"Mom, I'll go watch Eomma Hero"... The Power of Senior Fandom Surpassing 10 Billion Won [2024 Content②]

Senior Fandom Rising... Lim Young-woong's Movie Revenue Hits 10 Billion KRW
'This World Idol' Crowdfunding Raises 8.8 Billion KRW
Increase in Content IP Pop-up Stores... Many with Long Queues

The content industry generates diverse cultures. This year’s key topic was fandom. It brought about changes that broke down the boundaries of generations and spaces.

Yonhap News

Yonhap News

The newly emerging group is the senior fandom. The baby boomer generation (born in the social trend following the post-war baby boom), equipped with cultural experiences and economic capital from their youth, was actively engaged.

The artist who received the most passionate support was singer Lim Young-woong. Beyond traditional concerts and advertisements, he created a phenomenon even in theaters. The concert film "Lim Young-woong: I’m Hero The Stadium (10,117,317,500 KRW)" surpassed 10 billion KRW in sales. The cumulative audience reached 357,865. This accounts for 48.7% of the total 723,000 viewers of live concert films released this year.

The existing MZ fandom deepened its tendency to consume content based on tastes and values. This is evident in Kakao Entertainment’s webtoon "Beyond Dimension: This World’s Idol," which originated from a virtual girl group. The crowdfunding amount for the webtoon’s print edition and merchandise exceeded 8.8 billion KRW. About 35,000 people participated, with an average contribution of 250,000 KRW per person.

Kakao Entertainment plans to accelerate its intellectual property (IP) fandom business. A representative from the Korea Creative Content Agency said, "Expansion into various content genres such as video and games, as well as collaborations with various consumer goods, are expected."

The space where fandom activities take place has also expanded. The experiential venues have extended both online and offline. Live concert films like "Lim Young-woong: I’m Hero The Stadium" are prime examples. In 2022, only five such films were released. However, last year the number increased to thirteen, and this year twenty films have been released. A representative from the Korea Creative Content Agency explained, "This is a change in theater spaces driven by fandom," adding, "It has proven the potential for new revenue models by serving as an online music content concert hall."

The increase in content IP pop-up stores is also noteworthy. This year, 136 pop-up stores operated, accounting for 20.1% of all pop-up stores. Examples include the "Kungya Restaurants" container store, the "Squid Game Season 2" pop-up store, and the "Bbangbbang-i" pop-up store. Many of these locations saw long lines of people even before opening.

Some IPs have been combined with consumer goods such as food, beauty, tourism, fashion, and education to launch collaborative products. A Korea Creative Content Agency representative evaluated, "Strong fandom has acted as a driving force connecting content IPs both online and offline."

This year, theme parks rapidly emerged as playgrounds for these fandoms. Both Everland and Lotte World have begun full-scale businesses utilizing content IPs. Everland created the horror-themed space "Blood City," where visitors can enjoy the Netflix popular series "All of Us Are Dead" and "Stranger Things" as immersive content. This IP experience attracted new customer groups. Lotte World focused on its mascot Roti to energize its character business (Roti Friends). It expanded the scope to education, games, and musicals tailored to young children’s perspectives.