[Idallas]: All aboard the SS fandom.

Hello CSCB fandom friends.

It’s your host, iDallas.

Welcome back on board fandom friends.

Today we are diving headfirst into the world of Korean pop music and the amazing fandom community within the swag genre.

I have with me…

[Sue]: Hi everyone, my name is Sue Harb.

All right Sue, what brought you into the world of K-pop?

Ooh, my best friend of… like my best friend in junior high, she introduced me to all types of music.

So I was into like pop, punk, rock, like everything.

And then she introduced me to K-pop and I was like, wait a second.

From the hit list?

Yeah.

Yeah, there was something about it that was just so aesthetic.

I get you.

I actually have a similar experience, at least with junior high.

I remember a friend, it was like a mutual friend more or less.

She had invited us to a party and she showed K-pop and I was like, I like this.

I wasn’t completely grabbed by it yet.

And that’s only because I was into different things at the time.

So I was focused on those things.

But it’s funny because whenever I bring up my own first story with K-pop, which was the fact that I thought K-pop was J-pop.

Oh, yeah.

So I was super into anime when I was like 12.

And so I started looking into different anime openings and stuff like that.

But somehow I managed to find Boyfriend, actually.

And they’re still one of my favorite groups.

I’m actually wearing a Boyfriend bracelet today.

Yes, you are.

But I found, I want to say it was AIA.

That was the first song I heard from them.

And I had went on the assumption that this is just a J-pop group.

Never thought of it again.

So until I actually got into K-pop, I was like, I was so wrong.

So wrong.

But I couldn’t be any further.

So I get you when you’re like, oh, my God, what is this?

What is this?

Yeah, it was U-Kiss for me.

Yeah, I think it was shortly after Gangnam Style came out.

Because, you know, Gangnam Style was everywhere.

Literally in 2012.

And it was the song Stop Girl.

Okay, yeah.

And they had both versions, Korean and English.

Yeah.

And it kind of goes a little something like this.

Stop girl, in the name of love.

What you guys can’t see is that we’re jamming out.

It’s funny to say that, because we’re both older, I would consider us older gen fans, because they’re obviously K-pop.

K-pop has broken it up into gens, like generations, which is a whole thing in and of itself.

So it kind of goes by, once you get into, so first gen, like, just to kind of try and say it simply, because I’ve had this question before.

First gen would be the like 90s into the early 2000s.

Second gen is early 2000s into early 10s, maybe.

But that kind of mixes into, yeah, first gen, second gen is early 10s.

It’s a very debatable topic.

Yeah, it is.

It is.

Yeah, and all of these, like, it’s still like, some people are like, okay, when they really got popular versus when they debuted, and it’s just like, all right, all right, wrap it up.

But yeah, we’re older fans.

So we can, I think we both have a different perspective.

Like, we’ve seen the genre evolve and become what it is nowadays.

So going off of that and seeing how we are, we’ve seen the shift from one K-pop was not cool to cool.

How does a typical K-pop fandom differ from an American one?

Like that of like, the Beehives from Beyonce?

So what?

Break it down for me.

I think I’ve also had this question before.

And I still, it’s still like, differs.

It differs so much.

And it’s just two different cultures.

Literally.

It’s literally two different cultures.

It’s almost culture shock for some people when us, like, you know, me and you.

When we first got into it, when we’re younger, it’s still like, as much culture shock as it is for like, someone in their 30s, 40s, getting into it for the first time.

So how I would differentiate like, per se, like Beehive, the Beehive.

Is it Beehive?

Okay.

How I would differentiate like, for instance, the Beehive to, per se, like ARMY.

They have similarities, but they also have their differences.

Similarities would be like streaming.

Similarities would be like dedication, loyalty to their artist.

While differentiations would be, well, BTS is a boy group, there’s multiple members, you get to pick out, oh, this is my favorite member.

I like to support their stuff.

But I also like the rest of the members as well.

Another thing I would probably say that is different from like, Korean culture to like, American culture is definitely how you act towards the artist.

It isn’t just, I love you so much.

It’s like, no, I want like, they get really weird about it in Korean culture sometimes, or just K-pop fans.

Yeah, they get a little odd about it.

However, it just shows, like, we stay up in the middle of the night just for time zones.

