How Built a Thriving K-POP Community of 1,000 Fans in Chicago

Hello, this is Klab Insight.

For this feature, we’re excited to introduce Jasmine De Guzman, a creative force in Chicago's K-POP community and an event organizer who has made a significant impact on local fandoms.

Jas’s journey into the K-POP industry began as a fan, and she quickly transitioned into organizing events that bring people together to celebrate the genre she loves. From hosting dance cover events to creating unforgettable K-POP gatherings like "All Things K-pop," she has fostered a sense of community in a city where K-POP wasn’t as prominent.

Through her hands-on experience with major K-POP events such as SEVENTEEN's "Be The Sun" tour, Jas has proven that passion and dedication can turn a hobby into a career. Her work demonstrates the power of connecting fans and artists, and her story is a testament to how one individual can create lasting change within the industry.

Jas‘s story will inspire both aspiring event organizers and anyone hoping to make their mark in the world of K-POP, showing that with vision and hard work, it’s possible to bring people closer to the culture they love.

This newsletter highlights:

• Building a Thriving K-POP Community in Chicago

• Organizing Large-Scale K-POP Events and Concerts

• Turning Passion into a Successful Career in K-POP Event Management

Q. Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Jasmine De Guzman(Jas), but I go by Jas, and I’m a 24-year-old Filipino creative from Chicago. My background is in film and television with experience in different departments, from Production Assistant to Producer. However, my main role for the past 6 years has been Production Designer for independent film projects. In 2019, I started getting involved in Chicago’s K-POP community by doing dance covers and joining cover groups. In 2021, I delved into event organizing as a fan wanting to create safe community spaces for other fans and as a way to express my love for K-POP.

Q. What initially sparked your interest in the K-POP industry?

I’ve been a fan of K-POP since 2009. At this time, the Hallyu Wave was in the Philippines so I grew up listening to the music and seeing idols on TV. My initial interest in the K-POP industry was as a dancer. I was incredibly inspired by the choreography and in 2011, I auditioned for SM Entertainment when they came to Chicago for their global auditions. While I didn’t make it past the first round, I fell in love with the production of K-POP music videos and that’s when I decided to pursue a career in film and television. I always knew I wanted to be involved in the K-POP industry in any creative way possible.

Q. How did you transition into K-POP event organizing, and what motivated you to pursue this career?

I went to my first cupsleeve event in 2020 for BTS’ Suga’s birthday. I was somewhat aware of how big birthday events for K-POP idols were in Asia, but I had never heard of them being held in Illinois. It was at a newly opened cafe in downtown Chicago and I had the best time eating delicious souffle pancakes, taking photos with Suga’s BT21 character (Shooky), and talking to other fans. I still have the cupsleeve from the event and my collection has only grown from there. Every K-POP cupsleeve event I went to after that were amazing and great meeting spots for new and old friends. However, at the time, it was mainly BTS and I wanted to have the same experience with my other fandoms. I hosted my first K-POP cafe event in June 2021 as a hobby. In March 2022, I started to make a career out of it after co-creating “All Things K-pop” - a K-POP nightclub event at Sidetrack: The Video Bar.

Q. What was the first K-POP event you organized, and what challenges did you face during that experience?

Alongside one of my best friends, the first K-POP event I organized was for SEVENTEEN’s Jun and Hoshi’s birthdays. Our first challenge was finding the right venue. We decided to reach out to a recently opened bubble tea shop in Chinatown in order to create a mutually beneficial partnership with them. I sent them an email with all the detailed logistics - desired dates and time, expected attendees, what decorations we would be putting up, how the event would work, etc. - and received a big yes.

The next challenge was finding a cupsleeve manufacturer. We were still figuring out what our resources were and had no connections. Luckily, after researching online, I found MyCreativeShop. They had the perfect template for me to use when creating the design and they were based in the US, which resolved another difficulty - making sure our items arrived on time.

Another challenge I faced was figuring out what to do to make this event as engaging and fun as possible with our limited budget. I was in college and paying everything out of pocket so we couldn’t be as over the top as we wanted to be. I printed out free photo gifts at Walgreens and cut them out by hand. I created a message board and mini photozone with balloons for fans to interact with. We also held a giveaway for albums that we either owned or bought ourselves.

It was a two-day event and while the first day went smoothly, we ran into trouble on day two. The shop allowed us to leave our decorations up overnight to make it easier for us to start the next day. When we arrived, we noticed a few pictures of the idols were missing. It was disheartening to see that someone had taken them because they were from our personal collections. I made a statement on X (formerly Twitter) about the missing photos and we moved all decorations to be more within our line of sight. I started asking for volunteers after this incident so we would have multiple people looking out.

