The Impact and Significance of Peripheral Industries on the Fan Base

of the Japanese and Korean Wave

Jiatong Zhang

Baoshan Luodian Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200001, China

Keywords: Trans-Culture Communication, Peripheral Products, Fan Economy, Japanese Pop Culture, Korean Pop

Culture.

Abstract: The peripheral culture derived from the Japanese and Korean Wave has also received widespread attention.

Although the peripheral products have developed a relatively mature industrial chain, their product quality

and sales methods still have shortcomings. This article analyzes the dissatisfaction of fans towards

surrounding industries, such as poor product quality. Based on this, this article proposes the following

suggestions: entertainment companies should pay more attention to the feelings of their fan base and use it as

a benchmark to modify the shortcomings in their existing peripheral industries, including solving the

inconvenience and after-sales problems of fans in the shopping process, to improve their brand reputation,

attract new fan groups to join, and stabilize their original fan base.

1 INTRODUCTION

After South Korea's idol culture and Japan's anime

culture went abroad and were introduced to China,

they immediately attracted a large number of fans,

making the Japanese and Korean wave cultures the

mainstream culture of small trends. With a certain fan

base, entertainment companies in Japan and South

Korea have successively launched different

peripheral products. Such peripheral products quickly

gained popularity in the fan circle, and many fans

purchased them one after another. With the increase

of peripheral products, this gradually developed into

an industry. However, with the continuous growth of

peripheral industries, there have also been different

evaluations among fan groups, which has made

people start to think about whether peripheral

industries have meaning and influence on Japanese

and Korean Wave culture. For example, Wu Yue

scholars pointed out that peripheral products

constantly intervene in the fan circle, making fans

unable to let go of peripheral products (Wu, 2023).

Therefore, this study explores the significance and

impact of peripheral industries on Japanese and

Korean Wave culture from the perspective of fans.

2 THE IMPACT OF

SURROUNDING INDUSTRIES

2.1 The Impact of Surrounding

Industries on Japanese and Korean

Wave Culture

Peripherals refer to related products derived from a

certain brand, IP, or idol. The emergence of these

peripherals quickly boosted fans' purchasing power,

and peripherals also became a connection between

fans and idols or "paper people". As a result,

surrounding industries were also born. Therefore, it

can be said that the emergence of surrounding objects

has greatly promoted the development of Japanese

and Korean wave culture.

Based on this, the impact of surrounding

industries on its original Japanese and Korean

entertainment and cultural industries has attracted

widespread attention. When the peripheral products

first appear, they undoubtedly attract the attention of

fans, one of the reasons being that the peripheral

products meet the needs and aesthetics of the public.

So, after the emergence of peripheral industries, its

consumer group is very large, and there have always

been fans joining in. Nowadays, peripherals have

become an essential item in daily communication

among Japanese and Korean Wave fans. On social

media platforms such as Weibo in China, in addition

328

Zhang, J.

The Impact and Signiﬁcance of Peripheral Industries on the Fan Base of the Japanese and Korean Wave.

DOI: 10.5220/0013991200004916

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication (PRMC 2025), pages 328-332

ISBN: 978-989-758-778-8

to related IP entries, there are also IP-exclusive

entries for exchanging peripherals. Therefore, the

influence of peripheral industries on the fan base

cannot be underestimated.

Since its inception, peripheral products have been

closely related to the essence of Japanese and Korean

wave culture. This industry has had varying degrees

of positive impact on the development of Japanese

and Korean entertainment companies, product

companies, and fans.

Scholars who have studied the culture

surrounding the Korean Wave have pointed out that

the significance of peripheral objects to fans is that

they serve as a medium for idols to express their level

of love and emotions. Many fans express their love

for idols or anime characters by purchasing

merchandise. For most fans, the probability of

meeting their idols in daily life is extremely low, and

the anime characters they create cannot be seen.

Surrounding objects bring fans closer to their idols or

anime characters, enhancing their intimacy and

satisfying their love for idols. Peripheral products are

an extremely important part of fans' expression of

their love for idols. They are material resources that

fans have invested a certain amount of emotion into.

Studying the significance they bring can help better

understand fan culture and interpret fans' inner selves

(Woo, 2014). At the same time, studies have also

pointed out that the dissemination of Japanese and

Korean Wave culture in China has changed the

aesthetic of men among fans. Writing about

previously unacceptable styles has gradually become

accepted by people. While in the past it was

unacceptable for men to wear makeup or wear long

hair, and now Korean pop culture has started to make

it popular all over the world, more men on the street

have long hair (Liu, 2023). and peripheral products

can help them integrate these changes into their lives,

thus promoting the promotion of Japanese and

Korean Wave culture in China.

For Japanese and Korean entertainment

companies, its positive impact is even greater.

According to Circle Chart's South Korean album

sales statistics, since 2019, the top-ranked album has

sold over one million copies every year (Circle Chart,

2020; Circle Chart, 2022). Since 2020, the top six

albums on the chart have sold over one million copies

(Circle Chart, 2023). The normal selling price of a

single album is not low, and the calculated sales

revenue is an astonishing amount, and the benefits are

self-evident.

