Fan rice (Korean: 쌀 기부; RR: ssal gibu; lit. 'rice donation'), 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.[1] 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.[2][3][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.[1]
Notable donations
- 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.[5]
References
- ^ a b "South Korea's Greatest Export: How K-Pop's Rocking the World". Time. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ "신화 신혜성 다국적 팬, 6년째 쌀화환 응원". 연합뉴스 보도자료. Daum Kakao. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "신혜성 다국적 팬들, 쌀화환으로 5년간 '지극정성' 응원". FNN StarN. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "Shinhwa to Recruit Fans for 10th Fanclub After Seven Years". CJ E&M. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "K-pop idol fans donate 9.5 tons of rice for elderly, children". The Korea Times. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
