Young K-Pop Fans ‘Just Hope for the Best’ in Election Season

This story is part of the KQED series The Fandom Vote, exploring the election-year concerns and voting preferences of pop culture fanbases.

On Sunday, hours ahead of (G)I-DLE’s show at the Oakland Arena, fans lined up to exchange concert-related trinkets and photocards, take selfies with each other and practice their dance moves.

The five-member girl group — Soyeon, Miyeon, Minnie, Yuqi and Shuhua — has performed in the Bay Area before, but their 2024 I-DOL World Tour stop in Oakland marked their largest Bay Area concert to date.

For the most part, K-pop is largely about escapism and creating community, and less about the political concerns of the real world. Still, K-pop fans can be famously organized in election years.

We caught up with members of (G)I-DLE’s fandom, known as NEVERLAND, to ask how they got into the K-pop group and how they’re feeling ahead of the election.

Alondra Sosa of Manteca said she’s been keeping up with politics this election year, and has a pretty good idea of who she wants to vote for — though she didn’t feel comfortable naming a candidate. “I just wish more people would go out and vote,” she said. For the concert, she and her friends all dressed in blue wigs and white T-shirts, just like (G)I-DLE in their popular music video for their song “Wife.”

Nina Soto, one of Sosa’s friends in a blue wig, said what worried her most this election cycle was how people communicate — or don’t communicate — with one another. “The overall thing that concerns us as a nation at the moment is how we’re going to move forward and actually listen to each other,” she said. “We’re fighting each other, not listening. And I think that’s a big issue: not listening.”

Shane Lim, a dedicated 19-year-old NEVERLAND from San Lorenzo, said he was curious how the election would turn out. Lim, a fan of (G)I-DLE since 2021, had recreated one of Soyeon’s iconic outfits from (G)I-DLE’s “Allergy” music video for the concert. He said there weren’t any specific issues he was concerned about this election cycle, but he definitely had an idea of who he hoped would pull ahead in the polls. “I hope Kamala wins, in all honesty,” Lim said.

Kamala Harris was the candidate of interest for first-time Marin County voter Lindsay Gomez, too. “I just turned 18 this year, so I’m like, kind of excited to vote,” she said. “I need to learn more, but I think I might go towards Kamala. I kind of hope she does win, because [the] first female president… that would be really cool for us.” 16-year-old Katherine Martinez, who joined Gomez for the concert, nodded in agreement.

This year will not only be Gomez’s first time voting, it will be her mom’s first time voting, too. As for election-year concerns, Gomez said she found herself thinking about the logistics of being able to vote in California. “I’m just hoping my registration went through,” she said. She and her mom are already making plans for Election Day. “We’re both going [to vote] together I think, and I hope that everything works out.”

Martin Villafuerte, dressed in a queen of hearts playing card costume in homage to (G)I-DLE’s popular song “Queencard,” drove nearly two hours from Patterson with friends to see the girl group perform. Villafuerte said he was “not super confident” going into the election, “but that’s how it is every election.”

Angel Perez, a San Jose resident, expressed similar sentiments. Perez, dressed in a custom T-shirt with images of Yuqi, his favorite member (known as a “bias” in K-pop culture) on it, got into K-pop just three months ago when he happened to tap play on a YouTube-generated playlist. His interest in (G)I-DLE has grown over time, but as far as politics goes, “I’m not really following the election like that,” Perez said. He noted he was slightly concerned about the levels of crime happening in his community, but when it comes to voting outcomes, “I just hope for the best,” he said.