The K-pop idol fandom is growing every day and if you are one of the newbies, you’re bound to be a bit confused, at least in the beginning with all the different slangs that the K-pop community uses. But dw, we are here to help you understand the K-pop idol fandom vocabulary.
K-pop idol fandom vocabulary that every K-Pop stan should know
All-rounder
All-rounder is a term used to call an idol who excels in all areas of performance. From singing, dancing, rapping, visuals, and stage presence.
Bias
In K-pop vocab, Bias typically means someone who stands out to you and is your personal favourite.
Bias wrecker
A bias wrecker is frankly similar to a bias. A bias wrecker is someone who is slowly taking the spot of your favourite (a ‘lil switch if you will).
Debut
Most K-pop newbies would have heard the term Debut. It means an artist’s (soloist or group) first step into the industry. Usually in the form of a full studio album, a mini-album, an EP, or a standalone MV.
Ending Fairy
An Ending Fairy is when a particular member of the group gets a solo shot towards the end of a performance. A closing pose, usually with aegyo or a charming point of the chosen member.
Lightstick
A lightstick is a group’s unique glowstick usually used in concerts. Each group has their own vibe and design to differentiate from one another. This is one of the most important K-pop must-buys.
Weverse
Weverse is a popular community and streaming platform used by both fans and K-pop artists. In the Weverse app, this is where fandoms get to connect and interact with their biases.
MV
MV means Music video streaming. If music streaming is reflected in various music site charts and music broadcasting scores, YouTube music video streaming helps to increase awareness and attract overseas fans. Let’s use all the smart devices we have to increase the number of views and raise the awareness of our favourite stars.
Seobang
Seobang, which means ‘search prevention’, refers to filtering posts in a closed community so that they don’t appear on the surface. Change the name of an idol member to a community-exclusive alias, or a good example is inserting special symbols between syllables when referring to other idol names.
Search King
Search King an SNS (social media) heavy user idol who does a lot of searches. When you know a lot of memes and comments that are popular within the fandom, it makes communication more fun between you and your peers.
Aegyo
Search King an SNS (social media) heavy user idol who does a lot of searches. When you know a lot of memes and comments that are popular within the fandom, it makes communication more fun between you and your peers.
Dragon Ball
When you buy a Dragon Ball album, a photo card for each member is included as a component, and collecting all the members is expressed as “collecting the Dragon Balls”. Since they are included at random, the more members there are, the more difficult it is to collect them all. Because of this, the fan community frequently exchanges albums or buys and sells albums.
Jacon
A term that refers to self-produced content like video content such as reality entertainment produced by the agency itself is called ‘Jacon.’ As the number of offline events has decreased, ‘Jacon’ is like a God-send for fans.
Initial Chodong
The number of albums sold in a week from the release date is called the ‘Initial Chodong’ album, also roughly translated to English as ‘first week’ in terms of album sales. Pro tip: If you’re buying an album, it is better to purchase it during this period.
네임드 or neimdeu
네임드 or ‘neimdeu’ refers to a famous fan within the named fandom. This fan would often carry a gun or is active.
SMP
SMP is short for ‘SM Performance’. SM’s (as in SM Entertainment, multinational entertainment company) unique performance is referred to as SMP. Recently, it’s been used a lot for the girl groups, especially those who present a unique worldview and stage.
닥눈삼 or ‘dagnunsam’
In order to access the fandom fan community for the first time and learn about the atmosphere of the fandom, fandom terminology, and frequently used abbreviations, ‘dagnunsam’ is a slang term meaning ‘shut up and open your eyes for 3 months’. Be careful because mentioning the names of other idol members without notice or writing something that doesn’t fit the community atmosphere can lead to bullying.
Purification/Purifying
Purification of search terms related to hate or comments online. If an unsatisfying word appears in the related search term of the favourite idol, the fans go out and purify the related search term.
Oncon
‘Oncon’ or online concert is a new term added to terms that refer to various concerts such as ‘allcon’, ‘encon’, and ‘makcon’. As on-site concerts became impossible due to the COVID-19 crisis, many idol groups started meeting with their fans in the form of an online concert.
N fan
It refers to a fan who likes only ‘N’ people among the entire Nindan group, and it can be seen between ‘all fans’ who like all the members and ‘individual fans’ who like only one person. In the event of a scandal involving one member in a group, it is also referred to as a fan base that supports only the other members except for that member.
Bonjin
Bonjin refers to the most popular and favourite group. Even if you like several groups at once or you are a ‘migratory bird fan’, the main group is often fixed.
Core Fan Base
The core fan base that makes up the core fandom. For example, the more the core is an all-fan than an individual fan, the better the unity is. The fandom core can be specified not only by the fan’s disposition, but also by gender, age, etc.
Video Call Fan Signing Event
An abbreviation for Youngtong Fans’ ‘Video Call Fan Signing Event’. A new method appeared when the on-site fan signing event became impossible due to COVID-19. The application process is the same as before. Buying an album and receiving a ticket to a fan signing event. If you win ‘Youngtong Fans’, you can have a 1:1 video call with the idol for 1-2 minutes. The fact that the winning fan leaves the recording and uploads a video is also a big deal within the fandom.
‘Album gung’
Idol fanatics create content through album unboxing rather than luxury unboxing and share it with the community. At this time, the photo card that comes out randomly is the spectating point.
Dope
It is a compound word of a nickname or abbreviation that symbolizes the favourite idol member and ‘pro-love lover’. For example, Doyoung’s ‘professional love lover’ is called ‘dope’.
Yuyeon
‘Yuyeon’ is an abbreviation for ‘similar love’, and it refers to the virtue of feeling love for the idol.
Business Performance
A slang among fans for ‘business performance’. In terms of fan service, it refers to a performance that intentionally creates a couple-like atmosphere.
Z
When calling specific members in a group with a large number of people, add ‘Z’ after their nickname. It is used a lot when the chemistry is exceptionally good or when calling close members together.
즈즈즈/jeujeujeu
즈즈즈 or ‘jeujeujeu’. It is a term used to collectively refer to three popular 4th-generation idol groups, including The Boyz under Cre.Ker, Stray Kids under JYP, and ATEEZ under KQ. All group names end in ‘z’.
The era of ‘deokjil’ (K-pop slang) as an app…
The idol fandom culture also evolves. If the first-generation fandom had offline fan activities, the second-generation had online fan cafes, and the third-generation had various social media and YouTube channels. So what about the 4th generation? They range from a pre-voting app that allows you to easily raise your music broadcast score, to a chat app that breaks down the wall between artists and fans and allows for more private communication.