For peripheral product companies, similarly, huge

album sales can also bring them huge profits.

Moreover, research has shown that the Japanese

and Korean Wave cultures have broken down cultural

barriers after entering China, making each other's

cultures more diverse (Yin et al., 2023). Nowadays,

after the introduction of Japanese and Korean Wave

peripheral cultures into China, many entertainment

industries in China have also begun to imitate the

marketing methods of Japanese and Korean Wave

peripheral industries, releasing items such as physical

albums, photo cards, and badges, which have helped

the cultural development and dissemination of the

three countries better.

It seems that the peripheral industries have

extremely important significance and influence on

fan groups, entertainment companies, product

companies, and cultural dissemination in every

country, but many negative impacts exist within

them.

2.2 Negative Impacts on Surrounding

Industries

Although the surrounding industries have many

positive impacts on fans and entertainment

companies, their negative effects are also worth

exploring.

Scholars have pointed out that Korean

entertainment companies have a problem of guiding

fans to overconsume in their marketing strategies

towards their surrounding areas. In its research, it was

mentioned that at first, fans buy the peripheral

products only according to their needs, but now they

buy these items because these items can show their

social status, financial abilities, and support their

idols (Ardhiyansyah et al., 2021). At the same time,

entertainment companies will also induce fans to

compare their peripheral sales to increase their

peripheral sales. This marketing approach seriously

disrupts the ecological balance of the surrounding

industrial circle.

For fan groups, blind consumption and purchasing

behavior can also affect their lives. According to the

previous survey, some fans will buy at a price several

times or more than ten times higher than the original

surrounding sales price to obtain the surrounding

area. What's more, they have gradually ignored their

original love for their idols and are obsessed with a

certain peripheral product. The crazy buying behavior

of fans towards peripheral products is affecting their

daily lives, and some fans' families have started to

argue over the purchase of peripheral products. For

some fans' families, peripheral products are not

practical appliances, tools, etc., but just a card, and

the required price is enough to be comparable to the

price of some appliances. This behavior is really

difficult for them to understand, so disputes are

inevitable. However, for fans, these peripherals are

emotional carriers that they cannot let go of. Fans and

families are unable to understand each other and view

The Impact and Signiﬁcance of Peripheral Industries on the Fan Base of the Japanese and Korean Wave

329

peripheral products from each other's perspectives,

leading to conflicts and arguments.

The negative impact of surrounding industries

cannot be underestimated and must be taken seriously

by people.

3 THE CURRENT SITUATION

AND PROBLEMS OF THE

DEVELOPMENT OF

SURROUNDING INDUSTRIES

3.1 Development

The industries surrounding the Japanese and Korean

Wave have already flowed into China, and a

relatively mature industrial chain and fan purchasing

process have been developed.

The development of surrounding industries

emphasizes the fan base. The peripheral industry did

not appear in the early stages of the development of

Japanese and Korean wave culture, and only began to

emerge after having a certain fan base. The existing

peripheral types mainly include bars, small cards,

albums, and standing labels. On these peripherals,

there are usually patterns of designated idols or anime

characters printed, and the company will release

multiple different patterns or peripherals with the

same pattern but different types.

In the early days, both the Japanese and Korean

Wave developed domestically and only began to

expand overseas after gaining a certain fan base

domestically. And now domestic fans have a

complete process and steps for purchasing Japanese

and Korean Wave merchandise. In the purchase of

daily streams, many online purchasing shops have

been opened in China. Fans can submit a partial

deposit to reserve goods in the purchasing shop. The

purchasing agent will purchase the goods on the

official website according to the order quantity of the

deposit, and then send them back to China. Fans can

then pay the additional payment amount to receive the

goods. In China, a large number of offline stores for

Japanese anime have also been opened, introducing

peripheral products, and fans can also shop online.

The purchasing methods around South Korea are also

worth mentioning. Many South Korean idols have

exclusive fan stations in China, which are support

groups composed of fans. Before the return of South

Korean idols, fan stations will negotiate with South

Korean album agents in advance for purchasing, and

open dedicated purchasing links for fans to purchase.

Meanwhile, due to the large fan base in China, it is

agreed that fan stations of different idols in the group

will collaborate with album agents to negotiate and

lower the prices of some albums. In addition, the fan

station will also introduce a "nonreturn" purchasing

method, which means only sending the small cards in

the album back to China, while keeping the album

itself in South Korea for display to help the idol's

return and development.

From this, it can be seen that the peripheral

industries of the Japanese and Korean Wave have

already established a mature industrial chain in

China, which can greatly help the development of

peripheral industries in China, but there are still

shortcomings.

3.2 Problem Analysis

Although the surrounding industrial chains of the

Japanese and Korean Wave have become relatively

mature, there are still many shortcomings in their

operation methods and the handling of people in the

surrounding areas. The specific shortcomings should

be analyzed and identified from the perspective of

fans in this study. Fans are the biggest buyers of

Japanese and Korean Wave merchandise, and the

merchandise industry is essentially serving them.

