In the mid-1990s, the “idol groups” showed up and they caused many cultural changes. Especially, the advent of H.O.T changed the aspect of the music industry and behavior patterns of fans. Its fandom was called “Club H.O.T” and its members always held white balloons and wore white rain coats during H.O.T’s performances. These were their symbols, and after that, other fandoms came with their own balloons’ color to represent their clubs. They also had a huge influence on the commodities market. Many products based on the pictures of members of H.O.T were made such as stickers, books, dolls, and necklaces, and many fans bought them. From then on, “goods” became a by-product of the fandom culture. H.O.T’s popularity was quite significant, but it had a great rival, SECHSKIES. Its fandom was called “YELLOWKIES” and their symbolic color was yellow. The battle between their fans was also enormous. However, not only the two groups but also the other groups were famous at that time such as S.E.S, Fin.K.L, SHINHWA, and god. The public have called them the “first-generation idol groups”. At that time, however, the notion was prevalent that the idol group should adhere to a certain mystique. Thus, fans felt that members of the idol group were not like them and there were even rumors that they did not use the bathroom. There were few opportunities for fans to contact directly with their celebrities.

Moreover, not only idol groups but also actors’ fandoms are becoming widely established. For example, Song Joong-ki, a Korean actor, is loved by many people in other countries after acting in a drama, Descendants of the Sun (2016). This drama gained huge popularity from foreign fans, so there is even a special room in Doota duty-free shop near the Dongdaemun subway station for foreign fans who visit Korea. Photo zones which reenact sets for the drama are set up, so tourists can take pictures there. This shows how much the drama has gained popularity overseas. Even its economic effects exceeded one trillion won and British

Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) covered the drama in its news with the title “Descendant of the Sun: the Korean military romance sweeping Asia”. Encouraged by its popularity, Song Joong-ki also gained popularity abroad and many foreign fans. He successfully completed fan meeting in many Asian countries and it has always been sold out. As such, many actors have been able to have many foreign fans due to the success of the dramas they have acted in.

The Konkuk Bulletin interviewed two foreign exchange students at Konkuk University to see if Korean celebrities are actually recognized and popular abroad.

However, there are also people who are not in line with fandom that loves celebrities and cheers them in token of their affection. These people are commonly called “sasaeng fan”, which means an obsessive fan of celebrities that has engaged in stalking or other questionable behavior that constitutes an invasion of privacy (Wikipedia). The damage celebrities have suffered from them has been serious, and their brutality is getting worse over time. For instance, it is easy for them to find out a celebrities’ phone number and make incessant phone calls. Worse still, some sasaeng fans often take a taxi to chase celebrities around the clock and watch their every movement. Thus, Jackson, who is a member of GOT7 got injured in a car accident because of the sasaeng taxi which speedily chased the car he got into. As problems caused by the sasaeng taxi were so serious, a Korean broadcast program, We Want to Know (2008), dealt with this brutality. The pain that celebrities suffer is extremely serious, so some celebrities openly stated their pain recently. For example, Chanyeol, who is a member of EXO revealed his agony on Instagram. He wrote that more than 20 vehicles had followed him in Shanghai. He said their acts were excessive without showing respect to him. In addition, U-know Yunho, a member of TVXQ, mentioned openly in the Korean broadcast program that some sasaeng fans broke into his lodging. Then, they took pictures of the things in the lodging and sent them to him by text message. Many people who watched that broadcast were astonished and his fans were outraged. Furthermore, there are many celebrities who revealed their suffering because of the sasaeng fans who came to the front of their house. They said they are mentally ill and it is not “true love”. Due to the acts of brutality, the public’s view of the sasaeng fans is not good. Thus, The Konkuk Bulletin conducted a survey of 115 students of KU to know their view. According to the survey, 87.8 percent responded that “sasaeng fans” are not true “fans”. Respondents said that they are extremely selfish by violating celebrities' freedom and privacy. Some even described them as criminals and stalkers. Most people do not recognize them as fans, but they are still called sasaeng “fans”. Furthermore, laws are relatively well arranged to regulate stalking and punish stalkers in other countries such as the United States and Japan, but the legal measures to punish them are insufficient in Korea. Violations are punishable as a misdemeanor, but the penalty is less than 100,000 won and they are rarely punished because they are called “fans”. Thus, it is necessary to consider whether the term is proper. There should be more powerful and concrete laws to punish them.

Another deviant action is to ignore and criticize other fandoms. Everyone should respect others’ tastes, but some fans often exclude celebrities they do not like and other fandoms and criticize them by posting abusive comments or spreading rumors. Especially, due to the rumor that members of the Girls’ Generation tempted lots of male groups’ members, there was a conflict between the male groups’ fandoms and the Girls’ Generation’s fandom. As a result, most of the audience turned off their lightsabers and refused to cheer for Girls’ Generation for the 10 minutes they performed at the joint concert in 2008. Thus, they had to perform in the dark without any applause or cheers. Although the audience had attended a concert which they were supposed to enjoy together, they created a bigger conflict because of their immature actions, irritating the public. If fans do such a thing, not only fans but also celebrities are judged as having a bad image by the third parties. Fans’ actions can have a negative influence on their favorite celebrities.

Some of self-claimed fans have done distorted actions based on their own feelings, love, but it can be a crime. People who put themselves into celebrities’ shoes and respect them are the real “fans”. However, except for sasaeng fans, most fandoms are growing more mature because their activities affect their favorite celebrities’ images. Just a few years ago, it had been prevalent that fandom culture is immature and fans are blind followers of celebrities. Even nowadays, such view still remains afloat. In the survey mentioned previously, 12.2 percent responded that they think negatively about fans. They said that fans are only interested in their favorite celebrities and they are excessive. However, fandom culture is becoming more mature thanks to the advent of the “good culture”. Fans are donating many things to various charity organizations on special occasions such as celebrities’ birthdays. For instance, it is a trend to send Dreame, a rice wreath, to cheer for celebrities in many events instead of a flower wreath. The flower wreath is disposable, but there is a merit in that the rice used for Dreame can be donated to help people in need. Furthermore, fans often make a forest named after celebrities by supporting the creation of forests and trees. They created the forests not only in Korea but also abroad such as India, China, and the Republic of South Sudan. Eventually, fandom culture is neither immature nor the childish, and fans are developing an independent culture. This culture still has many possibilities to develop well and much value to be respected as a culture.