Fandom activities have played a central role in the growth of K-pop as both a cultural phenomenon and a massive global industry. Although fandom is now widely recognized as a crucial component of K-pop, we have yet to develop a systematic understanding of fandom activities as labor—that is, labor that generates value and without which K-pop could not exist. Drawing on the book K-Pop Fandom: Performing Deokhu from the 1990s to Today, this presentation examines how fandom activities are constituted as a key productive force within the K-pop industry, and how they shape not only K-pop’s popularity but also its cultural and social impact, its politics, and its horizon of possibilities. In particular, the study explores how the process of “performing deokhu” entails what is termed the performing materialization of affective labor. This materialization of affective labor operates across a wide spectrum of fandom practices—from collective, community-based activities to individualized forms of labor that foreground personal identity and practices of care. The research is grounded in an interdisciplinary framework that draws on cultural studies, ethnography, and performance studies, and is further strengthened by the researcher’s own participant observation, which provides a strong sense of situated, field-based engagement.