Therefore, analyzing the inner thoughts of fans and

understanding the shortcomings they see in the

current peripheral industry is extremely important for

the future development of the peripheral industry.

This study suggests that there are three main reasons

why the current peripheral industries can cause

dissatisfaction among fan groups.

Firstly, the perfunctory attitude of entertainment

companies towards peripheral products can cause

extreme dissatisfaction among fan groups. Many fans

have reported that after receiving the purchased

merchandise, there are defects and pattern errors in

many of the merchandise, and the company is not

responsible for such issues. Alternatively,

entertainment companies may print the same pattern

multiple times on different merchandise for sale,

causing aesthetic fatigue among fans. Such behavior

can lead to a decrease in fan satisfaction with the

purchase. According to previous research, consumer

purchase satisfaction can directly affect their

subsequent purchasing behavior. The decrease in fan

satisfaction with purchases will lead to a decrease in

the frequency of subsequent purchases of peripheral

products, which will also result in unstable

development of peripheral industries.

Secondly, both the peripheral sales prices of

Japanese and Korean waves are not low, and their

prices are much higher than the production costs

required. Such pricing will undoubtedly lower

consumer satisfaction. From the perspective of the

customer, their mental feeling of products and

services is their satisfaction with the products (Zhang,

2017). The decrease in customer satisfaction of

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customers' buying behaviour will lead to a decrease

in the frequency of subsequent purchases of

peripheral products, and it will also lead to the

instability of the development of the peripheral

industry.

Fans do not have sufficient financial ability to

afford the prices of the surrounding products, or fans

are overloaded to make purchases, resulting in

negative emotions towards the surrounding products.

On social media, there are often complaints about

peripheral products being "too expensive".

Thirdly, the entertainment company's

unreasonable planning of surrounding products.

Unlike the first reason, the unreasonable planning in

this reason is not for the surrounding products

themselves, but for the future development and

planning of the surrounding products. Many

entertainment companies are quite unreasonable in

planning the release time of peripherals, with very

short intervals between the release times of different

peripherals, resulting in fans needing to purchase

different types of peripherals at the same time in a

short period, which is difficult to afford

economically. Not only that, many peripheral

products also have time-limited purchase settings,

which force fans to buy within a certain period. This

has also led to some peripheral products being resold

at high prices, seriously disrupting the ecological

balance of the peripheral industry. In addition,

entertainment companies take a considerable amount

of time to produce peripheral products after releasing

them. Many peripheral products can only be received

within two to three months after fans place orders,

and some even take six months to receive their

purchased peripheral products. Such a slow pace

leads to fans being unable to provide immediate after-

sales service if they discover defects in the peripheral

products after receiving them, and the subsequent

guarantee for purchasing the peripheral products is

not perfect, which can also lead to a decrease in fan

satisfaction with the purchase.

According to previous research, popular culture in

Japan and South Korea has long broken down the

barriers of traditional culture, combining many

different elements (Yang, 2023). But now these

existing problems seriously hinder the development

of surrounding industries and need to be addressed

and dealt with immediately.

4 SUGGESTION

For these issues, the company should approach them

from different perspectives and make appropriate

adjustments and solutions accordingly. For the issue

of entertainment companies not taking their

peripheral products seriously and responsibly,

entertainment companies should take the design of

peripheral products seriously, collect fans' opinions

on peripheral products, strengthen supervision of the

product company's production quality, provide after-

sales service, and improve fan satisfaction. For the

issue of excessively high pricing, the company should

consult with fans and adjust prices appropriately to

achieve a price that is acceptable to fans and

profitable for the company itself. For reason three,

entertainment companies should plan their future

peripheral product design and development, adjust

the release time of different peripherals appropriately,

and also exert pressure on product companies to

improve their production speed.

As consumers in the surrounding industries, fans'

opinions and views can greatly affect the

development of the surrounding industries and also

the development of entertainment companies.

Therefore, entertainment companies should

strengthen the improvement of the problem and

provide fans with a better consumer market.

5 CONCLUSION

This study discusses the existing impacts and issues

of surrounding industries from the perspective of

fans. The surrounding culture is not only a

supplement to the Japanese and Korean Wave

cultures, but also an important component of their

development. Fans' views on the surrounding culture

of the Japanese Korean Wave also encompass their

views on the Japanese Korean Wave culture. This

research can help future scholars gain a deeper

understanding of the relationship between the

surrounding culture and the Japanese Korean Wave

culture, and influence the dissemination and

development of the Japanese Korean Wave culture

through changes to the surrounding culture.

Nowadays, fans have polarized opinions about the

surrounding industries. This contradictory mentality

reminds us that while promoting the development of

the surrounding culture, it needs to pay attention to its

potential negative impacts and seek cultural diversity

and innovation. The emergence of surrounding

cultures and industries has combined the term "empty

culture" with physical goods, achieving innovation.

Therefore, the exploration of surrounding industries

in the future still requires scholars' unremitting efforts

to make their original cultural development more

outstanding.

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331

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