Making a dance cover is a popular way of K-pop fans expressing their love to the K-pop idols. However, Na Haeun, as a great kids K-pop dancer, is not only posting her dance cover videos on YouTube, but she is also attempting to have a closer connection with K-pop industry. I think having some experience like Haeun does is a dream of some K-pop fans because she is highly involved in the K-pop industry, but being a impressive K-pop fan like Haeun needs a great amount of efforts and opportunities.

Awesome Haeun, as a “professional” K-pop related Channel, is actually support by her parents and agency company. Awesome Haeun is not only based on the efforts and passion of Haeun to practice for those dance cover video, but also a composition of her company’s investment and her parents’ management. Not many fans can do their dance cover in a professional studio, while Haeun does. This is just because an agency company has chosen her and willing to help her access to the resources she needs. This opportunity also help her to get closer to the internal K-pop industry.

In additions, since Haeun is too young, the cultivation from her family is important. They are spending time with her on her dance cover like practicing and videoing and spending money on her training. I think Haeun is living like a kids idol trainee life style. Many parents in Korea do not allow heir children to do K-pop related activity “[because they] are aware that the cost of supporting their child’s dream of becoming a “Global K-pop star” is considerably high while the chances of success extremely slim,”(Ho Swee-Lin 2012,471), so it is surprised that Haeun’s parents are supporting her to do what she likes.

Haeun has over 350 thousand subscribers on her YouTube channel, and she is young. She represents the passion to K-pop from the young generation in Korean. I think this is the reason that Melon Music Awards invited her to introduce the nominees through dancing. “The Hallyu K-pop industry is clearly aware of the convergence of fan/consumer behavior that is rapidly shifting to being participatory through their daily social networking”( Jung Eun-Young 2015,83 ), which means the internal K-pop industry has already noticed the huge amount of fandom of the K-pop. This invitation is a signal that K-pop industry is trying to show that the participation and importance of young K-pop fan in this industry. They are not just audiences or fans of K-pop; they can be part of the K-pop if they want. This creates a great temtation for the young K-pop fans to enter K-pop industry. So, they can also have chances to be highly involved on K-pop like Haeun does, such as having collaborations with K-pop stars.

For most K-pop fans, involvement in K-pop will encourage her to keep loving K-pop. It is about the feeling of participating in one thing.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Eun-Young, Jung. “K-Pop Idols, Social Media, and the Remaking of the Korean Wave.” In Hallyu 2.0 The Korean Wave in the Age of Social Media, edited by Sangjoon Lee and Abe Mark Nornes. 73-89. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Pres, 2015.

Swee-Lin, Ho. “Fuel for South Korea’s ‘Global Dream Factory’: The Desires of Parents Whose Children Dream of Becoming K-pop Stars.” Korea Observer Vol.43, no.3 (2012): 471-502.