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Love in Imagination: A Comparative Analysis Between Chinese K-pop Fans and Esports Fans Regarding Their Parasocial Interaction and Relationship Towards the Virtual Idol Group K/DA

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Esports in the Asia-Pacific

Part of the book series: Palgrave Series in Asia and Pacific Studies ((PSAPS))

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Abstract

On November 3rd, 2018, virtual K-pop girl group K/DA, which consists of four female champions from the hit game League of Legends (LOL), debuted with their first single “POP/STARS”. K/DA’s success in both music and esports game industries has made them a unique case of transmedia storytelling for parasocial interaction study because this term is used widely in various media realms to attract loyal consumers. This study aims to investigate how Chinese esports fans and K-pop fans differ in their parasocial interactions and relationships with the virtual idol K/DA. This research recruited 16 participants to conduct semi-structured interviews, with 8 of them being Chinese esports fans who are experienced esports fans and the remaining being loyal K-pop fans. Then, thematic analysis has segmented different emotions triggered by parasocial interactions and various sorts of parasocial relationships. As a result, it was found that interviewees’ community background plays a vital role regarding their parasocial interaction with K/DA, in which these two groups conduct parasocial interactions based on their communities’ habits. Moreover, K/DA personas are important to trigger parasocial interactions for both groups, but it is easier for K/DA to appeal to K-pop fans with their appearance, while esports fans need extended background stories to construct a persona in their minds. Besides, K/DA’s identity as transmedia storytelling character also brings about blending of parasocial interactions among two fan groups. This research aimed to go beyond limited perspectives of studying fans from one media industry. But also, it supplemented new implications regarding the role of transmedia storytelling in parasocial interaction and relationship.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Yixiang Que

Authors
  1. Yixiang Que
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yixiang Que .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, China

    Filippo Gilardi

  2. University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, China

    Paul Martin

Appendix: Interviewee Overview

Appendix: Interviewee Overview

Interviewee

Gender by identification

Age

Esports A

Male

21

Esports B

Female

23

Esports C

Male

20

Esports D

Female

25

Esports E

Male

25

Esports F

Female

25

Esports G

Male

25

Esports H

Male

25

K-pop A

Female

23

K-pop B

Female

25

K-pop C

Female

24

K-pop D

Female

24

K-pop E

Female

22

K-pop F

Female

25

K-pop G

Female

21

K-pop H

Female

24

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Que, Y. (2023). Love in Imagination: A Comparative Analysis Between Chinese K-pop Fans and Esports Fans Regarding Their Parasocial Interaction and Relationship Towards the Virtual Idol Group K/DA. In: Gilardi, F., Martin, P. (eds) Esports in the Asia-Pacific. Palgrave Series in Asia and Pacific Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3796-7_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3796-7_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-99-3795-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-3796-7

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