Q. What have been some of the most memorable moments for you while organizing K-POP events?

Meeting fans from out of state and even out of the country. It really solidifies the community space that I wanted to build when I started. When I started to move from cupsleeve events to “All Things K-pop”, I kept that in mind. In this club space, I was still meeting fans that were visiting Chicago and were excited to find a space to listen to K-POP music, have a drink, and talk to new people about their shared love for the genre. The inclusion of fans as vendors, attendees, performers, etc. became part of my future work.

Q. Can you tell us about your experience with SEVENTEEN's "Be The Sun" tour and how you contributed to its success?

It was the biggest event that I had to organize and I was quite nervous about it. I decided to make it a three day event for fans that were coming and going to Chicago just for the concert. It was split it into:

1. A pre-concert cupsleeve and gift pick-ups for those who donated to the crowdfund

2. Day of concert banner handouts outside and inside the venue with my volunteer team

3. A post-concert cupsleeve and handing out remaining banners

Thanks to the cupsleeve events and my volunteer team, we were able to give out about 80% of the banners I received from Usagaincarats (they had printed out our design for us). We did run into miscommunication issues with the venue. Security would not let me in with three big boxes of banners because they were not aware that I had already talked to the venue’s event staff and Livenation Korea. Due to the fact that I was the main point of contact for Livenation Korea and the venue on the day of the concert, I was keeping up communication with them and eventually, the problem was resolved. I was able to hand off a stack to SEVENTEEN’s tour staff so they could give it to the group. I’m glad I did a pre-concert event as well because attendees brought their banners from the day before which made handing what we had out a much smoother experience. In order to let my volunteers enjoy their concert experience, my brother - who has been a big help to me with all my cupsleeve events and banner projects - and I took over banner distribution until the last 20 minutes or so before the concert started.

Q. As someone who has organized events for a major group like SEVENTEEN, what do you believe makes a K-POP event stand out and attract attention?

The enthusiasm and openness of sharing K-POP with others! Since the spaces I would hold my events at were always open to the general public or general foot traffic, I’ve interacted with many people who have no clue what K-POP is. People have asked me what all the decorations were and when I tell them we’re celebrating a K-POP artist, their response is positive and friendly. The effort that is put into K-POP events is tremendous and it shows in the number of people that show up, the vendors creating art for the community, the pictures people take and post, and the excitement that you can feel buzzing in the air.

Q. You mentioned working with Usagaincarats for SEVENTEEN's tour. How do collaborations with fan organizations help enhance the quality of an event?

I’m very grateful that I was able to work with Usagaincarats for two of SEVENTEEN’s tours. Collaborating with big fan organizations means being able to crowdfund because they can reach a wider audience as well as spread the word about these events much more than I could on my own. They also have more resources to create really high quality fan gifts that I can give to event attendees. I would not have been able to design and make keychains and magnets without their help in spreading the word about Chicago’s events.

Q. How do you approach the promotion of K-POP events in markets outside of Korea, and what has worked best for you in reaching the target audience?

My approach to promoting K-POP events in markets outside of Korea started out as me building up a platform for myself and networking within the community. Once I felt confident in myself and my connections, Social Media became the best place for promotions. There are accounts dedicated to sharing events happening in certain cities and around the country which makes it so much easier to find even the most niche event. I cross-post my events on X and Instagram in order for my followers to share with their circles. I’ve also done collaborations with other event hosts and K-POP stores in Chicago to further spread the word and uplift the community.

Q. What were the key challenges you faced while building the K-POP community in Chicago, and how did you overcome them?

Consistency is key for staying relevant and letting people know that these events I host or help put together are happening. It was a challenge to work my schedule around that when I first started out.

I did a lot of online marketing and social media promotions, especially when I couldn’t be at an event in person. I feel like my constant updates and promotions and quickly answering any questions helped people feel part of a community.

It was also difficult to do a lot of preparation on my own or with only 1 other person so I prioritized finding volunteers and chatting with them during the event. I think that was another good way to help people feel connected.

Q. How do you manage the financial aspects of your events, especially when working with limited budgets for K-POP-related projects?

My events have been majority out of pocket so it was all about knowing my own limited budget and working within my means. However, I’ve opened donations where donors can receive different fanmade items - keychains, stickers, tote bags, etc. - depending on how much they donate. That was a big help in offsetting production costs for the items. A majority of the budget would go towards creating the best memorabilia for attendees to bring home. Everything else was usually handmade, reused from previous events, or borrowed from other organizers.

