How South Korea’s celebrity gamers build dedicated fandoms
REPORT
24 Apr 2024
How South Korea’s celebrity gamers build dedicated fandoms

South Korea has produced some of the world’s most famous esports stars. But in the age of streaming, the nature of celebrity in the gaming world can vary, with content creators and fans joining the fray. What can competitive and non-competitive gamers teach about building a thriving fanbase?

Jenna Drenten

Jenna Drenten studies how people's lived experiences are mediated, translated, and commodified through digital platforms. With a background in marketing and cultural studies, her work focuses on internet discourses, influencer marketing, celebrity branding, pop culture, feminism, gender, social media platforms, monetisation, memes, and more. Her research has been published in over 20 leading academic journals, and her expertise has been featured in media outlets, including The Washington Post, Financial Times, and BBC. Dr. Drenten is an associate professor of marketing at Loyola University Chicago and serves as associate editor at the Journal of Advertising Research.

Andy Miah

Professor Andy Miah, PhD (@andymiah), is Chair of Science Communication & Future Media at the University of Salford. Author of 10 books and over 150 academic articles, Professor Miah has been at the forefront of debates about how humanity is moving beyond conventional evolutionary processes and towards evolution by technology. His recent works have focused on artificial intelligence, esports, digital health, and the metaverse. Prof Miah has also been interviewed and written for media around the world, including The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Independent, and The Times. He has given over 300 major invited conference presentations over the last decade, at which he is often invited to speak about the future.

Evan Lambert

Evan Lambert is a journalist and travel writer with bylines at Mic, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, Going, The Discoverer, Cosmo, and many more. You can check out his other work at https://evanlambert.journoportfolio.com/.