When K-pop star Karina posted a handwritten apology on Instagram earlier this month, it was both contrite and profuse. "I sincerely apologize for surprising my fans who have supported me," the front woman of the girl group Aespa wrote.
Her offense? Publicly acknowledging that she was in a relationship with actor Lee Jae-wook. That Karina felt compelled to say sorry for being in a relationship has puzzled many outside the K-pop scene, but it opens a window into the world of the industry's "super fans". They stream their favorite stars' music round the clock - even if on mute while sleeping - to boost chart rankings, organize mass voting sessions during award seasons, and sometimes even sponsor digital billboard ads in places like Times Square.
When news of Karina's relationship broke, some rabid fans drove a truck to her talent management agency. "We supported Karina's bright future, believing in a shared dream, but it was our misconception," the fans displayed on an electronic billboard mounted on the side of the vehicle. "Is the love given to you by your fans not enough?" another billboard message read.
"The fans feel jilted," said Korean media columnist Jeong Deok-hyeon, adding that K-pop fans often view themselves as being in quasi-social relationships with their idols. In these situations, a fan expends an overt amount of time, emotional energy and money on a celebrity whom they are fascinated with, but who doesn't even know the fan exists.
"As the industry increasingly encourages fans to express their fandom through consumerism, their desire to be 'compensated' [for their investments] grows. This contributed to fans making demands which sometimes border on threats," Jeong told the BBC.
Some believe the artistes themselves and their management agencies have facilitated a "false intimacy" between idols and fans. Even
as recently as 10 years ago, it was common practice for K-pop agencies
to ban new stars from dating or even have a personal mobile phone. But now, talent agencies
have also begun creating social apps for their artists which appear to
offer fans a glimpse of their idols' everyday lives. SM, a K-pop-producing powerhouse, introduced an app
in 2020 designed to look like a one-on-one messenger app, but is in fact
a group chat where the idol drops seeming-personal messages that end up being sent to thousands of fans at
once.
At the urging of their agencies, some pop stars have gone so far as to buy gifts for fans or offered them one-on-one calls. "K-pop agencies have been telling fans that they have the power to create stars," said Areum Jeong, an Assistant Professor of Korean Studies at Arizona State University. Cedarbough Saeji from Pusan National University called the Karina incident a classic case of the fans trying to 'discipline' the stars. "They were angry about the dating, and then they got angry that she apologized in the 'wrong way'," said Saeji, an assistant professor in Korean and East Asian Studies, referring to how some fans felt Karina should have posted her apology in a fans-only forum - rather than on a public platform.
Jeong, who considers herself a dedicated K-pop fan, also takes part in "fan labor" by streaming the music of her favorite boyband (NCT 127) and paying to vote for them on music platforms and award shows. There are a dozen different digital music platforms for K-pop, each with its own Top 100 chart based on the number of people streaming and downloading songs. Super fans divide and conquer by organizing themselves into teams to navigate the rules for each platform. "Fans put in work to ensure the group's success. They consider the idol a product. And if you want to see the product on the stage for a long time, the artists, the fans, and the management will all have to put in hard work," Jeong said.
Some even share voting schedules and streaming guides with "regular fans", she added, so they can contribute to propelling their idols to the top of the charts. Another hallmark of K-pop fandom are the birthday celebrations held for the idols who themselves are not present. Fans spend their own money to rent out entire cafes for such events, which will also feature merchandise related to the idol.
K-pop columnist Jeff Benjamin said some idols may feel "obliged to keep their fans happy" because of the fragility of their careers. "The groups are typically quite short-lived at about four to five years… I think a big part of why Karina published her apology was because she has a leadership responsibility in aespa, and she wanted to assure her fans that she will continue to work hard with her music," he said. "It's ironic that these artists sing about love but dating is frowned upon. I feel for them," he added.
Many of Karina's international fans took to social media to express their outrage that she had been compelled to apologize. "She doesn't deserve this type of treatment" read one comment on X, while another said, "Karina apologizing for LIKING someone has to be one the craziest things in the world". Some Korean fans also pointed to the international coverage of her apology, saying it was embarrassing. "It's been so long since K-pop became global but they still don't seem to grasp the fact that when something like this happens, it immediately disgraces the country" one person wrote.
Within Korea, there is a growing realization of how crazy this is. Some of Karina's fans in South Korea have vouched for her. "There was nothing to apologize for…Whether you are a celebrity or a regular person, you need close friends. It's natural for her to have a lover," said Jeong So-yeon, a 33-year-old fan based in Seoul.
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