by In this series, we want to talk about the entertainment scene from a fan’s point of view and the K-pop culture created by the fans. [Editor’s Note] The
The last year of 2020 was entirely meaningful for the trot market. This is because the word ‘fandom,’ which was thought to be a word used only in the K-pop idol market, can now be used for trot singers as well. The reason is, of course, the most significant hit in TV Chosun history and the strongest K-audition in history, ‘Mr. Trot’.
Beyond the mere fact that ‘there is a fandom,’ the fandom of trot singers is demonstrating more vigorous action than the existing idol fan club.
And the person who represents this trend is ‘Mr. Trot’ Lim Young-woong and his fan club Hero Era.
Last June 16 was Lim Young-Woong’s birthday, and Heroes’ Age carried out various projects to commemorate it. Some fans conducted public transportation advertisements to celebrate his birthday, and some fans made donations and volunteer work to spread a good influence.
And among them, some fans held a birthday cafe event to commemorate his birthday like today’s protagonists.
A birthday cafe is a temporary cafe created to commemorate the birthday of a celebrity you love. Renting a specific restaurant for a day or a few days makes it a space to celebrate the star. This is an event mainly held by idol fan clubs, but now you can often see this in the fandom of trot singers. Among them, Lim Young-Woong’s fan club showed great action across the country.
Sports News visited Cafe Lato, a birthday fan cafe in ‘Heroes’ Age Seoul District 3′. It is located in Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul.
- The boss said that
The ‘Heroes’ Age Seoul 3rd District’s birthday cafe is somewhat different from other fandoms’ cafes. That is, the birthday cafe event period is very long. From June 12 to June 30, the cafe event is held for over a month.
Many idol fans hold birthday cafe events, but birthday cafe events are held for at most three days in most cases.
There is also the problem of renting a cafe, and the fan club executives have to live their own lives, so it is difficult to maintain a birthday cafe event for such a long time.
So, when I visited the ‘Heroes’ Age of Seoul 3rd District’ birthday cafe, I had a question, “How do you keep the birthday cafe like this?” The cafe owner was also a hero.
He expressed his affection for Lim Young-Woong, saying, “The first stage of ‘Mr. Trot’ has penetrated my heart.” He continued, “In the case of idols, I rent them for a few days, but this is a cafe I run. Even after the birthday cafe event ends on June 30, the interior of the cafe centered on Young-Woong Lim continues to be maintained.”
In particular, he said, “The flower bed was just marble, and I took care of it all. It is a place where fresh flowers do not grow, so we made it with harmony.” He emphasized that he puts a lot of effort into the interior of ‘Lim Young-Woong Cafe.’
- This place was created with the heart of fans as a communication space for the local community, and
even before the birthday cafe, it was practically a ‘Lim Young-Woong cafe’ Heroes’ Generation members who visited the restaurant agreed, “This is the sarangbang of 108 Heroes’ Age 3 members.”
This is where many Hero Age members usually gather. The cafe owner recalled that there were more gatherings than usual during the birthday cafe event.
He said, “On June 12, when the birthday cafe was opened, there were more than 100 receipts. There are many different regions, some from Jeju and others from Busan. They gathered from all over the country, including Nonsan, Cheongju, and Incheon.”
- This place was created with the heart of fans as a communication space for the local community, and
even before the birthday cafe, it was practically a ‘Lim Young-Woong cafe’ Heroes’ Generation members who visited the restaurant agreed, “This is the sarangbang of 108 Heroes’ Age 3 members.”
This is where many Hero Age members usually gather. The cafe owner recalled that there were more gatherings than usual during the birthday cafe event.
He said, “On June 12, when the birthday cafe was opened, there were more than 100 receipts. There are many different regions, some from Jeju and others from Busan. They gathered from all over the country, including Nonsan, Cheongju, and Incheon.”
- The Wind of the Age of
Heroes The members of the Age of Heroes who gathered at the birthday cafe were eagerly waiting for the day when Young-Woong Lim would be able to digest his schedule. We hope that COVID-19 will end as soon as possible.
When asked what they would like to do when Corona 19 is over, they said, “Unconditionally a solo concert, an unconditional fan meeting, an unconditional dinner show.” In particular, it was impressive to see how many people enjoyed imagining “how many people would come at the dinner show.”
Singer and actress Kim Kyung-ae also attended the birthday cafe that day. Although she is a celebrity, she was already a friendly older sister among the ‘Era of Heroes 3’ members.
Kim Kyung-ae said, “I’m a big fan of Lim Young-woong, so I watched it every time it came out. A mother raised her son well in a difficult environment. Lim Young-woong is junior to me, but I love and respect him.”
On behalf of the members of the ‘Era of Heroes’ who were at the scene, he left a message of support to Young-Woong Lim. Kim Kyung-ae said, “Be a brilliant star and shine for a long time. Hero fighting!” and wished Lim Young-woong to become a long-running star.
It is not too wrong to say that the past year was a period for fans of the stars from ‘Mr. What do you do when you become a member of the fandom, how do you celebrate the anniversary of my songs as a fan, etc.
However, this does not lead to the story that the trot fandom is just following the idol fandom culture.
The ‘Heroes’ Age Seoul District 3′ birthday cafe is an excellent example to explain this.
Fans have the capacity and economic power to run the cafe directly (rather than a rental), and the space created based on that power becomes a space for fans to communicate.
This is a relatively rare case in the idol version, where such birthday cafe culture is old. It is an exciting culture that can be shown because it is a trot fandom with a middle-aged solid fan base with economic power and social status.
The trot fandom era has just begun, so expectations are growing as to what kind of cultural personality the trot fandom, including the age of heroes, will show in the future.