Time zone differences, that’s one thing.

MV drops, or even just episode drops, because I know BTS has their own variety shows.

Like so many groups nowadays do have their own variety shows too.

And variety shows, for instance, are reality TV shows.

Yeah, pretty much.

We even have different phrases for these things.

Yeah, like our favorite members, bias.

Yeah, our biases.

Yep.

Bias wrecker.

Bias wrecker.

Oh my gosh.

That concept always puts people in a tizzy.

Yeah, because they’re like, why would they, why can’t I just like both?

Okay, you can.

Yeah.

But you just like one more.

It just feels different.

Yep.

It just feels different.

You just got a little bit more gravitational pull towards one side.

For me, the concept of having a bias and things like that didn’t really hit me until I was a little bit further into my time with K-pop only.

And that’s not to say that I didn’t love all the members, because I do, I still do.

But for BTS, for example, I didn’t have a bias for a very long time.

Oh.

Which is crazy for me to say to people, because they’re like, huh?

No one gravitated?

No, not at first.

But then the way I like to describe it was Jungkook literally went, grab me by the back of my collar and yanked.

Literally.

And from there I was gone.

So for me, it’s very much like that.

So sometimes I’ll find a group where I’m instantly like, that’s my favorite member or and then other times I’ll be like, all right, we’re chilling.

I love all the members.

We’re cool.

I don’t have a bias.

And then it’ll just happen out of nowhere.

So I completely agree with that.

But I also want to touch on the topic of concerts, because I think a lot of people don’t understand the difference in fandom culture from K-pop fans versus normal American fans.

To break it down for anybody at home who’s never been to a K-pop concert, you’re gonna look at an American concert first, actually.

Which an American concert, you can typically show up closer to showtime.

And it’s a relatively chill experience.

You don’t really, there’s not much going on.

You just meet up with your friends, or if you’re by yourself, you meet new people.

And then you get your ticket scanned, maybe get some merch, dress up if you want.

If you want.

Most times there are people in fan t-shirts and call it a day, which is totally fine.

But then you look at the K-pop concerts and take it away from me.

It is a complete 180.

Literally.

Everyone’s dressed up to the nines.

Literally.

It’s as though it’s the Met Gala.

Literally.

For one show, mind you.

For one show.

For one show.

And there’s so many people that are just dedicated to putting fits.

Some people will do it based off of the music videos.

Some people will do it based off of what the members wear.

Or memes within the communities.

Yeah.

I’ve seen, like, at Seventeen concerts.

Oh yeah.

The carrots.

Yeah.

Oh my god, the wigs.

The carrot suits and the wigs.

Oh my gosh.

The wigs is a whole different fandom inside joke.

It’s its own thing.

Oh my god.

Have you been noticing the trend with, like, the stick?

The glow stick on people’s bodies?

Oh yeah.

The LED people.

Yeah.

So you have, like, in the fandoms itself, it’s like, people are dressed to the nines.

People are dressed as memes.

Dressed as members.

Whichever.

That’s not even it.

Yeah, it really isn’t.

It’s a whole other thing that I’ve heard from K-pop concerts bled into, like, I guess, like, American concerts?

Like, normal concerts?

Dressing up specifically.

But so, like, um, fan culture within, like, bracelet making.

I was going to say the freebies.

The freebies.

Yeah, the freebies.

And also another thing we have in K-pop concerts is banner projects.

Oh my god, I love banner projects.

Yes, I’ve hosted some myself.

Yeah, yeah.

You’ve been, I was literally there.

I helped cast out banners.

Which, that day was brutally hot.

That’s all I’m going to tell you.

The concert in question we were talking about, it was a Seventeen concert.

Be the Sun.

Yes.

In 2022.

Yep.

It was sweltering.

It was literally so hot.

And I was wearing a long sleeve.

That was my bad.

I was wearing a blazer and suit pants in red.

I remember that.

Yeah.

And I was like, I mean, if I’m hot, probably hot.

It was a tank top.

Okay, so it’s not too, not terrible.

But still enough.

That’s actually a perfect segue, because you’ve managed to turn your love for, like, doing projects like the banner project, for example, or even things, which are another interesting fact about K-pop fans and that what makes us different is, like, cupsleeve events.

And so, Soo, you want to take that from me?

