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4.4.4 Livestream App

In addition to the employment of traditional social media outlets, new and creative social media forms are also adopted by K-pop celebrities to better connect with their fans across the globe. The increasing popularity of live streaming video is such an example. Allowing users to livestream videos, Periscope and Meerkat gained prominence in 2015. Naver also launched its V app, allowing users to livestream simply with a mobile phone. Fans watching these live streaming videos can engage in real-time conversations with their idols by leaving comments or posting questions while watching. Such live videos serve as a good platform for fans to catch a glimpse of their idols’ life off the stage and help provide a more personal connection between idols and their fans from all over the world.

4.4.5. Influence of Social Media on K-pop

Geographical proximity and cultural familiarity facilitate the expansion of K-pop’s influence in Asian countries such as Japan and China. The incorporation of social media, however, transformed the cultural landscape by allowing K-pop to reach a much larger and diverse audience base than ever before. Audiences living further away from South Korea start to learn about K-pop through various social media platforms. For instance, viewers living in other countries or even continents are able to watch the latest K-pop music videos on YouTube the moment they are released. Fandoms start to develop after constant exposure to K-pop. By following their favorite ones or the agencies they belong to on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, loyal fans can then get instant updates on K-pop idols they are interested in. Thanks to the invention of the Internet and the rapid development of social media, fans from all over the world are now able to connect and communicate with each other online, substantially expanding the influence of K-pop geographically.

One example of the international reach K-pop achieved was seen in 2011. Failure to acquire tickets motivated K-pop fans in France to launch a protest at the Louvre Museum Square in Paris, demanding for more performances by K-pop singers under S.M. Entertainment, including Girls’ Generation. Such example demonstrated the expanded influence of K-pop with the help of social media. The impacts of K-pop were no longer constrained to countries or regions near to South Korea geographically. Instead, loyal fans could be found all over the world.

Another example of the expanded influence of K-pop through social media was the achievements accomplished by boygroup BTS. As one of the most well-known K-pop groups in the world, BTS, won the Top Social Artist Award at the Billboard Music Awards in both 2017 and 2018. BTS has topped the Billboard’s Social 50 chart, a good indicator of influence on social platforms.