With the increasing fame of K-pop artists worldwide, anything they do can easily become a hot topic. Their huge influence on fans is evident whenever they start a trend, whether consciously or unconsciously.
Fans participate in these trends as a way of bringing themselves closer to their idols and engaging with other members of their fandom. In some cases, such trends even reach non-fans as well!
Here are some fan trends and challenges popularized by K-pop idols that became viral:
Finger Heart
When non-fans think of K-pop or K-dramas, one of the first things that come to mind is the finger heart pose. Typically used by Korean celebrities as a gesture of sending their love to fans, the finger heart pose is made by crossing the thumb and index finger to form a small “heart.”
Although it remains uncertain who invented the pose, its popularization is linked to certain K-pop idols like Big Bang’s G-Dragon and INFINITE’s Nam Woohyun. The finger heart is just one of the ways that K-pop idols express their love for fans. Likewise, fans participate in this trend and often make this pose to signify their connection with Korean culture.
Dance Challenge Collabs
Until recent years, you wouldn’t have imagined K-pop idols promoting their songs on TikTok, much less collaborating with other artists for a dance challenge. Thanks to Zico and his “Any Song” challenge with MAMAMOO’s Hwasa in 2020, dance challenge collabs have now become a must for K-pop idols during their comebacks. More often than not, these challenges consist of basic steps that fans can pull off. For idols, it’s a good way to make their songs go viral as more people participate in their dance challenge.
Fans love seeing their idols mingle with other artists, especially if it’s with celebrity friends or those who’ve never publicly interacted before. It’s also a way to see their idols do a cover of another artist’s song, albeit briefly. Because of TikTok’s algorithm, there are cases where a dance challenge made by someone other than the artist becomes popular (like EXO’s “First Snow”) or an old song suddenly goes viral years after it was released (like TWICE’s “Look At Me”). Fans also participate in dance challenges with their friends, sometimes even adding their own touch to the steps.
Gwiyomi Song
If you’ve been active on social media since 2013, you’ve probably encountered this Internet craze before. Featuring a catchy melody accompanied by a series of cute hand gestures that match the lyrics, the Gwiyomi Song trend was popularized by Ilhoon from BTOB. It shows increasing levels of cuteness, with each set of gestures counting from one to six. Fans and idols alike participated in the trend, some even creating playful interpretations of the song!
Random Play Dance
Your K-pop fan experience wouldn’t be complete without witnessing a random play dance in public. The Random Play Dance started as a game for guests appearing on the Korean variety show “Weekly Idol,” where K-pop idols frequently appeared. It involves dancing briefly to a specific part of a song, mostly choruses or dance breaks. The game is exciting to watch as participants don’t know what song and which part will be playing, putting them on the spot.
Nowadays, random play dances aren’t really conducted as a game anymore but more as a gathering for dancer fans during K-pop conventions or other events. With different fandoms being unified through the familiar dance steps and hit songs that get played on the streets, it’s fascinating to see people dance together to K-pop. This way, they get to show off their dancing skills while bonding with fellow fans.
Aegyo Challenge
In Korea, “aegyo” is a term for acting cutely, often as a display of affection. This is done through babyish actions such as pouting, using a baby voice, and making cute hand gestures or facial expressions. K-pop idols are frequently asked to show their “aegyo” as fans love seeing their cute sides. Although most idols feel shy doing it, they still grant fans’ wishes as a sign of appreciation.
Eventually, this developed into a challenge for idols when they appear on variety shows, sometimes used as a consequence if they lose a game. Even on TikTok, there’s an aegyo challenge trend for idols and fans alike, including the “PoPiPo” and “Sorry for being cute” songs.
You might be able to relate to a few or all of these trends and challenges. Ultimately, they show how you celebrate your shared passion with fellow fans and connect with your favorite K-pop artists. In the process, you may even influence other people as well!
