The Light Ocean: A Guide to the History and Future of K-pop Lightsticks

Do you know what items K-pop fans used to support their idols before the birth of lightsticks? Some K-pop fans even customize their lightsticks. Let’s dive into the K-pop lightsticks world and discover how they have evolved!

Back in the 1st gen era during the late 1990s, K-pop fans wore raincoats and held balloons to support their favorite group. The two most prominent groups then were H.O.T. and Sechskies, where H.O.T. 's fans wore white raincoats and held white balloons, while Sechskies fans had yellow ones. Since fans of the same fandom usually sit together during concerts, Sechskies leader Eun Ji-won once joked that the two fandoms together looked like a sunny side up! The famous K-drama Reply 1997 hilariously depicts the fierce competition between the two fandoms.

In the year 2000s, 2nd gen K-pop fans no longer wore raincoats but still held balloons of their group’s official color to support their favorite idols. For example, TVXQ fans held red balloons, and SS501 had green ones. In 2006, BigBang became the first K-pop group to launch an official lightstick. The group’s leader G-Dragon designed this yellow crown-shaped lightstick called BangBong to let their V.I.P.s stand out from the crowd.

The birth of the BangBong was a game changer in the fandom culture. Other K-pop groups also follow BigBang to make their official lightstick. In the beginning, lightsticks were mostly glowing sticks of the group's official color with the name or logo of the group written on the sticks. As lightstick culture develops, lightsticks start to have more sophisticated designs and meaningful names, showcasing the uniqueness of each K-pop group. 

For example, Golden Child's lightstick Runebong is an inverted bowling pin, symbolizing the ten members in Golden Child as a bowling game consisting of ten bowling pins. It also matches perfectly with the group's sporty and energetic image. The name of the lightstick is also a creative play on words. The Korean character of "rune" (룬) is the inverted version of "gol" (골), which is the first syllable of both Golden Child and its fandom Goldenness. This also resonates with the fact that the lightsticks are held upside down.

The lightstick of another 4th gen boy group ONEUS is called “dalbit” (달빛, moonlight), as many of the lyrics in ONEUS’s song are related to moon and moonlight. It also correlates with the fandom name TO MOON, that the fans will shine their light upon ONEUS. The lightstick is designed as an earth surrounded by the team’s logo, which looks like a crescent moon, symbolizing the relationship between ONEUS and TO MOON. 

Lightsticks these days are no longer only limited to stick shape. DAY6's lightstick is a lime green light band that fans can wear on their wrists. This makes it more convenient for MyDays to hold their phones to record Day6's performances or enjoy the show without holding anything. JYP also designed another one-of-a-kind lightstick for ITZY: a white light ring made to be carried like a tambourine. The ring can be attached to the wall as a mood light outside concert settings, making it one of the most versatile and practical K-pop lightsticks.  

Fans nowadays can even customize their lightsticks. Aespa's lightstick includes customized emblems of each member, so MY can change the "Aespa '' emblem in the lightstick to that of their bias. ATEEZ's lightstick LIGHTINY has an opening on the top that allows fans to customize the interior of their lightsticks more efficiently, and many ATINY have shared their beautiful customized lightstick on social media!

Besides the increasingly diverse designs, lightsticks nowadays have different functions and special features as technology advances. Most lightsticks in recent years have Bluetooth functions. Fans can connect their lightsticks with their respective mobile phone app to unlock different kinds of light effects or to their seats during the concert to produce various light effects that sync with the music.

Apart from Bluetooth, some groups also include thoughtful special features for their lightsticks. The new version of ATEEZ’s lightstick contains a motion sensor, which makes the light flicker faster when you shake it. The iconic girl crush group, BLACKPINK’s BI-ping-bong, is inspired by the signature hammer in the famous variety show Weekly Idol. Apart from its special hammer-shaped appearance, the most exciting feature of their lightsticks is that it produces squeaking sounds when you hit on it. This cute hidden effect even surprised an audience during Gaon Chart Music Awards in 2019, and she exclaimed loudly and continued to squeak it when Rosé gave the acceptance speech!

In sum, BigBang was the group that gave birth to the idea of creating lightsticks for its fandom. While lightsticks back in the early 2000s 2nd gen era were mostly glowing sticks with simple designs, as the lightsticks culture and technology continued to develop, K-pop lightsticks started to have more diverse shapes and incorporate different interesting elements and even practical functions. But regardless of the designs and functions, lightsticks will continue to be an indispensable companion of K-pop fans that connect them with their idols.

Do you own any K-pop lightsticks, and which group’s lightstick do you think is the most beautiful? Let us know in the comment below!

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