Uses and Gratification Analysis of Social Media in K-Pop Information Searching

Abstract

Korean culture fever has entered into Indonesia since 2000s. This was due to the spread
and influence of Korean culture in Indonesia, especially from the film, drama, music and knick-knacks
that have been spread among the people of Indonesia. The spread of this Korean culture evoked the
need for information searching about the latest trends in Korea. The presence of social media,
especially Facebook and Twitter enrich the means of information retrieval. Freedom to access social
media resulted in a major phenomenon of the information flow. The speed of social media also
began to replace the role of conventional media in disseminating information. Social media is
understood as a new form of communication which is interactive, available for everyone to
participate in it. The need for information retrieval is often associated with satisfaction in finding
information. The concept of this satisfaction measure is called GS (Gratification Sougth) and GO
(Gratification Obtained). Gratification Sougth is sought or desired satisfaction when individuals
consume a certain media types and motives that drive a person to consume media. While
Gratification Obtained is obtained satisfaction a person has after consuming a particular type of
media. Results of this study showed that 43 respondents who assess GO <GS and 39 respondents
rate GO> GS, but the difference is relatively small or not so significant. This suggests that the Korean
Lovers were less satisfied about the fulfillment of cultural information about K-Pop.

Keywords: Culture, Gratification Sought, Gratification Obtained, Korean Pop, Social Media