Why does this rift exist? Mostly it's because of the cultural differences. What most Koreans see as obvious doesn't seem too obvious to i-fans, and what a lot of Korean fans see as a big deal doesn't seem like a big deal at all to i-fans. One of the points that Korean and international fans clash the most on is the topic of being conservative, with Koreans saying some clothes are too short and too revealing while to Western fans, it's something they see on a daily basis in Western media.

Another point that's hard to understand for i-fans is the topic of army enlistment. Risking running off topic, I'm going to take this time to explain why enlistment is necessary, at least at its most basics. Korea's had mandatory service since January 1950, after Korea was divided into North and South. Mandatory enlistment is not as rare as a lot of Americans think it is - actually, our next-door-neighbor Mexico also has mandatory enlistment. Although it's a bit different from the conscription in Korea, it's kind of a necessity for countries under some form of threat to have it. In Mexico's case, the 'threat' is sharing a wide border with the United States. Taiwan also has one since their independence from China. Korea's threat? None other than North Korea.

In fact, enlistment is a huge deal in Korea. Enlistment can have a huge impact in Korea, and the person who felt the biggest impact is none other than Yoo Seung Jun, who was at the height of his career when he fled to USA and then to China. He's pretty much hated all across Korea. While it's true that enlistment can also have positive effects in the case of Hyun Bin or Yoo Seung Ho, a lot of i-fans hate it when their idols go to the army because it means 20 plus months of not seeing their favorite stars.

Of course, it goes in the other direction, too, and the biggest example I can think of is the terrible instances of blackface. Perhaps because they don't really know the history behind how offensive it is, some Koreans find such skits to be funny. Comedians do it.�Yesung�and Kikwang have done it, and most recently, 'Running Man' also featured blackface. The idea is simply ludicrous to i-fans, but to some K-fans it's not racially offensive at all. Perhaps, due to lack of exposure to the negativity?

A lot of it is also because some K-fans don't like 'sharing' their idols with international fans. Korea�

can be incredibly possessive of their artists and also a bit xenophobic (like every country is), and they're immediately wary of fans from the outside. Their hesitation against i-fans is kind of paradoxical, because they all boast about how big their group's international fandom is, and how big of a Hallyu star they are - and yet they don't actually like the i-fans, the actual force behind Hallyu. If you really want it to be a popular cultural export, let it spread. The farthest they'll go into admitting i-fans is only for Japanese and Chinese fans, and they scoff at pretty much outside of this.

One problem is that Korean labels have a tendency to sometimes look at 'Asia' as the 'world'. Most of the time, artists go on Asia tours (these used to be called World Tours until artists started to branch out into the Americas, Australia, and Europe). So if the labels see Korea-Japan-China as pretty much the whole world, the K-fans don't really have a reason to see other countries' fans as "real" fans.�

Of course, that's not to say that all i-fans and K-fans are at each other's throats all the time. In my own fangirling experience, I've met various k-fans who were more than happy to help out i-fans get some merchandise that was only available in Korea, or help i-fans make sure their gifts are sent out to idols.�

What would be nice is if all K-fans could recognize that i-fans love their artists just as much as they do. In the end, what both K-fans and i-fans need is better understanding of each other. I understand that's�much�easier said than done, but I'm optimistic and here's hoping we can all get along.