Queering stars: Fan play and capital appropriation in the age of digital media

Among many different forms of celebrity fandom, this article pays attention to fan-produced novels, that is, fanfic. In Korea, fanfic indicates a homoerotic story between two members of a singing group in real life that fan authors create and circulate online, which this article conceptualizes as queering stars. Thanks to the development of digital media, the fanfic subculture flourished, thereby capturing the eyes of the entertainment industry. This article investigates the ways in which media professionals and celebrities make use of and commercialize fans’ queering stars with a case of SM Entertainment (SME), a leading entertainment company in Korea. It argues that digitally empowered fans are repositioned as a pivotal axis in the contemporary mediascape, and the entertainment sector observes and exploits fans’ culture more than ever. This article concludes that the relationship between fans and industry is not unilateral in the digitalized and capitalized age. Rather, it is inter-animating and multi-layered, and interaction is ongoing and recurring.