As the K-POP industry grows and the influence on other industries of idol fandom gets larger, distinct characteristics of fandom culture are becoming more various and diverse. Birthday cafe is one of the special cultural features that originated from fandoms. It has developed from the exhibitions of “homepage masters” who take pictures of idols for fans and upload them to small showrooms. Photos and videos taken like this are often displayed at small exhibitions in rented spaces or in collaboration with local cafes. The café is then decorated with photos of idols and if there is enough space and equipment, they even make a little cinema zone, so that fans can watch performance videos. These efforts go a long way to create fan bias for idols.

  Naturally, these events are usually held on special days such as an idol’s debut anniversary, birthday or the date of a new album release. It generally continues for two to four days, including weekends close to birthdays in consideration of students and office workers who do not have time to celebrate on weekdays. It is preferred to host events in the capital because more people can visit and enjoy it, so the venue will usually be local cafes in Gangnam-gu and Mapo-gu, Seoul. Thus, many fans living in local territories travel long distances to enjoy these events. However, for those who cannot visit the capital area, some host events in metropolitan cities such as Gwangju, Daegu, and Busan at the same time to help people save time and money. Surprisingly there are even some collaborations with cafes in other countries so overseas fans can enjoy the celebrations too.

  When fans arrive at the cafe, they have many things to do. The details differ from event to event depending on the host but, there is usually a basic gift in the form of a specially made cup (or cup sleeves), postcards, stickers, etc. Gifts can be claimed by purchasing a drink, and there are even special limited gifts that can be obtained when buying certain desserts. Furthermore, 1st-served gifts go to those who arrive first, and lucky draws are also often prepared. Fans can purchase a small amount of lottery tickets for different products allocated from 1st to 5th place. Some hosts provide scratch lottery tickets designed according to the theme, or paper tickets that can be bought online similar to the ones many people would have seen in stationery stores in their childhood. The hosts pick a few photos for gifts and design it themselves or commission others to do it. If there is more than one idol’s birthday cafe, it is often the case that each host determines their own concepts. For example, if one idol is popular for liking tigers, the host prepares stickers or cup sleeves with tiger character designs. There are even a few fans who go on a “birthday cafe tour” visiting many cafes on the same day to get different gifts they desire. 

  In general, cafes that provide venues and organizers of events are often different. The cafes, organizer and visitors are in mutual dependent relationships as cafes earn profits by selling drinks and desserts to visitors and the organizers and visitors can get venues to promote friendship and entertainment with people who share a common denominator.

  It can create a special memory not only for the fans but also for the idols. Idols and actors who heard about the events may visit the cafe in person to spend time with fans and express their gratitude. If it is not possible to visit Korea, as in the case of an overseas band, they may send their cherished belongings and autographed CDs to show their appreciation.

  The event cafe started as one aspect of idol fandom culture and has now spread to many fandoms. Like favorite actor, comedian, animation, game, webtoon and web novel, if there are enough expected visitors, these event cafes take places regardless of genres. In the cases for bands and actors, the cafe is decorated with instruments or cherished items instead of pictures. For characters in animation, game and webtoon, the fans create fan art that can be used as gifts to make successful events under the name of cooperation. 

  These idol event cafes are usually held by fans. Although, enterprises that selected the idol as an advertising model sometimes hold event cafe to show appreciation to their brand ambassadors.

  Last year, Nam Seung-yeon (24-year-old) visited a 5th anniversary cafe of a web novel in Daegu. Since she lives in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, it has been hard to visit event cafes usually held in the capital area. However, this time an event was held in Daegu, and she finally had a chance to visit and celebrate the birthday of her “bias.” She was overjoyed, but concerned that there would not be enough interest to make it a success. At the site, she bought drinks and desserts, collected all of the random gifts provided and spent time with people who are fans of the same novel she loves. “The event was not that busy, but it was a really touching and heart-warming experience. I felt that many people still love this novel so much that they visited the event cafe and spent time.” She also commented “if I had visited these events when the novel was more popular, I could have spent more time with more people, but regrettably I couldn’t” showing her hope that the next event could be held again soon.

  A few days ago, Miss. Lee (22-years-old) who went on a birthday cafe tour of her favorite idol said “this kind of idol birthday cafe is usually held by homepage masters. I thought there would be undisclosed photos on their social media, so I wanted to see them” revealing the reason of her visiting. Though it was a weekday, she visited and enjoyed cafe events located in Mapo-gu, Seoul using her spare time in the morning before she attended her lectures. She not only bought drinks and desserts, but also left a message on rolling papers that was later handed to the idol, and took photos at the specially decorated photo zone. She commented “to be honest, all the fans go around with just love for their favorite idol,” She added “as the hosts (homepage masters) often go on fan signing events, it was really stunning that they organized and decorated the event cafes with some suggestions of the idol him or herself. Additionally, it was awesome that I am now able to remember this time later by looking at the photos taken in the photo booths and photo zones.”

  One cafe event host said that she felt similar things as visitors. She said “I did not have a specific reason for hosting this event, but I suddenly wanted to do it, so I started to prepare. I think there were a lot of people who liked the character more than I thought,” exposing her feelings during the events. She felt something new when she saw visitors who showed different affection from their own experience. “All the people in the cafe definitely like one character, but it was amazing that visitors each had different perspectives of their own. As all the fandoms know, only love and affection on bias is the power to hold these events. There were times when it was physically and mentally difficult to run the event, and not everyone could have been satisfied, but it remained a good memory for me.”

  Both visitors and hosts answered that they created special memories in the process of interacting with fandom and experienced a feeling of belonging.

  It is a pleasant experience for anyone to get together and interact with people who like the same hobby and have a common denominator. The birthday cafe also shares similar characteristics. People who love the same thing gather and spend time talking about what they love. They boost the sales of cafes, revitalize the market, and produce and consume the character or idol’s independent content through fandom. So far, as the birthday cafe culture overheats, it cannot be said that there is any problem at all. However, for more delightful fandom cultures and for marketing of enterprises, it seems that the birthday cafe culture will be more activated in a short time.

By Ji Jae-lim

jlim0714@chungbuk.ac.kr