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The Structural Relationships between Fandom Activities, Social Support and Meaning in Life: The Case of ‘Tomorrow is Mr. Trot’ Fandom among Korean New Middle-aged Women

  • Journal of Tourism Sciences
  • Abbr : JTS
  • 2021, 45(8), pp.81-104
  • DOI : 10.17086/JTS.2021.45.8.81.104
  • Publisher : The Tourism Sciences Society Of Korea
  • Research Area : Social Science > Tourism
  • Received : July 1, 2021
  • Accepted : October 27, 2021
  • Published : November 1, 2021

SUNG EUNHYE 1 LEE, HAH AH REUM 1 SO YOUNG BAE 1

1경희대학교

Excellent Accredited

ABSTRACT

The Korean government segmented adults aged 50 to 69 as ‘new middle-aged’ in 2017. This segment used to be considered as ‘the elderly’. However, the ‘new middle-aged’ have shown their active social participation based on their high economic power and education level. One of the remarkable phenomena among the new-middle aged women was their fandom activities toward the singers of the popular Korean trot contest program titled ‘Tomorrow is Mr. Trot’. Based on their sense of belonging and connectedness, they often obtain vitality in life from the fandom community. In this context, this study examined the structural relationships between fandom activities, social support, and meaning in life among new middle-aged women. A total of 312 samples were collected from the new middle-aged women who are active members of the online fan communities of the seven singers from ‘Tomorrow is Mr. Trot’. Findings showed that the fandom activities were divided into individual fandom activities and social fandom activities, and both individual and social fandom activities were founded to be the significant predictors that influenced social support. Social support showed significant positive effect on both dimensions of the meaning in life: presence of meaning and search for meaning. This study has theoretical implications in that it newly divided fandom activities into individual and social fandom activities, and expanded the target of fandom research from teenagers to new middle ages. It also offers practical implications for the entertainment industry and governments to enhance the understanding of the fandom activities as leisure among new middle-aged women.

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