K-pop fans play an important role in bringing their idols to fame domestically and globally in general. Their loyalty has helped many K-pop groups have a large viewership on YouTube and even broken many records previously set by artists around the world. The majority of K-pop fans have done a great job so it can be statistically stated that 99% of fans actually did a great job supporting their favorite K-pop group. Therefore, this article will focus on the most powerful fandoms and delve into the positive aspects of these Kpop fandoms
1 ARMY (BTS)
ARMY BOMB image source: Pinterest
ARMY is BTS's favored name for their fans and was officially formed in July 2013. ARMYs are abbreviations for Adorable Representative MC for Youth. But many people understand this phrase to mean military. The official lightstick is the Army Bomb, which is currently difficult to find online because it is often sold out. An avid fan, ARMY is known to be one of the fandoms that has a passion for merchandise related to BTS. For example, the average BTS fan spent more than $1,400 per month on BTS products as ambassadors, concert tickets, and exclusive content released by the host company on online platforms.
In the past time, due to Covid 19, BTS has canceled all shows and refunded fans. Army then started a movement on social media to raise nearly $333,000 (7 642 800,000 VND) for the coronavirus relief fund. The ARMY's dedication is truly impressive and admirable. They demonstrate how the power of K-pop fandoms, love, and support can contribute to their idol group's growth.
2 BLINK (BLACKPIK)
Blackpink lightstick Image source: Pinterest
Blink is the official fandom name of BLACKPINK. The name was created from a combination of Black and Pink. The group members made their own name for the fandom in late 2016. Their official lightstick is one of the most recognizable as it has two lit hearts on either side, like a toy hammer along with a pink-black color scheme that is both adorable and chic. They may be the only K-pop fandom that can compete in terms of social media influence with ARMY. There's a reason why BLACKPINK can consistently break YouTube viewing records, and that's because their fandom has given it their all.
3 EXO-L (EXO)
EXO Lighstick ver 3 Image source: Pinterest
Although EXO has almost disbanded, they are still one of the K-pop groups with the strongest fan base in Asia to date. Their official fandom was formed in August 2014 as EXO-L. The L stands for Love. EXO has done a great job of connecting with fans through social media even though they haven't been active in the last few years. There is a clear example when EXO-L was able to create a light show called EXO WE ARE ONE to dedicate to idols at one of Korea's biggest concerts that took place in a stadium. This is one of the most impressive fan-staged performances of all time.
4 ONCE (TWICE)
Twice's Candy Bong Image source: Pinterest
Twice's fandom is called ONCE. There is a saying "if you love us even once, we'll repay you with Twice the love". The band promises to work hard so that you can see them once and day after day love them twice as much as they are now. Twice's official lightstick is Candy Bong. When you go to a Twice concert, you can't miss admiring their fans shaping up with these lightsticks. To Twice fans in Korea, they are also known as ONCE Candy, and to fans outside Korea, they are known as ONCE Jelly. 2021 has been a very successful year for TWICE and expect even greater success to come to these beautiful girls in 2022.
5 ELF (SUPER JUNIOR)
Lighstick houses Super Junior Image source: Pinterest
Super Junior owns one of the most loyal fandoms in K-pop. Their fans waited patiently for all the members to return after completing their mandatory military service. They have gone through a lot of difficulties and entanglements but have always been together since the members left one after another until the member got the dating news. It can be said that ELFs are the most mature of all K-pop fandoms.
6 VIP (BIGBANG)
Bigbang lightstick ver 4
BIGBANG has had some of the biggest K-pop tours in history, which proves how big this fandom was at its peak. Before ARMY and EXO-L, there used to be a huge VIP and still does. They played an important role in bringing K-pop internationally and making BIGBANG one of the greatest K-pop boy bands of all time. Many have moved on to other fandoms but VIPs still need to be on this list as they continue to have loyal fans both in Korea and around the world, especially in the West.
7 SONE (SNSD)
SNSD's extremely feminine lightstick
SNSD was one of the first girl groups to succeed in Korea and Asia. Their fandom is called Sone, which in Korean pronunciation means "wish." They were one of the first fandoms to leverage social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, and even Tumblr to promote their group. Also, thanks to social media, SNSD has been able to grow its fan community very quickly. While SNSD members continue to achieve individual successes, no one has really left the fandom.
8 STAYS (STRAY KIDS)
2021 was a successful year for StrayKids, which means Strays is also growing over the years. The entire fandom is very active and incredibly supportive of idols. While others have much larger fandom communities, Stays are among the best fans on the ground as a whole. STAY is the official fandom of Stray Kids. It was created by Woojin Entertainment with the help of its fans. STAY is Stray without r. The "r" in Stray stands for "Reason". Therefore, their fans are the reason for them to continue to stay and make even more great achievements in the future.
9 SHAWOL (SHINee)
SHINee Lightstick in the right style
Shawol stands for SHINee World. SM Entertainment has grown its fandom by creating larger and smaller websites for each specific group. In addition, most members have their own websites that cater to their promotion needs. For example, Jonghyun and Taemin both have their own websites outside of SHINee's official website. They even have their own website for Japanese fans called SHINee World J. In 2021, Key had one of the best K-pop solo albums of the year with Bad Love and support from the Shawols was the main reason for this success.
10 MOA (TXT)
Compact design and 3-character TXT mixed writing logo Image source: Pinterest
The members and fans of TXT (TOMORROW X TOGETHER) experienced a great 2021 together and owned the K-pop group's best album award with The Chaos Chapter: Freeze. Their fandom name is MOA, which stands for "Moments of Alwaysness". TXT fans shared a lot of their opinions about naming the fandom but in the end the group chose the name MOA. They feel that every moment of TXT will always be shared with all their fans.