So, depends on how you want me to explain.

Do you want me to explain it in a way where it’s simple to understand?

Or do you want me to explain it in a business type of way?

I’ll say, let’s take it to the simpler terms, just for the audience at home.

Cool, cool, cool.

So, simpler terms would be, you go to a local boba shop.

It is never a chain.

It is never a chain boba shop.

Local boba shop.

Well, actually, first of all, how you even find these events is usually through social media.

Yep.

So, for instance, I go by Boo Seok Soo on Instagram, self promo.

I wasn’t really going to show you that.

Yeah.

And I’m going to post in, like, two weeks to a month ahead of time, I’m going to be posting like, hey, I’m going to be hosting an event on this day, this time.

These are the details.

And this is the boba shop.

This is the time you show up.

This is what you’re going to get from purchasing a drink.

And that’s all you really need to do.

Show up on that day, show up to the boba shop, come in, order a drink, come to the host table, and you’ll get your freebies, which is typically a cup sleeve and a photo card.

Yeah.

If not, like, more stuff.

Yeah, the cup sleeve for everybody who doesn’t typically know what a cup sleeve is, it depends on the type of event that’s being hosted.

Sometimes it’s for a specific member’s birthday.

Sometimes it’s for the whole group.

Sometimes it’s just in general K-pop.

So people will create these things.

So that comes into things like graphic design, having to learn how to do that to fit the dimensions of the cup sleeve that will go around your drink that you purchase.

And the whole idea is essentially to foster the sense of community within everybody.

And on that, tell me, what was your first event like?

I’m sure that was awfully stressful.

It was.

It was just me and one other person helping me out.

And we didn’t know what to expect.

It was actually here in Bakersfield.

I was actually going to ask that because I know you do both events in LA and over here.

Yeah.

So it was in Bakersfield at Boba Point.

Right.

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

I miss those days.

Nostalgia.

I went a lot to those events.

Yeah.

Isn’t that how we met?

That is actually how we met.

We actually met through a mutual friend of ours.

And she had taken me over there one day.

And I was very much just like, I don’t know what to expect, guys.

But then we met and we became friends from there.

Yes.

So and I met a lot of people.

Oh, yeah.

Not all my close friends.

But the community part is correct.

But in terms of like, how I’ve met people through like in now my personal community, most of it comes from those events.

But back to the first event.

I actually had I still remember this.

I had two people come to this event.

And they were like, yeah, we came from Long Beach.

Oh, wow.

Long Beach.

And I was like, my job was like on the floor.

Yeah.

I was so confused.

Why would you come all the way out here?

And they were they were telling me, oh, yeah, it’s because all you need to do at your event is to buy a drink and then you get the cup sleeve, you get you get everything.

And I was like, okay, I’m still confused.

Like, there’s so many other there’s a different there’s different.

There’s so many other cup sleeve events that you could go to that are probably closer to you way closer.

And they were like, oh, we had to pay.

Oh, we had to just get on top of like, not only getting the cup sleeve.

I mean, not only getting the drink.

Yeah, getting the drink.

So they would have to purchase a drink, then they would have to purchase a set of like freebies, but they’re not freebies at that point.

Those are just goodies.

Yeah, you’re buying you’re just paying for them.

That’s a whole nother thing, too.

So and I was thinking to myself, that’s not the point.

That’s not the point of these events.

If you’re like, I understand if you’re trying to make your money back, I definitely get that.

Yeah.

But if you’re trying to get a sense of community out of this, that’s not the way to go.

Yeah, I totally agree.

I that’s definitely that makes a lot of sense.

Because what brought a lot of us into it and this is from somebody who’s been to the events myself, is this idea that I because I remember with my first event with you, I don’t believe you had tears just yet.

I could be completely wrong about that.

But it’s you you don’t just have tears, you have the normal cup sleeve.

And that’s its own thing in and of itself.

Obviously, you want to make your money back, like you said, and do all of that.

And for you, I know it’s turned into a much bigger deal and much bigger thing.

It’s a much bigger scale.

Yeah.

So yeah, so so like, let’s get into like the logistics for that.

So what does it look like for you to like to to even put on a cup sleeve event?

