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[For K-POP beginners] You often hear “I’m a ___-pen,” but what does it mean?

[For K-POP beginners] You often hear “I’m a ___-pen,” but what does it mean?
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When you first get into K-pop, isn’t the first word you run into “pen” (fan)? You might hear people say things like “I’m a ___-pen,” putting a group or member’s name in front, or see it written in social media profiles.

This time, we’ll introduce words like “pen” that you can use to describe yourself!

What does “pen” mean?

Even just saying “I’m an XX stan” is hard to grasp, and then there are even more puzzling ones like “an all-rounder leaning XX” or “I’m an XX stan but I’m omnivorous.”

For someone hearing it for the first time, it probably sounds like a string of mysterious terms, like “Do they really sell writing instruments like ballpoint pens and pencils as merch?” or “Huh? Food?”

If someone suddenly asks, “Whose stan are you?” you might be confused and think they’re asking who owns a pen.

Pen (fan)

Before I knew it, I found myself saying, “I’m a K-pop fan.”

Of course, the “pen” I’m talking about here isn’t a writing instrument (lol).

What is a pen?The word “fan” in KoreanIt is a word that has that meaning.

As a common thing among K-pop fansI love it so much that I want to use Korean.I think the introductory version is a pen.

One of those particular terms where we say “pen” instead of “fan.”

When saying that you are a fan of a group, ...BIGBANG“Pen” = “BIGBANG fan”, “Tonpen” = “TVXQ (Tohoshinki) fan”TVXQ (also known as Tohoshinki; literally “Rising Gods of the East”)…such as “Tohoshinki fan” (since Tohoshinki is pronounced Tong Bang Shin Ki in Korean, it’s abbreviated as “Ton”).

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https://instagram.com/p/BbXB93IHfMN/

When you say you’re a fan of a specific member within a group, you’d say things like “CL-pen,” meaning “a fan of CL (formerly of 2NE1, now a solo artist),” or “Mina-pen,” meaning “a fan of Mina from TWICE,” and so on.

https://instagram.com/p/BVMAuTRDgGZ/

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The usage is very simple like this.

Next, I will introduce an evolved term for pen.

Olpen (All-fan)

“Orpen” is the Korean rendering of a blend of the English words “all” and “fan.”

Pens for the whole groupIt means that.

Even within the group, I imagine there are times when you have a favorite member.That said, I love everyone! It’s only complete with everyone!That's what you end up thinking, isn't it?

At times like that, you can say something like, “This is the all-purpose pen for 〇〇,” or …An ‘all-pen leaning toward 〇〇,’ meaning you like everyone but have a slight preference for 〇〇.Speaking of which, it conveys that it belongs to everyone.

Sometimes hiragana is used, such as “おるぺん” or “おるペン.”

Words used besides 'pen'

ultimate bias (K-pop fan term for favorite member)

Like with pen lights, it’s a word you can use when saying who you stan/support.

It’s a word that combines Choi (최), meaning “most” in Korean, and Ae (애), meaning “love.”

"This is my Chie!" "Chie is ___"That's how it is.

In Korean, with a meaning like “beloved.”my number one favoriteIt means that.

It’s said to be a term that started being used frequently thanks to the public audition program PRODUCE 101, broadcast on Mnet, where trainees from various agencies compete to debut.

In Season 1 in 2016, the girl group I.O.I was formed, and in Season 2 in 2017, the boy group Wanna One was formed.

Since the final debut members are determined by audience votes from among many trainees, I think this phrase is often used when supporting your favorite trainee you want to see debut.

In PRODUCE 101, the Japanese trainee Kenta Takada was also popular, but he was unfortunately eliminated (he later debuted as a member of JBJ, a group formed by trainees whose eliminations were likewise regretted).

Because fans watch and cheer them on as they endure grueling auditions, the enthusiasm when they debut is enormous, making it a very popular show.

That's exactly why you feel like saying, 'This girl is the best!'

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVIBUOjANuw/?taken-by=rkm0855

Chae (차애)

Given the flow from Che, you can kind of get the idea, right?

A word that combines cha (차), meaning 'next' in Korean, and ae (애), meaning 'love'.my second favorite (idol/member)It means that.

omnivorous

It’s not a term used only by K-pop fans; “zasshoku” is also a commonly used word.

From the original meaning of omnivory, which is “eating anything,” one can associate…I like various groups.It means that.

There are so many wonderful groups, so there are quite a few people who find it impossible to narrow it down to just one.

If that’s the case for you, you’re an omnivore.

face pen

This refers to pens who mean “I (don’t care about the songs or other things, I just) like the face,” kind of like being a casual/bandwagon fan.A slightly negative wordIt is used as.

I think those words come from feelings like, “It’s not just about looks,” or “They may not be the most visually striking, but that member is great at dancing.”

That said, it’s totally fine to become a fan for any reason at first, and before you know it, as you keep supporting them, your history as a fan deepens too.

So please don’t call them ‘face fans.’ I’m thinking it would be nice if we could welcome new fans while also sharing fan etiquette.

Let's actually try writing a profile using the word "pen."

Let me try creating a profile using some of the words I’ve introduced up to this point.

For example, in my case (I’ll keep it brief because it’s a bit embarrassing) …

EXO-L, mainly a fan of EXO’s Minseok (Xiumin). Recently into NCT’s Mark. Beginner ARMY leaning toward SUGA. Multifan. ◯◯ line.

Something like this.

I love all of EXO, but as an EXO-L I especially like Xiumin. Lately I’ve also been supporting Mark from NCT. And I’ve recently started listening to BTS as a newbie fan, and SUGA catches my attention the most. Once I like someone, I support them no matter what. I was born in the year XX.

If I translate what I wanted to say, it would be something like this.

I introduced myself briefly in 61 characters, including spaces.

Social media profiles often have character limits, and writing too much can be hard to read, right?

At times like that, you can express yourself briefly using words that make it immediately clear you’re a K-pop fan.

By the way, it's also common to indicate that something belongs to a specific group of pens without using the word “pen.”

It is EXO-L (EXOIt means using the names of group fan clubs, such as BLINK (BLACKPINK’s fan club) and ARMY (BTS’s fan club).

Fan club names are unique to each group, often reflecting their feelings toward fans or expressing the group’s concept.

In conclusion

This time, I introduced words you can use right away when you get into K-pop, such as “pen” (fan).

K-pop fan clichésI like it so much that I feel like using Korean.I mentioned this in the main text, and since I see many people using it, I think that once you come to like K-pop, you naturally end up doing the same.

In situations like that, try using the low-bar option of a “pen” to introduce yourself first!