their content, investing in albums and PCs is one of my ways to support the groups. However, their music is something I appreciate,” she stated during an interview with Berita DIMENSi through video call.

Aisya Azira’s K-pop boy groups merchandise collection.

(Source: Berita DIMENSi/Aisya Azira)

She stated that there are numerous platforms that can be used as a PCs marketplace, mostly on social media platforms such as Twitter, Telegram, Tiktok, Carousell, and others.

“Yes, there are variances, like the album will cost RM100 for each version, and some groups may release multiple versions of the same album with varied material and prices. As a result, it will have a different market value and demand,” she explained.

On average, both K-pop fans will spend between RM200 and RM500 on items per comeback, depending on the group that they are a fan of.

The majority of K-pop fans also create their own fan accounts for their favourite groups. These accounts will be dedicated to their favourite groups and will demonstrate their support.

“Having an account allows us to interact with other fans and learn more not just about the groups we enjoy, but also about new people from all around the world,” Aisya explained during an interview with Berita DIMENSi through video call.

Instead of perceiving K-pop fans as crazed, obsessive fanatics, both K-pop fans believe that others should recognise the fans' enthusiasm and affection for their favourite groups.

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