Wow, a lot of I’m a very type A detailed person I have to see I have to visually actually like if I close my eyes, I have to actually be able to walk through the entire event and see okay, I’m putting my vendors here.

I’m putting the host table here.

This is where they’re ordering their drinks.

This is where there’s going to be a photo opportunity, where it’s like a photo booth, right type of thing.

Like just for example, that’s how detailed I am.

Because you kind of have to be though, because I like we’ve been to Bell Baphonia, that place is small, it is tiny.

But in LA, I I’ve worked with bigger places, right?

So you have much more space.

I have much more space.

And I have a lot more.

I guess pressure in a way.

Yeah, I want to say the scale.

Yeah, the scale is different for sure.

Like when you come from like Bakersfield to and go to someplace like LA and the amount of things like for take this for what you will, but I actually think I attribute you, you specifically to the person who started everybody else countries like starting like cup sleeve events because there was whole, there are there are whole groups and other people who do different events as well.

But I feel like you were the first one to really start it here.

Yeah, and it kind of grew into its own thing.

I’m not going to like, per se, like, brag, the teacher home horn.

Yeah, I’m not going to when it’s a fact that I did start it.

Yeah, you did up here in October of 2021.

Yep.

And that was literally I want to say when.

And that was Jimin’s birthday, BTS Jimin.

Right.

Birthday.

And I still remember that just so well.

So, so how does marketing look for that?

Because I like we just discussed you have your own page specifically for the events you do.

How does that work for you?

Do you like I know there there’s this idea for social media to push monetarily?

How do you go about it?

So personally, I, I do have a bigger following, I would say, like, give or take depends on how you look at it.

Yeah.

But I have a consistent enough following where people look at my page.

And they’re like, Oh, she hosts events.

I’m going to like, see which events she’s hosting.

And I’m going to see which one I can go to.

Right?

That’s majority of my like, following.

They do follow me for my events.

Yes, they don’t necessarily follow me for.

They follow me for other things, of course.

But mainly for my events, if not for my banner projects.

That makes sense.

I know, too, that, at least for us, because we’re friends and everything like that, especially with events like here in Bakersfield, like we’ll be reposting them and stuff like that.

So I also feel like that could probably be a big thing, too, for you.

So for marketing in general, I would say I’m posting all my stories I’m posting on my feed, obviously, hashtags, I’m reposting, I have other people sharing it as well, right?

Like there are accounts on Instagram specifically to reshare.

Oh, the like different I’ve seen a few events.

Yeah, the different like, there’s specific like, oh, to Bakersfield or to LA and different things like that.

Yeah, I’ve seen those.

Yeah.

And then there are times where I have paid, like monetary, like paid ads, essentially.

I have done that.

And do you feel like there’s a difference between when you pay versus when you don’t?

Yes, definitely.

What’s that difference look like?

A lot more.

It’s targeted more towards the people in the area.

Okay.

Okay.

That makes sense.

Because you have to target your like a geolocation type of deal.

Yeah.

Geolocation.

Yeah, essentially.

And then I have to put in the age range and then I have to put what their interests are.

Yeah.

And usually all those people in the area, they’re like, oh, like, it came up on my feed.

Right.

I’m gonna go.

Yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Do you still get the same anxiety that you do when you like what from when you first hosted your first event to now with how you’re doing them more frequently?

Yes.

Kind of.

What ways has it changed?

It’s my anxiety has changed a lot over the years.

Because from my first event to like, now, my first event, my anxiety was, will anyone come?

Right?

Will people like this?

I don’t know what people want from me.

I don’t know who’s going to come.

I, I, it was basically an abyss of like, I don’t know.

Right?

The unexpected.

The unknown.

I don’t know what I’m walking into.

Yeah, I don’t know what I’m walking into.

So but now it’s more like, okay, when are they coming?

Right?

I shouldn’t really be saying it like that.

But that’s kind of how like, I think you’ve gained a following.

So I mean, it makes sense.

There are a lot of people who will go to these things, like again, our own mutual friendship, go to them very frequently.

So it was a matter of Okay, when are they coming in?

For real?

Because you know, people are coming.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So do you feel like the process, like has been kind of streamlined?

Now?

You know, okay, this is this is this is point A, I’m gonna get to point Z streamline or like second nature for you?

Yeah, I would say it’s second nature for me.

