일방적 지지에서 상호 동반자 관계로의 변천

Over twenty-five years have elapsed since Korean popular music (K-pop) has become popular outside South Korea. As it has become a global cultural phenomenon, the way K-pop fans support K-pop has also changed. K-pop fans unilaterally supported their music in the 1990s. However, K-pop fandom today forms a mutually inspired and admiring partnership with their favorite stars. This paper examines the evolution of K-pop fandom from the 1990s to the present by focusing on how it transforms from an example of a para-social interaction as proposed by Horton and Wohl to an example of Partha Chatterjee’s civil society. Furthermore, the author suggests that K-pop fandom today can be understood as an example of what Michael Warner refers to as a public.