Netizens are Korean entertainment influencers

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In recent decades, Internet slang has become a whole layer of linguistics, giving food for thought to many philologists and translators. In order to keep up with the times, consider the concept of the word "netizen", which is often found in Korean culture.

Who are netizens in Korea?

The word came from the merger of the English "internet" and "citizen", translated into Russian by the word "networker". The term generally means an active citizen of the Internet community. In South Korea, netizens have a very serious influence on public opinion and are considered a huge force. Approving comments from Korean netizens can boost an idol's ratings to unprecedented heights, while severe criticism from them can easily ruin a career.

The purpose of netizens is very similar to the influencers of the American YouTube, who in one way or another form public opinion on a certain range of issues. The opinion of most netizens is unbiased and based on their own beliefs, however, realizing the power of this community, many companiesthought about cooperation. Thus, the opinion of some netizens is difficult to be considered objective due to their cooperation with certain companies.

How do you know if an influencer is telling the truth? It is almost impossible to do this. For such cases, there are special drama channels on American YouTube that expose unscrupulous influencers and people who lie to the audience for money. In South Korea, this industry is much less developed, but there are also not as many corrupt bloggers there as in the US.

Who are netizens in K-pop

Netizens are notable for always trying to get to the bottom of things, especially when the mainstream media doesn't. It's no surprise that just a few months ago, a great joke was born in Korea about the huge potential of netizens. It was proposed to create a "netizen task force" that would be able to investigate any scandal better than any professional journalist or even the police.

Who are idols and netizens and how they are interconnected, every fan of K-pop culture knows. In South Korea, this word refers to avid internet users who are fans of popular Korean idols and leave a bunch of comments on all kinds of resources dedicated to their idols.

Netizens are a formidable force that can put a star on a pedestal and overthrow it into the abyss at any moment, so absolutely all idols and even the media treat these people with respect and some fear. They arehave repeatedly demonstrated their influence on the well-being and career of famous media people in South Korea: pop stars, actors, etc. Idol promotion companies monitor the comments of netizens almost hourly, because being in the center of attention of the latter promises to gain huge popularity! Netizens are the driving force behind the entertainment industry as well as PR, which is bought and sold just like in any other country.

Netizens vs Sassen

It is necessary to distinguish between adequate netizens and so-called sasaengs - crazy fans of pop idols who blindly adore their idols, leave hundreds of positive comments, and also unleash real Internet wars with those who do not agree with their opinion. Sasens are often compared to stalkers, stalking idols, stealing their belongings, sneaking into houses, and invading the personal lives of stars in every possible way. It is difficult to call them fans, these are people with an unstable psyche who, in a fit of passion, can even harm their idol. Netizens are adequate Internet users, and their activities have nothing to do with the private lives of the idols in question.

Media play and paid PR

The term Media Play means paid control of corporations, agencies or companies over news agencies and Internet portals in order to obtain their own benefit. Such control is carried out as follows:

• Buying leadership in ratings, publishing articles, cheating positive comments. This method is very popular all over the world andneeds comments.
• Press releases. PR agencies often send out information that is not related to the idol's professional activities: a new hairstyle, a trip, a new crush, etc. The main thing is the publication itself to draw attention to the idol.
• Buying silence if an idol is involved in any public scandal.

Netizens directly participate in all of the above activities. They comment on articles in a certain way, withhold facts or, conversely, falsify information, create the necessary public opinion about the idol. Thanks to this industry, it is difficult for the average viewer to figure out where the truth is, and where the custom comments are, and who can be trusted at all.

Netizens vs international K-pop fans

South Korean netizens are ardent haters of K-pop fans from other countries. Firstly, they have their own opinion on this matter, and it is far from positive. In their opinion, international fans pay too much attention to the ships that are posted absolutely everywhere. Secondly, they literally demand to publish in English, while Korean fans simply use an online translator instead of requiring a foreign star to write in their language.

They are also annoyed by the self-confidence of fans who pretend to know everything, living thousands of miles from Korea. And the last reason for the dislike of foreign fans is the illegal downloading of Korean music and posting on YouTube, while Korean fans honestly download music formoney and buy CDs to support their idols.