K-pop fan platform company DearU to enter into Japan

DearU Co., a K-pop fandom platform in South Korea, announced the launch of the Japanese version of "bubble" on Tuesday. DearU bubble is a private messaging service that connects fans to K-pop artists. 

DearU formed a joint venture with Japan's largest fan platform company m-up Holdings to enter into the Japanese market. The company will launch "bubble for Japan" in February nest year. 

The new fandom platform "bubble for Japan" is totally separate version of the existing bubble service in South Korea. This platform is developed through localization efforts in consideration of the needs of Japanese artists and the regional characteristics of fandom.

Through its joint venture with m-up Holdings, DearU is engaged in collaborative projects. Japan's m-up Holdings is a publicly traded company that operates various content and platform businesses based on the entertainment sector. Presently, operating as a holding company, it has eight subsidiaries, focusing on official artist platforms, fan club platforms, digital content, goods/merchandise sales and ticket sales.

Of these, FanPlus, a subsidiary of M-up Holdings, plays a key role in "bubble for Japan". FanPlus is currently running various platform services based on official artist platforms, fan club platforms and entertainment intellectual properties.

According to financial data released by m-up Holdings, FanPlus currently possesses over 500 official fan club platforms and more than 2.4 million paying members, demonstrating significant involvement in the large-scale fandom business.

A DearU source said that bubble's international expansion is set to begin with Japan, the world's second-largest music market, followed by plans for further global expansion into countries like China and the US. 

The new platform for fandom in Japan is expected to feature services from prominent Japanese talent agencies, with official opening dates and lineups to be disclosed at a later time.

Write to Sun A Lee at suna@hankyung.com