What Is a K-Pop Fan Project? Birthday Ads, Subway Banners, and More
A K-pop fan project is a fan-organized (not label-organized) effort that celebrates an idol or group — most commonly birthday ads on subway trains and billboards, donation drives in an idol's name, or coordinated streaming/voting campaigns. Fan projects are funded and run entirely by fans, usually through crowdfunding, and are one of the most visible ways fandoms show support outside of official purchases.
What counts as a fan project?
The key distinction is who's organizing it: a fan project is planned and paid for by fans, not by the artist's label or company. This separates it from official label-run events (fan meetings, official merch drops) and from spontaneous one-person gestures (a single fan posting a tribute video). A true fan project usually involves a small organizing team, a public fundraising goal, and a clear, specific deliverable — like a subway ad running for two weeks during an idol's birthday month.
BTS · Dynamite · BIGHIT MUSIC · via YouTube
The most common types of fan projects
- Birthday ads — subway station banners, building-side LED billboards, or coffee truck deliveries to the idol's filming location, timed to their birthday.
- Donation drives — fans pool money for a charitable donation made in the idol's name, often timed to a birthday or a comeback milestone.
- Streaming/voting parties — coordinated group efforts to boost a song's chart position or push a group toward an award nomination during a voting window.
- Album bulk-buy projects — group orders that pool money to buy large quantities of physical albums, partly to support chart numbers and partly to redistribute extra photocards among participants.
BLACKPINK · How You Like That · YG Entertainment · via YouTube
How fan projects actually get funded
Most fan projects use a public crowdfunding link (sometimes a dedicated platform, sometimes a simple shared spreadsheet with a payment account) with a transparent target amount and deadline. Organizers typically post regular updates showing how much has been raised and what it will cover — a billboard slot, printing costs for banners, a courier fee for sending the donation receipt to a charity, and so on. Larger international fan projects sometimes involve fans from multiple countries pooling funds through a single trusted organizer to cover currency conversion and logistics.
Before sending money to any fan project, check whether the organizing account has a track record — a history of completed past projects with photo proof is the single best signal that funds will actually be used as described. New, unverified accounts asking for upfront payment are the highest-risk setup in fandom spaces.
How to join one as a beginner
You don't need to organize anything to participate — most fan projects simply ask for a small contribution toward the shared goal. Search the group's name plus "fan project" or "birthday project" alongside the relevant month, check the fandom's main social media tag for pinned posts, and look for an organizer account with consistent prior projects. Many fandoms also have a dedicated account that exists specifically to coordinate fan projects year-round, which is usually the safest entry point for a first-time contributor.
TWICE · FANCY · JYP Entertainment · via YouTube
What to watch out for
Fan projects are almost entirely trust-based, which makes them a target for occasional scams. Be cautious of organizers who refuse to share progress updates, who ask for payment through untraceable methods, or who keep moving the deadline without explanation. A legitimate project will usually post the final result (a photo of the actual billboard, a donation receipt) once it's complete — if that follow-through never happens, treat it as a warning sign for any future project from the same organizer.
| Project Type | Typical Cost to Participate | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Birthday ad/billboard | $2–10 contribution | Credit listed, photo of finished ad |
| Donation drive | $2–15 contribution | Donation receipt shared publicly |
| Streaming/voting party | Free (time only) | Coordinated schedule, shared goals |
| Album bulk-buy | Cost of one album + fee | Album copy, possible bonus photocard |
- Q: Do idols actually see or respond to fan projects?
- Often yes — many idols have publicly thanked fans for birthday ads or donation drives during livestreams or interviews, though this isn't guaranteed for every project.
- Q: Is it safe to send money to a stranger online for this?
- Only to organizers with a verifiable track record — treat any first-time, unverified request for payment with the same caution you'd use for any online transaction with a stranger.
- Q: Can international fans participate in projects based in Korea?
- Yes, this is extremely common — many subway and billboard ad projects are specifically funded by international fans pooling money through an organizer based in Korea who handles the local logistics.
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