Fan rice explained

Fan rice, usually stacks of rice bags decorated with ribbons and photos, are gifts from K-pop fans to their favorite artists. The amount of donated rice can vary between a few kilograms and several tonnes. The rice is usually then donated to a charity of the idols' choice.

History

The first instance of fan-donated rice was at Shin Hye-sung's concert on 11 August 2007.^{[1] [2] [3]} The trend started in the late 2000s when fans began to send food to their favorite music artists, and took off in 2011. Today, there are entire businesses dedicated to the donation of fan rice in South Korea.^[4]

Characteristics

Fans of K-pop buy bags of rice and donate them to their favorite artists. 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 favorite artists. Sending rice bags to venues have also appeared in Japan, as part of the K-pop wave.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Notable donations

• In 2013, the record of fan rice donated for a celebrity event was held by the fan club of 2PM, where fans from different countries donated 28 tonnes of rice for their <What Time Is It> finale concert.^[8]
• For Rain's concert, The Best Show Tour, his Korean fan club, Cloud Korea, collectively donated 3.6 tons of rice to the hungry.
• Fans of TVXQ!'s U-Know Yunho donated 36 tons of rice to celebrate his appearance in the web drama "I Order You" in 2015, 9.5 tons of which was donated to low-income elderly and children in his home city of Gwangju, South Korea.^[9]
• Big Bang fans collectively donated around 168 tons of rice among other goods to Dreame Korea in December 2017 in honor of the group's last concert before going on hiatus.^[10]
• After BtoB's visit to Cambodia in 2013, fans of the group donated rice in Cambodia and some even traveled there to distribute their donations in person.^[11]

Notes and References

1. News: 신화 신혜성 다국적 팬, 6년째 쌀화환 응원. 연합뉴스 보도자료 . Daum Kakao. 22 January 2015.
2. Web site: 신혜성 다국적 팬들, 쌀화환으로 5년간 '지극정성' 응원 . FNN StarN . 22 January 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150122153851/http://star.fnnews.com/news/index.html?no=56097 . 22 January 2015 .
3. Web site: Shinhwa to Recruit Fans for 10th Fanclub After Seven Years. CJ E&M. 22 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150107202855/http://mwave.interest.me/enewsworld/en/article/84385/shinhwa-to-recruit-fans-for-10th-fanclub-after-seven-years. 7 January 2015. dead.
4. News: Woo. Jaeyeon. Seoul Food: Treating Your Idol to Lunch Is the True Test of Fandom. The Wall Street Journal. For a Contribution of Just $135, You Can Feed a Korean Pop Star. 24 January 2013.
5. South Korea's Greatest Export: How K-Pop's Rocking the World. 23 December 2012. Time. 7 March 2012.
6. Web site: 'Rice wreaths' indicate that K-Pop fandoms are becoming more mature. 16 August 2011. Allkpop. 23 December 2012.
7. Web site: KARA's Japanese fans the first to donate rice for a concert in Japan. 20 April 2012. 23 December 2012. Allkpop.
8. Web site: 2PM's fans donate a record amount of rice for their finale concert. 27 June 2013. Allkpop. 6 December 2013.
9. Web site: K-pop idol fans donate 9.5 tons of rice for elderly, children. 24 September 2015. The Korea Times. 23 March 2018.
10. Web site: Big Bang and VIPs donate rice, coal briquettes, and other goods to charity. 3 January 2018. Allkpop. 25 March 2018.
11. Web site: Cambodian fans donate and hand out rice under BTOB's name. 3 March 2014. 25 March 2018.