Now, when I first started, it was very like, do I need to post this?

Do I need to post that?

Right?

What do people want to know for this event?

Even though I feel like I had a very basic, like, okay, you buy a drink, you get the cup sleeve in the photo card.

We’re good.

Yeah.

But then I started adding on like, small vendors, and then I started adding on like more activities and random K-pop, K-pop and play.

Yeah, just its own thing.

And so yes, for the audience at home, there’s a lot of drama that happens sometimes.

We won’t get into that today.

But just know that there is tea to be clocked.

Okay, on that point, what do you feel like is the most difficult part of these events?

Most difficult part of these events?

Honestly, there was one situation I’ve had, where when I hosted in downtown LA, oh my gosh, you can, you can probably imagine.

I was like, I’m kind of scared.

But now I want to know.

Of course, of course.

So it’s downtown LA, what are you expecting?

Unfortunately, unhoused people who have not been treated.

They’re going through a lot.

Right.

And so I’m a very, I guess, generous person, I will go out of my way and buy them food.

But I will still also in a way isolate them from everyone else to make sure everyone else is safe.

Right.

And I’ve done that.

In this situation, in downtown LA, someone, I was outside, it just so happened.

And she walked up to me and she just starts telling me, I don’t even, I don’t want to repeat it.

Right.

Explicit, to say the least.

It was very irrelevant.

I’ll say that.

It was pretty irrelevant.

So I don’t remember much of it.

But what I did remember is that at one point, I get her food, like I ordered some food for her, and I bring it outside.

And she, I guess she might have like followed me inside or something.

But she ended up getting inside and there there’s the whole event inside going on.

Right.

And she starts harassing one of my vendors.

Oh, my gosh.

And obviously, I had to stop her.

Right.

So that’s a situation that happened.

Yeah.

So so like the unexpected sometimes happens.

And I just have to have this like, you have to you have to literally be on top of that.

Yeah, be on my toes.

Yeah, essentially, because anything can happen.

Yeah, especially in like a very, very, very big city like LA.

So I totally understand that.

Do you feel like you have to deal with anything similar here in Bakersfield just on the side of smaller scale?

Um, not really, even though the side of town we were on for Boba Point was a little, I don’t want to say it was the best, but it wasn’t the worst.

Yeah.

Honestly, Boba Point was probably one of the chillest places you could be.

It was.

It definitely was.

So I didn’t necessarily have to, I was dealing with other things.

Right.

While being here in Bakersfield, while other things were happening, like, there’s a lot playing into like life stuff.

Yeah.

Behind the scenes.

That makes sense.

Okay.

So your account, back to your account, it’s expanded amazingly.

How do you view it, though?

Do you view it as very much just like, this is only my business?

Or do you view it as okay, this is something that I have to continue to cherish and keep a part of if I want to continue moving forward?

Um, that’s hard to answer.

I would, like, I haven’t thought about either of one of those.

Right.

Because I still feel like I can improve.

I always feel like I can improve.

I always feel like it’s always going to be mine.

Of course, I’m not gonna like, yeah, like pass it off to somebody.

Yeah, I’m not gonna.

No, no, I can’t do that.

I, I love Busuu too much.

It’s such a, I, it very much is you on your, it’s your account.

It’s very much your branding, I feel.

I didn’t think that it would get this far.

Like, I didn’t think it would grow this much.

Right.

Like, I never would have thought, like, people look at my account, and they’re like, oh, my God, wait, I’m sorry, wait, I don’t know how to say your username.

But like, it’s like, boo.

Oh, yeah, or the 17 reference or like, you’re Suu.

I’m like, and I just recently changed my icon a couple months ago.

I remember that.

Yeah.

I’m on Instagram way too much.

No, you’re good.

No, I actually had an event this past Saturday.

And one of the people, two of the people who came, she was like, oh, my God, wait, you’re Suu.

I’ve been following you since like, forever since you like, changed, like, before, like, you changed your icon and all that stuff.

And even another person who I had never met before, was like, oh, like, was asking me questions.

And I was like, wait, why does it feel like they know me?

And I don’t know them.

I feel bad.

And she was like, aren’t I supposed to ask you?

And I’m like, oh, I’m Suu.

Yes, I’m the host.

