How “Smart” Are K-Pop Fans: Can the Study of Emotional Intelligence of K-Pop Fans Increase Marketing Potential?

Abstract

Emotional intelligence has been studied in conjunction with many topics since its conception in 1995; however, there is no research linking the concept to the marketing potential for any specific music genre. Emotional intelligence involves the ability to recognize your emotions as they occur and regulate them accordingly, as well as the ability to infer information about the emotions of those around you. K-pop is a music genre that has benefitted from globalization and business strategies that incorporate social media such as YouTube. Teens are the primary demographic for K-pop marketing, which coincides with the teenage propensity towards celebrity worship that has been used to capture merchandising opportunities. Celebrity worship has been shown to be negatively correlated with emotional intelligence; however, the emotional intelligence level of celebrity worship of K-pop fans, and how they score on emotional intelligence in general has not been studied. Nor has the emotional intelligence level of aspiring K-pop idols been studied to determine if they can handle the pressure of the role. This paper attempts to set framework to show that studies should be conducted to determine whether a focus on the emotional intelligence levels of fans and idols could reveal marketing techniques and business strategies which might lead result in increased profits for K-pop music companies. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 20 March 2019 Revised 24 May 2019 Accepted 15 June 2019