Supplementary Response #3

As a student whose background is from Korea, I am not only familiar about the Hollywood stars and the entertainment system but also Korean entertainment. Recently, I have been comparing the two different countries and cultures' fan culture.

I will be dividing my observations of the two different fan cultures into three sections:

a. Gift-giving
b. Home master
c. Community (a.k.a. fan club)

Today I am going to discuss the fan community of Korea and the U.S. (c. Community (a.k.a. fan club)). 

In Korea, there are official fan clubs for actors/actresses, singers, and other entertainers. Some are called official since the entertainment agencies approve of them or even create them themselves for a better communication between the fans and the managements. 








The fan clubs have different colors that symbolize their stars too. 

different colors of idol fandom in Korea

Fans can engage in meeting the stars through fan meetings, which happens in the star's birthday, or whenever the entertainment agencies create an occasion. They usually have numerous times to get autographs of the star. 

Example of fan meeting where celebrities sign autographs

Example of a fan meeting where celebrities and fans communicate

In the U.S. and U.K., I heard there are some fan clubs, such as the "Cumberbitches". Furthermore, the fan club does not stay in the realm of only the stars but also for individual shows and movies, such as the Star Wars and Star Trek fandom. 

Now, the fan activities are now highly based on tumblr and other social media where people can not only share photos and information about the stars, but also look up the stars and see how they are doing in real life. 

Examples of fandom of shows and stars

Example of fandom-created memes

Example of fans and non-fans' follower number in social media platform 

Like the class's "star watch" section before class, it is always a pleasure for the fans and even non-fans to meet stars and celebrities in both Korea and the U.S..