But like, um, like, I started becoming like a little nervous, right?

So for me, I kind of can view it as not necessarily an influencer type of thing.

But you are an influencer in a type of way, because you are associated in these things.

And people know you as this.

So it kind of becomes a point of, oh, I know them, because they’re friends with so and so or I know them through the events.

No, it’s now.

Oh, I’m being associated with this type of thing.

This is how they know me.

Right.

So it’s very much a social, very much a social media presence.

Do you have like an ongoing like professional portfolio up for use?

Like that you will reference with these types of events?

I should.

It’s just hard.

I get it.

I like I could, I could make a portfolio with all the graphics I’ve made.

Right?

You’ve done a lot for sure.

But in terms of like actual event coordination, I’ve done it only by myself.

Right.

So it’s not like anyone can really like back me up on it.

Right.

Do you kind of just use your Instagram as that type of thing?

Yeah, that makes sense.

That Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

Okay.

Because I don’t know your major, that has your major been an aid in any way to like helping you with these types of events?

Yeah, I’m actually a business administration major with a concentration in marketing.

Okay.

So it just fits.

Has it has it like, has learning all of these things here at CSDB just kind of made everything click for you?

Like, oh, I can reference this thing and this thing because I’ve seen it happen.

Yes, actually, yesterday in my management 4000 class, strategic management, she was talking about VR IO.

And it was the value.

If I remember correctly, valuable rarity.

I forgot the I, I always forget the I. But point is, is like, the VR IO is a competitive strategy, right?

So what makes you so what makes you stand out from other people?

So for me, as a event coordinator, event host, a lot of people come back to my events, because they know my events are a high standard.

And they know they can always come to my events and expect a certain level of quality.

Yeah, that makes sense.

I mean, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

Actually, on that, too.

How do you feel your skills have developed within like marketing, project management and the creative elements in your work like graphic design?

My graphic design has definitely gotten a lot better along the years, especially since I did take a little break from event hosting for a while.

I remember that as well.

Yeah.

So my events, like in terms of graphic wise, I thought they would have like, I guess like went down in quality, but a lot of people were saying, Oh, my God, I love this cup sleeve.

I just had a feedback form, around like, 30 people filled it out.

And none of them had said like, Oh, the cup sleeve didn’t incise me.

None of them said that.

So it meant that like, all of them really enjoyed the cup sleeve.

Correct me if I’m wrong here.

But I also remember if I’m correct, you made a cup sleeve book.

So for people…

Oh, yes.

Yes, I did.

I promise I do.

But so it’s a collect book.

Kind of like, think of Pokemon cards.

Yeah.

Pokemon cards, how they have those binders for like the different with different sleeves.

So I made a, essentially a binder with sleeves for your cup sleeves.

And honestly, you could fit other things in there as well, like photo cards and such.

So yeah, that makes sense, too.

I feel like that opened your opened it up to like a niche market, too, because there are people in in this community who go to cup sleeve events and don’t want to put that on their drink.

They like the way it looks and they like to display it.

So I think that’s also another level for the K-pop fandom.

And that’s what separates us from like an American fandom.

Because we do collect things like photo cards, which is PCs, cup sleeve from cup sleeves events, freebies, freebies, it could be like bracelets, could be like bracelets, could be postcards, could be like, I don’t know, like, there’s, you could kind of be anything.

Honestly, it could be memes, for all I care on stickers, like, honestly, but to kind of go back on the professional development.

I’ve had to pitch myself.

That makes sense.

Yeah, I’ve had to pitch myself to some of these boba shops.

And they and at first they were like, I don’t get this.

I don’t understand this.

And once I visually walk them through it, like step by step, this is how it’s going to work.

And then they think about it.

And they’re like, Oh, this is basically a marketing campaign.

Yeah, yeah.

Because you’re because it’s not just for the community.

It’s also brings in sales, customers, it’s bringing in sales foot traffic.

And it’s bringing the Russians that it does.

It brings them revenue, brand awareness.

Ah, yeah, that’s what I was thinking.

I was like awareness of what brand awareness.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Because like, with like, let’s, let’s go back to boba point.

A lot of people kind of recognized it as the like, the spot spot for beggars filled events for that.

So I totally get that.

Um, well, your professional endeavors stay within the world, work of kpop stay within LA?

