Sharon (left) and her online friends during the Zerobaseone Timeless world tour in 2024. Photo: Sharon Simran Kaur
Sometimes the best friendships don’t begin face-to-face – they begin online.
For many K-pop fans, their fandom journey is not limited to admiring and supporting their favourite idols, but expands into building meaningful connections with strangers – across the globe or right in their home country – who share the same passion.
When Nur Aina Batrisyia Mohd Amin, 23, started getting into K-pop, what drew her to reach out was the chance to exchange thoughts with people who understood her excitement.
“I started replying to people’s posts that talked about my favourite K-band Day6,” she says.
“We then interacted quite a lot on the timeline because we found each other funny and loved making relatable, silly jokes. Eventually, we clicked the follow button and got to directly messaging each other.”
And she’s far from alone.
For fans everywhere, K-pop is no longer just about music – it’s the spark that opens the door to friendships that might never have formed otherwise.
When Nur Aina Batrisyia goes on trips with the friends she met because of Day6, they all bring dolls associated with their favourite group member.
Finding your people
Fans come across each other in different ways.
Online spaces usually become the easiest place to connect, giving fans a public platform where their mutual enthusiasm about idols makes conversations feel effortless.
Sharon Simran Kaur, 24, agrees and explains that she’d just go on social media to discover people with similar interests.
“I like being up to date with the groups I like, especially during comeback season or whenever they appear on shows. Others are just like me, so the talks flow easily.”
But while chatting online is a starting point, friendships often deepen when fans finally meet in person.
For Sharon, concerts became the place where those digital connections turned real.
“I met a couple of my online friends during the Singapore stop for the Zerobaseone tour in 2024,” she says.
“We’d always talked on X and decided to meet at the venue. Coincidentally, while queuing, I recognised them from their photos online. It was a surprise, but still amazing to see someone I’d only spoken to online appear in front of me.”
For Amanda Lim, 22, purchasing a photocard – a collectible card featuring a K-pop star’s image – resulted in her making her first K-pop friend.
“When buying photocards on X, you have to directly message the seller and then give your address if you’d like to proceed,” she says.
“In my case, after sending my address, we realised we lived really close to each other, so we decided to meet up instead.”
“From then on, we began going to cupsleeve events – fan-organised gatherings to celebrate idols’ birthdays or milestones – together.”
“Eventually, we hung out regularly outside of K-pop-related matters too,” she adds.
Nur Aina Batrisyia’s path was similar; from what started as simple replies and jokes grew into offline meetups that felt surprisingly natural.
“Sometimes it was just about planning to eat together,” she says.
“Idols usually vouch for their fans to eat well, so we scheduled days out for good food and desserts. It didn’t feel awkward at all – more like meeting people I’d already known for a long time.”
Attending cupsleeve events was one of the ways Lim (right) got closer to her online friends. — AMANDA LIM
More than just K-pop
Countless fans believe that K-pop friendships can evolve into something far more personal.
Sharon noticed that shift when she didn’t find it hard to open up about her real-life struggles with the friends she made online.
“They listened to me without any complaints and comforted me to make sure I felt better,” she says.
“Now, we don’t really talk about K-pop as much as we did before and instead talk about our life outside of K-pop – fashion, relationship problems, shopping purchases.”
Lim feels the same way, describing her K-pop friendships as something permanent.
Even as she became less active online to focus on her studies, her friends have been really understanding and still remember to always include her.
“I see it as lifelong friendship, like I know I can randomly text them to talk and hang out, and it wouldn’t be weird.”
For Nur Aina Batrisyia, the turning point was when she was hospitalised. “Some of them even came and visited me at the hospital,” she says.
“That was when I realised this is a friendship that I’ve got to cherish, and to return the same kindness.”
For outsiders, it may be surprising that something as simple as music can create such bonds.
But as Sharon puts it, “I see it as a friendship where we can enjoy things together to the fullest.”
Nur Aina Batrisyia adds that she feels lucky to meet people who share the same wavelength.
“It never gets boring with them as we have multiple topics to talk about, from favourite songs and artistes to personal matters and travel planning.”
“It’s not just about idols anymore, it’s about true companionship,” Lim concludes.