Q. What are the most important things to consider when sourcing vendors and sponsors for K-POP events?

Your physical space and your own capacity. I’ve held events in small shops where we can only have one or two vendors that sell small items. On the other hand, I’ve held events in bigger shops where we can have three or more and they are able to have bigger displays and more items to sell. As for your capacity, you will need to be in constant communication with vendors and sponsors. I would look for those who align with your vision for the event and are as excited about it as you are. It can be easy to feel burnt out when organizing so many moving parts.

Q. How important is networking in the K-POP industry, and how do you collaborate with fanbases and community organizations for your events?

I think it’s incredibly important. A lot of things can happen through word of mouth especially since not everyone is on social media, so they only find out about events through others in the community. Outside of holding my own events, I make sure to attend events as well. Building connections is also about supporting other organizers and hosts. I’ve frequented so many cupsleeve events that I know and recognize almost all the hosts in Chicago and vice versa, I have been recognized outside of my events. I keep up with what’s going on in K-POP and when artists are in the USA so I can go out and connect with fans that come to Chicago for concerts or with fanbases that are doing a whole tour project to see how I can get involved.

Q. How do you identify and incorporate the needs and expectations of local fans when planning K-POP events?

I ask for feedback a lot. Either when I’m striking up a conversation at one of my events or I tweet out a feedback form for people to anonymously share their thoughts. I also attend a lot of K-POP events and talk to people about what they like about the event, what they want to see, what they wish we had in Chicago, etc. and I utilize that when planning.

Q. What skills do you think are essential for organizing successful K-POP events?

Time management, being able to problem solve on the spot, hospitality and communication, paying attention to all the finer details, and not being afraid to put yourself out there. If you can positively connect with people, I believe that that’s a big key to success in these events.

Q. How can I get started in this field like you? Please tell me how you were able to begin this work.

It might sound cheesy, but shoot your shot. Send that proposal. Volunteer with that big fanbase. I started out because I wanted to go to a SEVENTEEN cupsleeve event and there were no SEVENTEEN cupsleeve events in my area. I created “All Things K-pop” because I wanted to dance with other K-POP fans who were my age. Those all happened because I sent out a very detailed email about these events to venues that I felt were right for them. I was confident in my vision and the success that I thought it would have and I was rewarded with events going extremely well and doing interviews like this one to inspire others with my experiences.

Q. Are there any particular artists, organizations, or projects you hope to collaborate with in the future?

I would really like to work with Min (former miss A)! I’ve been in contact with her talent manager before, but we were unable to bring it to fruition due to scheduling and other circumstances. I hope in the future I can help bring her to Chicago. I’d also like to collaborate with more companies to do official banner projects. I think banners are such a nice physical memory of a concert and I cherish all the ones I’ve gotten. I want to help in giving that feeling and experience to others.

Q. As a K-POP event planner, what are your future goals or vision for your career?

My vision for the future of my career as a K-POP event planner is to host bigger events and, hopefully, official events with companies and idols. I learned a lot when working alongside Live Nation Korea and HYBE, but I know there’s a lot more growth and learning that I need to do as I work towards this goal.

Q. What advice would you give to young professionals looking to build a career in K-POP over the next decade?

With the rise of K-POP’s popularity, don’t be afraid of creating a career out of your passion and love for K-POP. You can use the skills and tools you have now to create things related to K-POP and never stop. Consistency is key because the more you build up your own brand, the more you’re able to transition into focusing on K-POP.

Q. Lastly, do you have any message for the readers?

You can do it! Whatever dream you have, whatever vision you want to bring to life. It takes time and hard work, but you can do it. And if you are ever in Chicago, you have a connection with me now. Good luck!

Jas's journey is a powerful reminder of how passion, creativity, and determination can transform a love for K-POP into a thriving career. Her story shows that with the right vision and persistence, it’s possible to create meaningful connections and make a lasting impact in an ever-evolving industry.

Key Insights

1. Creating Opportunities in K-POP Event Management

   K-POP event organizing offers many career possibilities, from hosting local events to collaborating with global fanbases. Jas's work demonstrates that there is room for creative professionals to thrive by connecting fans, artists, and communities.

2. The Importance of Fanbase Collaboration

   Collaborating with fan organizations can elevate the quality of K-POP events and help build a strong community. Working with established fanbases like Usagaincarats allows for greater reach and more impactful events, showcasing the power of grassroots networks in the K-POP industry.

3. Resourcefulness in Event Planning

   Jas's journey emphasizes the importance of resourcefulness when organizing K-POP events, especially when dealing with limited budgets. Whether it's using DIY decorations or crowdfunding for event expenses, creativity and determination are key to success in the event management field.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this interview! Feel free to leave your comments below or email us at [email protected]. Your insights and questions are always welcome as we continue to explore the vibrant world of K-pop.

And feel free to connect with me on X, LinkedIn, & Thread.