Or do you have plans to take this like, XYZ type of place?

Do you plan to go out and explore that type of stuff and bring it to different places?

Or what?

What do you feel like you like with that?

Right now, I’m trying to stay in LA.

Okay.

Yeah.

However, if there are opportunities for me to, like, take it elsewhere, I’d be more than happy to.

Okay, cool.

Do you want to stay within kpop as a fandom for your professional career?

Or do you wish to expand it into different areas?

Like, um, let’s take Cubs for example, if you have some other type of thing you want to do, but it kind of relates in a way to Cubs leaves, and it’s not necessarily attributed to kpop.

Are you looking to expand in that?

Or you’re like, okay, I kind of want to keep my my job more kpop focus.

Part of me does want to stay in kpop because I’m so familiar with it, right?

And I still stay up to trend on it and everything.

However, I do like to travel.

So tourism might be another like, realm.

That makes sense.

Might be another area I want to go into.

Okay.

Do you feel your work has affected your fandom sign?

And by that, I mean, do you feel like there’s kind of this detachment from kpop as like, you have you had a love for it, but now it’s okay, I’m kind of taken out of it because I use this for my job.

No.

No.

I love that.

Actually, I was thinking that that was the answer.

But I was as you know, me so well.

I know that a lot of people can kind of get not necessarily cynical in a way, but again, detached and kind of apathetic to that idea, especially when they make something as difficult as their jobs with things that they love to do.

But yeah, I’ve seen I see the way you look at, okay, but at all these events, you’re stressed, but you’re happy.

Exactly, exactly what it is.

I’m always stressed.

Like, if you saw me last week, you would have been like, okay, is this event gonna go through?

Like, I’m kind of worried for her.

But no, I, at first I did, I did have to take a little break.

I did get burnt out at one point.

Right.

But then I realized, no, I want to go back into events.

It’s something that I’m truly passionate about.

The community is my passion.

I love seeing like, everyone getting together and just like being happy about music about kpop.

Yeah, it’s so it’s so fun seeing everyone like in just chatting with everyone, too.

Like, it’s not just like me just not being a host and just like being off to the corner.

Like, no, I’m interacting with everyone.

You’re making friends, you’re having good conversation.

That’s that’s what it is about.

That’s what I feel brings people into kpop as a whole.

Like, don’t get me wrong, the fandom, fandoms on all ends of kpop can have their toxic sides can have, of course, so much drama.

But I feel like these types of things really is what set kpop apart, in terms of at least fandom for a lot of people.

And a lot of people enjoy kpop that much more for things like upslope events.

So what’s next for you?

What do you think?

Well, I am graduating this semester from CSUB.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

I’m thinking I’m definitely thinking of doing my master’s in communications.

It’s funny, because it’s a concentration in tourism and entertainment, right?

So it’s exactly what I wanted to do.

I’m just, you know, everyone who’s listening, please pray for me.

Pray that I get a master degree because good lord, as it is already, I fill you with communications degrees.

It’s just so impersonal.

Heck, that’s all I will say.

But no, I think you’ll do great.

I think I, I know I’ll do well.

It’s just the matter of getting myself across well.

Yeah, it’s just some you got to essentially, you’re gonna you’re gonna have to cross that bridge when you get there.

Exactly.

You’ll do just fine.

Exactly.

You’ve done you’ve done everything up to this point.

What what’s stopping you now?

Literally, honestly, nothing stopping me other than myself.

Okay, Sue, I want to thank you for joining me today.

As you heard here, dear fandom friends, fandom isn’t contained to just one area.

It can be a professional opportunity that expands from the simple joy you had.

Like Sue, you can take it to the biggest heights, you can still foster that love.

But like many other people, it can become a source of hatred.

It could be something something you grow apathetic to.

But all in all, this all rolls back to what does fandom make you want to do?

Does fandom mean that you want to keep it to yourself?

Does fandom mean you want to share it with others?

Does fandom mean you want to expand it to things like cupsleeves?

That simple joy you have within fandom can make a big difference.

And in Sue’s case, it became a professional career.

Until next time, this has been your host, Idalis.

I hope to see you set sail with us again.

Thank you again, Sue.

Thank you.

Across the Fandomverse uploads every Thursday.

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