Fan rice
Fan rice, usually stacks of rice bags decorated with ribbons and photos, are gifts from K-Pop fans to their favourite artists. The amount of donated rice can vary between a few kilograms and several tonnes.[1][2]
History
The trend started in the late 2000s when fans began to send food to their favorite music artists, and took off in 2011.[3] Today, there are entire businesses dedicated to the donation of fan rice in South Korea.[3]
Characteristics
Fans of K-pop buy bags of rice and donate them to their favorite artists. Before rice wreaths appeared, fans used to send flower bouquets. Rice is sorted out in 20 kg bags, arranged into 'towers' by dedicated companies who purchase the rice from local farmers and transport it to the venues according to the orders from the fan clubs. Fans often inscribe special or personal messages onto the bags or attach photos to them. Donating rice indicates that fans take greater social responsibility besides showing their respect and support to their favourite artists. Sending rice bags to venues have also appeared in Japan, as part of the K-pop wave.[1][4][2]
Largest fan rice donations
As of 2012, the record of fan rice donated for a single celebrity event is held by the fan club of Kim Jaejoong, where fans from 30 countries donated 23.68 tonnes of rice at the press conference of Dr. Jin.[5][6]
For Rain's concert,The Best Show Tour, his Korean fan club "Cloud Korea" collectively donate 3.61 tons of rice to the hungry.
References
- ^ a b "South Korea's Greatest Export: How K-Pop's Rocking the World". Time Magazine. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ a b "'Rice wreaths' indicate that K-Pop fandoms are becoming more mature". Allkpop. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ a b WOO, JAEYEON. "Seoul Food: Treating Your Idol to Lunch Is the True Test of Fandom". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
For a Contribution of Just $135, You Can Feed a Korean Pop Star
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "KARA's Japanese fans the first to donate rice for a concert in Japan". Allkpop. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ Kim Jaejoong holds the record of largest rice donation from fans (in Korean). Y Star. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ "Kim Jae Joong's Global Fans Donate Over 20 Tons of Rice, Largest Collection Yet". enewsworld. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2012.