Crazy For Korean Pop Culture.

THE PHRASE “fanatical fans” must have been started by witnessing the behaviour of kids who follow Korean pop culture. Let’s see: They wait for hours in the rain or at the airport for their Korean pop star/ idol/group/band’s arrival even when the ETA is known well beforehand.
 They chase their Korean idols the moment they emerge at the airport’s arrival gate. Or be a mob escort when their idols are about to walk to their departure gate. Siwon mobbedFemale fans refrain from going shopping for weeks just to save money for the next concert.
 A test of a true fan is also about knowing the right colour light sticks to bring to the right concert. Bring the wrong colour and prepare to face the wrath of 25,000 people.


Remember, blue for CNBLUE, yellow for Big Bang. And it’s an all new colour for Exo K. The Korean craze, which includes music and film, has also swept through Japan, China, the Philippines, Singapore and most of Asia.
 A growing number of Malaysians with no connection to Korean culture are addicted to the Korean Wave or “Hallyu” thanks to the proliferation of Korean soap operas, TV shows as well as musical stars and groups. TV dramas have become South Korea's hottest export since handphones, female golfers and kimchi. Big Bang Yellow Fans say the Korean shows, mostly centered on relationships and family, focus more on story lines than special effects and are a refreshing change from the usual Western shows they see as too violent and too racy.
 Many Korean dramas feature elements also found in typical soap operas -- love triangles, forbidden love, evil mothers-in-law and corrupt business partners. But a key difference is that Korean storylines end usually after 16 to 20 hour-long episodes, no matter how popular they become. Only the true diehard would follow.


Faridah, 28, the Korean drama (and occasional K-pop fan)
D: Tell us more about your experiences and thoughts about Korean pop culture.
 F: I’ve been a Korean drama fan for as long as I can remember. I remember the days of the early soaps from Korea like “Winter Sonata” and “Autumn In My Heart.” But I no longer have time to watch nowadays, being busy working.
 But I still download new dramas when I get the chance, and tweet about it with friends. The storyline are mostly similar: about love and relationships, or rich and poor kids. Girl's Generation They start hating and then make peace with each other. The concept is really the same as Malay dramas (but I really think now Malay drama plots are beginning to follow after Korean soaps).
 And whether the soap will be a hit will all depend on who plays the main characters. If the hero/heroine is famous, or sings the drama soundtrack, it will make the drama something sought-after by fans. And if you notice, in every Korean drama, there must be a handphone in almost every scene.
 From the flip type right to today’s oversized Samsung is portrayed in a Korean soap. But it’s not just Korean dramas that made the fans go nuts over their Korean idol. There are other Korean TV programmes like Korean variety or reality TV shows which feature their idols that had become a strong influence over fans’ fanaticism here. They are shows like
 “We Got Married” (where Korean artist A gets married with Korean artist B), “Running Man” (a game show), “Two Days, One Night” and others. There were so many. Faridah recommends that we go to http://migeon.blogspot.com to see a comprehensive list. According to her, despite the mostly irrational behaviour of Korean star fans, the craze for Korean stars isn’t all about fanaticism and negativity.
 She says it also creates and builds an international community of friends, who just happens to share a common interest. While most K-dramas and K-pop fans are females, there is a minority number of male fans as well.


Arip, 17, the male K-pop fan
D: How did it all start?
 Three years ago, my cousin came over my house to surf the net. I didn’t know it then but he started watching a K-pop video on YouTube. That was when I first became fascinated with the signature K-pop sound (which is mostly a choice between or mix-up of dance-pop, pop ballad, electronic, rock, hip-hop, R&B).
D: Do you like to watch Korean dramas?
 Korean dramas are not that different from Malaysian dramas, just that Koreans focus more on love stories. But their love stories have a flavour unique to Korea. Like the fact that they always feature a Korean megastar actor or singer. But speaking about K-pop, fans of K-pop watches more game shows than dramas.
 The music itself has its own characteristic and dance moves. The most popular for me is “Love Rain” that features Jang Geun Suk and Yoona from the girl-group, Girl's Generation. They are known for hits like "Into the New World" and "Gee” which stayed in the charts for a record of 9 consecutive weeks. To me, there are many types of K-pop fans.
 Some buy their original albums as a show of support while others buy their favourite stars’ merchandise. I also believe that the current K-pop craze isn’t actually linked to the craze for Korean soap operas. It is the power of the music and performances of K-pop itself. The craze for Korea has even created a new business.
 With over 2 million fans and viewers, Maaduu.com is the online high-quality TV channel for local and regional fans to catch the best of Korean entertainment, streaming K-dramas and K-Pop music videos on-demand. It is a free-to-air (FTA) service and its video content licensed by the top three TV networks in Korea; KBS, MBC and SBS respectively.
 Since the mid-2000s, the K-pop music market has experienced double digit growth rates. In the first half of 2012, it grossed nearly USD3.4 billion worldwide, and was recognized by Time magazine as "South Korea's Greatest Export". Crazy, isn’t it?