Celebrity Worship among K-Pop Fans

Abstract

Korean Pop, also known as K-pop, is currently very popular in Indonesia, especially among teenagers and early adults. Being a fan can fulfill the need for entertainment that can bring motivation and happiness. However, in reality, many K-pop fans who initially only admire turn into a cult or celebrity worship. The purpose of this study is to describe celebrity worship in K-pop fans. The approach used is qualitative-phenomenology. The participants of this study consisted of four K-pop fans who were
taken purposively. The results showed that fans follow celebrities as part of entertainment (entertainment-social). Moreover, fans also have deep feelings for celebrities, such as feeling happiness and sadness over events experienced by celebrities (intense-personal feeling). Fans also have an obsession with their idols (borderline-phatalogical) which causes daily life to be disrupted. A positive self-concept, high self-esteem, and critical thinking skills seem to be important to minimize idolization. In addition, the realization that idols present an idealized version that is not always the same as reality needs to be instilled, including a love for the nation's culture can also reduce excessive love for foreign cultures.

Keywords: celebrity worship, k-pop, k-pop fans