2NE1PH

2NE1PH (2NE1 Philippines) represents a merger of 2NE1PH and 2NE1 Philippines in August 2009.  Daichelle Duba and Marigel Maniego founded 2NE1PH on March 29, 2009.  

The site reveals a structure featuring a delegation of labor.  An internal and external head share administrative duties.  The core includes heads for various areas, including public relations, news, merchandise, financial affairs, fan club membership and projects, events, marketing and promotion and regional representation.  The staff is similarly divided, with individuals dedicated to the moderation of Facebook group and Twitter accounts, graphic design, and fan club photography. Moreover, the site partners with Universal Records Philippines.

The professional nature of the site extends to its layout and merchandising activities.  2NE1PH features its own logo, a stylized set of headphones with the names of the members of the group on the headband and the name of the site and URL between the earcups.  The site uses its branding for merchandising opportunities as well.  In addition to promoting official 2NE1 releases, the site also promotes its own shop, The Street Market, a section where the fanclub sells “sell T-shirts, Lanyards, button pins, tote bags and other items that are personally designed for the fanclub.”  The site demonstrates a level of transparency in the uses of the profits: “All the profit from the goods are used for events, projects and domain / website fees. The core and staff do not earn anything from this. Everything is used for the fanclub by the fanclub” ([GUIDELINES] Shop  ).

Unlike many other fansites, 2NE1PH offers membership in its specific fanclub.  The application process includes the completion of a form and submission of a photo.  The membership form asks for basic information as well as preferences regarding an applicant’s favorite member of the group.  The applicant is also subject to the rules and regulations of the fanbase.  The forum lists some common rules of K-pop fanclubs, including the need for respect:  “We here do not condone bashing. Leaving harsh and inappropriate comments about the Girls or other artists are not allowed. Pornographic material are strictly prohibited” (“Rules”).

Moreover, members of the site often work with other fanclubs related to acts represented by YG Entertainment.  During the 2011 Music Festival Manila, 2NE1PH held an activity booth with Bigbangph and Se7enolutionph, who support BigBang and Se7en, respectively.  The booth also featured a tribute to 1TYM, a veteran Korean hip-hop group (“[REWIND] YG Family Photobooth”).

2NE1PH reflects its ethnic context. The subtitle of the blog reads, “uniting Filipino blackjacks” and site also features the tag “Welcome Pinoy Blackjacks!”  One of the rules for the forum states:  “Replying in Filipino is allowed. Since this is a Filipino forum, you can type in either Filipino or English. But if you are going to type using local dialects, make sure to leave translations.”  Opportunities to obtain fanclub merchandise are usually reserved for local fans, for the fansite does not ship worldwide. 

The members of the site engage the fans of the Philippines in events beyond the Internet.  They participate in projects that support 2NE1.  For example, the site organized a rice wreath project for NOLCON, 2NE1’s NOLZA Concert in Korea ([PROJECT] NOLCON: Rice Wreath a Success!”).   2NE1PH also participated in charity causes, such as Philippines flood relief, which appealed to Filipino and international fans (“[PROJECT] 2NE1 Loves You: A Philippine Flood Donation Project”).  

1st 2NE1 Fansite

1^st 2NE1 Fansite provides news and other information about the members, the music and their activities.  The primary rule of the site is:  “Let’s be a supportive BlackJack, without bashing or cursing!” 

Early posts on the site suggest that the blog was set up for “the up and coming act by YG Entertainment” (Recruiting Crews/Staff for “Female BigBang Fansite).  The first post for the blog confirms that the blog was established during the pre-debut training period for the group:  “We are now opened for ‘Female Big Bang’ Fansite. . . . This site is a Fansite for them. . . and for now the site will be titled ‘YG’s Trainee Fansite because they are still in training. . . . lolx. . . .” (Introducing “Female Big Bang” Fansite).  These early posts suggests that the fans were aware of the group before their debut (as opposed to developing as the group’s post-debut career developed), and also reveals an early fan affiliation with YG Entertainment. 

The site provides profiles and biographies of each of the members, as well as lyrics in hangul, Romanized and English, and a list of affiliate sites.  As the word cloud shows, the site’s content is dominated by coverage of the group’s activities: “concert”, “performance”, “audience” and “appeared.”  While the word cloud shows the text revolving around these themes, the site also features posts that contain photos and fancam video of the members in concert, such as World Tour Official Trailer and 2NE1 World Tour Opening Concerts Captivate 20,000 Fans!.

When the site features text, it is usually republishing information from other sources on the activities and promotion of the members.  For some posts, the writer provides some description of the included video.  The information featured on the site includes full-length stories previously published on other news outlets and ranges from international performances to mentions in tweets by other K-pop artists. 

The site also includes posts that reference the activities of 2NE1’s labelmates at YG Entertainment. Other News In The YG Family details the recent activities of Psy, G-Dragon and Epik High. One interesting element of the word cloud is the prominence of 2NE1’s new labelmate, Epik High.  While the biography of CL is the top post, references to Epik High rival references to the member.   This suggests that this fan community of 2NE1 also sees itself as part of the larger fan community of YGE fans. 

The site also features a fan activity, the 2009 Girls Debut Gift, presented by two 2NE1 fan communities, YGNXGENERATION, the fan community responsible for 1^st 2NE1 Fansite, and YGLadies, another 2NE1 fan community.  It appears to be a series of very colorful posters, pictures and letters created by the members of both fan communities for the members before their official debut. 

While the site features much information, there is very little commentary on the group or K-pop in general. The word cloud also shows that there is not one member that receives more coverage than the others.  Fans are more prominently featured, which suggests that the site caters more to fans’ need for information than discussion of the members or the group itself. 

UKYGQUEENS

UKYGQUEENS describes itself as the first fansite for 2NE1 in the United Kingdom.  Since August 19, 2011, the site has endeavored “to update all the news about the amazing Korean girl group.”

The site pulls from a variety of social media, including Me2Day, Instagram and Twitter, as well as more traditional K-pop news media.  The use of such social media platforms does not translate into an active fan community on the site.  Few of the posts have comments from readers, despite the over 300,000 hits received by the site.  However, the site does feature a well-populated Affiliates section, where some interaction takes place between visitors and admins.  Staff invite individuals to submit information using the comment feature of the blog in order to be included in the Affiliates section. This leads to some interchange.  What is interesting is that the admins do not limit the Affiliates section. Postings by sites unrelated to 2NE1, such as SuJu UK, or sites related to K-pop in general, such as Hallyu Magazine and Korean Candy, are also featured. 

Images and video dominate the site. However, the visuals do not feature commentary by staff.  The site provides up-to-date information on the activities of the group as well as individual members primarily through reposting images and videos.  For example, Instagrams featuring CL or video of the group’s message to fans in relation to the 2012 Global Tour DVD.  The site also features information about individuals who interact with the group, including CEO of YG Entertainment Yang Hyun Suk and BigBang, who appeared with the group at MBC’s Gayo Daejun.

While the site provides information for fans of the group in the United Kingdom, the posts do not suggest that the site has an identifiable point of view grounded in the United Kingdom.  This suggests that these fans do not see the group differently than fans in other countries.  According to the Visitor Counter, most visitors come from the United States and Korea. This suggests that the impact of the site goes beyond the country in which it originates and has resonance for other global fans. 

Digital Tour (best viewed at Full Screen in 720p HD)