Asian Idol Groups and Their Fans
Due to various things I have come across on the internet recently, I have been thinking about the obligations, if any, fans have for and demand of, their idol groups. Or how much may certain fans, such as the fans of an idol group's home country, may expect or perhaps deserve more of their idol group.
The particular examples I am thinking about come from kpop, which I am not sure how many of you are into. I happen to be a BIG BANG/G-Dragon fan, and there were a couple incidents that got him into trouble with his Korean fans. In one, he was quoted in a Japanese magazine*** saying something along the lines of Japanese girls being really pretty and how he wanted a Japanese wife. Which T.O.P smoothed over by saying he wanted a Japanese wife and a Korean wife. Naturally, we may assume these comments were made in large part for the benefit of their Japanese fans. It certainly made me happy, and at the time I just put the Korean fan backlash as part of my own bias about Korean attitudes. In another incidence, G-Dragon announced on several Japanese variety shows**** that he has a huge crush on the Japanese actress Aoi Yu. Though I am not a fan myself, I heard that DBSK (not to mention BoA) received a lot of heat from their Korean fans for seeming to abandon Korea in favor of Japan.
In regard to the whole DBSK thing I am inclined to believe Japanese fans have only been very supportive of Arashi becoming popular throughout Asia and other countries. But as for the G-Dragon scenarios, I am not so sure how I would feel. For example, if Ohno announced that Park Shin Hye is the cutest girl ever, and he absolutely has to learn Korean and marry a korean girl, would that bother you? Even if you aren't Japanese. Perhaps this is all Korean/Japanese tension playing out, or maybe it's universal to fandoms.
So let's rank the options, 1 being the worst, 4 being the least terrible
A - An arashi member announces he only prefers Japanese girls because it's too bothersome to learn another language
B - An arashi member announces he really loves (Not your country)'s language and culture, and would one day like to master the language and maybe even marry a girl from that countryC - An arashi member announces that he prefers a particular Japanese actress's "type"
D - An arashi member announces that he prefers a particular (not Japanese) actress's "type"
Alternatively, maybe you don't care? Or think they are all equally bad?
*** the quoted article
****G-Dragon talking about Aoi Yuu, sorry there aren't any subs, but if you know korean or can read japanese...
The particular examples I am thinking about come from kpop, which I am not sure how many of you are into. I happen to be a BIG BANG/G-Dragon fan, and there were a couple incidents that got him into trouble with his Korean fans. In one, he was quoted in a Japanese magazine*** saying something along the lines of Japanese girls being really pretty and how he wanted a Japanese wife. Which T.O.P smoothed over by saying he wanted a Japanese wife and a Korean wife. Naturally, we may assume these comments were made in large part for the benefit of their Japanese fans. It certainly made me happy, and at the time I just put the Korean fan backlash as part of my own bias about Korean attitudes. In another incidence, G-Dragon announced on several Japanese variety shows**** that he has a huge crush on the Japanese actress Aoi Yu. Though I am not a fan myself, I heard that DBSK (not to mention BoA) received a lot of heat from their Korean fans for seeming to abandon Korea in favor of Japan.
In regard to the whole DBSK thing I am inclined to believe Japanese fans have only been very supportive of Arashi becoming popular throughout Asia and other countries. But as for the G-Dragon scenarios, I am not so sure how I would feel. For example, if Ohno announced that Park Shin Hye is the cutest girl ever, and he absolutely has to learn Korean and marry a korean girl, would that bother you? Even if you aren't Japanese. Perhaps this is all Korean/Japanese tension playing out, or maybe it's universal to fandoms.
So let's rank the options, 1 being the worst, 4 being the least terrible
A - An arashi member announces he only prefers Japanese girls because it's too bothersome to learn another language
B - An arashi member announces he really loves (Not your country)'s language and culture, and would one day like to master the language and maybe even marry a girl from that countryC - An arashi member announces that he prefers a particular Japanese actress's "type"
D - An arashi member announces that he prefers a particular (not Japanese) actress's "type"
Alternatively, maybe you don't care? Or think they are all equally bad?
*** the quoted article
****G-Dragon talking about Aoi Yuu, sorry there aren't any subs, but if you know korean or can read japanese...
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