Can Korean Brands Build Fandoms Like K-pop?
Session Overview
As prices rise and consumers become more selective about where they spend, brands need more than customers who make a single purchase.
Long-term growth increasingly depends on creating fans — people who understand the brand, continue to choose it, and actively talk about it to others.
The power of fandom has already expanded far beyond music, influencing industries ranging from finance and AI to mobility and consumer brands. Companies are increasingly using data to understand fan behavior, relationships and the ecosystems that form around brands.
This session explores how brands can move beyond simply using fans as a marketing tool. Instead, it asks how brands can understand what fans value, build meaningful relationships with them, and create an ecosystem in which both the brand and its fans can grow together over time.
Customers may leave. Fans stay.
The path to building a brand that lasts
is not to use fans,
but to understand them and grow
the fan ecosystem together.
Speakers
Her production credits include 2 Days & 1 Night and Mr. House Husband.
In 2025, she received the Best Program Selected by Viewers award.
She is also the author of several bestselling books, including From a Fan to a Brand, The Work of Planning People, and The Language of Planners.
His career has included Good Concert, LOEN, Naver, Kakao, Dingo Music and Space Oddity.
Throughout major shifts in the media landscape, he has continued to experiment with new formats — from Korea's first branded concerts and mobile-first music content to music and artist rediscovery and data-driven K-pop fandom analysis.
In 2017, he founded the music creative group Space Oddity. Today, he focuses on designing fandom strategies for K-pop artists and connecting those fandoms with brands.
After studying Chinese Language & Literature and Economics at Ewha Womans University, she worked at Bluebell Korea, managing retail for the Jimmy Choo brand.
Through direct relationships with VIP customers, she experienced firsthand the business value of strong brand fandom.
She later completed the Art & Luxury Business MBA program at Ewha Womans University and joined bemyfriends in 2022.
She currently leads brand communications and the b.stage platform business team, working to connect fans and artists through sustainable fandom platforms.