Billboard on July 30 released the story "K-Pop Fandom in the U.S." based on its survey of 1,400 K-pop fans in America aged 14 and above. Shown is a scene from this year's My K-Festa's K-pop concert on June 19 at KSpo Dome in Seoul's Songpa-gu District. (My K-Festa's official website)

By Margareth Theresia

K-pop has transcended music into becoming a source of spiritual comfort and energy for its American fans, a major American music magazine says.

Billboard on July 30 said this in its story "K-Pop Fandom in the U.S." based on its survey of 1,400 K-pop fans aged 14 and above, exploring the effects of K-pop fandom on individual identity and sentiment.

When asked what they gain from K-pop fandom, 49% of respondents said "it inspires you to become a better person" and 41% said "I consider idols good role models," showing that they view K-pop as wisdom for life as well as music.

In addition, 85% answered that K-pop "helps relieve stress," 82% said it "gives hope for the future" and 62% said it "offers a sense of belonging through the fan community."

The core of the K-pop fan base was the fans in the 13-24 age range with 48%. They were generally active online but also the least likely to spend money on K-pop, attend in-person fan events and go to K-pop concerts.

Fans in the 45-54 age bracket, however, were the most likely to purchase a K-pop box set, or an album bundled with other merchandise such as T-shirts or posters, (55%), buy official merchandise (82%) and attend concerts (47%). Thus this demographic showed the "most likelihood of spending on K-pop."

K-pop fans also had a tendency to collect merchandise. Seventy-four percent of them said they purchase K-pop albums not only to simply listen to them but also own the albums, while 68% bought related merchandise over the past year.

Glenn Peoples, wrote the report, said, "With Americans' growing interest in K-pop and groups born from K-pop's artist development methods, expect more industry efforts on U.S. soil."

margareth@korea.kr