Is talking to K-pop idols from BTS, Enhypen and other groups on fan platforms a good thing? How Dear U Bubble and Weverse have changed interaction between K-pop idols and fans

By Pyo Kyung-min

Thanks to the digital age, 20-year-old college student Kim has been able to chat with her favourite idols Yejun and Noah, of K-pop virtual boy band Plave.

Dear U Bubble is a platform that offers a one-on-one messaging service between fans and artists, with a monthly subscription fee of 4,500 won (US$3.38). Kim, who joined the service last month, enjoys the communication aspect and its exclusive content.

“Bubble has a lot of exclusive content, even though they eventually get leaked somehow,” she says. “I can even set the name I want to be called by my favourite celebrity and communicate with idols in a more informal, friendly way.”

This sort of real-time communication between idols and their fans is on the rise. Weverse, as of November last year, boasted around 113 million app downloads, while Dear U Bubble reported around 2.3 million subscribers in the latter half of 2023.

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Fan engagement, however, has changed since then. In the past, such interactions mainly occurred offline, at events like fan meet-and-greets and concerts, but the emergence of online fan cafes and official websites in the 2000s has allowed for communication regardless of time and space.

With the advent of mobile technology, official fan platforms have further streamlined this communication, making it accessible from anywhere as long as you have a phone.

This shift has transformed fandom culture and helped foster closer connections – but it has also raised concerns over the commodification of fan-artist interactions.

Private communication with artists has become the primary focus of fan activities, overshadowing the traditional camaraderie between fans, contributing to a gradual decline in their scale.

Experts also note that the monetisation of communication channels could alter the dynamics of fandom engagement.

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Kang Shin-kyu, a researcher at the Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corp, stated in a 2022 paper that the emergence of fan platforms has transformed fandom in a more “convenient but passive” direction.

“Even if fans don’t make much effort or create something for artists, fan platforms automatically provide everything,” Kang explains. “As a result, fandom as a single community is dispersed, and proactive and creative fans are decreasingly likely to be discovered.”

The monetary value attached to communication with idols has also changed the relationships between stars and fans, as platforms like Dear U Bubble require payment for exchanging messages with their idols.

Despite the convenience and level of intimacy these platforms offer, they spark debate over the implications of monetising communication and the expectations placed on artists to maintain engagement with their paying fans.

The frequency of communication within artist fan platforms has become a measuring tape for assessing the authenticity of their engagement with fans. Some even scrutinise the number of messages sent by artists in chats, and critique those who do not communicate frequently enough.

For subscribers like Do, a woman in her 20s who follows K-pop boy band The Boyz’s members through Dear U Bubble, the evolution of communicating with idols raises questions about the nature of fandom in the era of paid platforms.

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“I think the way of communicating with idols has changed a lot now. I believe there’s now an increasing expectation for artists to prioritise communication beyond their official activities,” she says.

“However, with the shift of all platforms towards paid services, it creates a sense of obligation to pay in order to be a fan. I’m not sure this is the right way of change.”