When K-pop fandom meets regional identity

What began as a dispute over concert etiquette in Malaysia between local and South Korean fans has spiralled into a digital confrontation between K-Netz and SEAblings, writes Universiti Sains Malaysia's associate professor, Dr Azrina Husin.

The internet thrives on conflict. This week, it found one in K-pop fandom — and it began in Malaysia.

What started as a disagreement over concert etiquette between local and South Korean fans quickly escalated into a digital confrontation between K-Netz and SEAblings — South Korean netizens and their Southeast Asian counterparts.

An incident inside a Malaysian venue spilled across borders, moving from X to Threads, TikTok and other platforms. A local dispute became a regional clash, then a global spectacle.

Soon, the original issue mattered less. The disagreement evolved into something larger — a contest over identity, pride, recognition and belonging. The familiar script emerged: us versus them.

In Southeast Asia, such confrontations follow a recognisable pattern. The region is defined by diversity — of language, ethnicity, religion and culture — but also by shared histories marked by recurring cultural contestations.

Rendang’s origin remains debated. So do batik, “lah“, and the kebaya. Food, language and tradition are routinely claimed and reclaimed.

Online banter among Southeast Asian netizens is almost ritualistic — sharp, sarcastic, self-deprecating. It is a style often best understood within the region itself. Many SEAblings approach digital conflict fluently, sometimes even treating confrontation as entertainment.

What appears hostile to outsiders can function as playful provocation among siblings.

Yet when disaster strikes one of these nations, the tone shifts. Banter gives way to solidarity. During last year’s Jakarta protests, Southeast Asians ordered meals through Grab and Gojek for Indonesian drivers — a gesture described online as “siblings helping siblings.”

Despite internal rivalries, the region sustains a strong sense of shared belonging — hence “SEAblings.” Officially, Asean promotes “unity in diversity.” Online, that spirit is expressed more informally: teasing, arguing, pushing boundaries — but as insiders. And when criticism comes from outside, the instinct to close ranks intensifies.

In this episode, lines formed quickly. K-pop fandom receded as regional identity took centre stage. Fans responded not just as admirers of an industry, but as Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos — defending collective Southeast Asian pride.

The episode reveals a broader truth about global culture. K-pop is often celebrated as connective soft power, linking fans across borders and languages. It fosters shared humour, emotion and belonging beyond nationality.

But global culture does not erase difference. It can amplify it.

Soft power does not dissolve perceived hierarchies — especially when cultural products carry visible origins and implicit ownership. The closer individuals feel to a shared cultural space, the more sensitive they become to how they are positioned within it.

A global fandom can quickly become a terrain where recognition and respect are negotiated in real time. Online, those negotiations unfold through posts, replies, trolling and hashtags. Entertainment disputes become symbolic confrontations. Digital platforms become contested space.

At stake is no longer music, but belonging.

Southeast Asia remains one of K-pop’s most passionate and lucrative markets. Yet beneath the current dispute lie deeper tensions — colourism, hierarchy and questions of cultural respect — that are harder to dismiss.

Global culture thrives on connection. But connection also exposes difference. Whether K-pop can weather this moment and recalibrate relations with one of its most devoted regions remains uncertain.

The industry has built a vast global fandom. Unity within it, however, is never automatic. It is negotiated repeatedly in everyday fan interactions.

The music may be global. Belonging rarely is.

Dr Azrina Husin is an Associate Professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia. The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.

Main image: Day6