EXO

RPF Fandom
Name(s):	EXO
Scope/Focus:	K-Pop
Date(s):	2012-present
See also:	GOT7, BTS, MonstaX, Seventeen, SHINee
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Black Pearl - EXO by Red-Hyena (2017), fan made album cover

EXO is a popular K-Pop boy group formed by SM Entertainment. During the group's first year it promoted as two separate units with six members each: EXO-M, who mainly promoted in China, and EXO-K, who mainly promoted in Korea.

The group's current members are Suho (Kim Junmyeon) (leader), Xiumin (Kim Minseok), Byun Baekhyun, Chen (Kim Jongdae), Park Chanyeol, D.O. (Do Kyungsoo), Kai (Kim Jongin), Oh Sehun.

The status of Lay (Zhang Yixing) is unclear, as he hasn't participated in group activities in person since 2017, left SM in April 2022 and has been absent from group releases since 2021. Former members are Tao (Huang Zitao), Kris (Wu Yifan) and Lu Han.

The group has two Sub-units: EXO-CBX, consisting of Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin; and EXO-SC, which consists of Sehun and Chanyeol. Most members, except for Chanyeol and Sehun, have solo music careers of their own; all members, except for Chen, have solo acting careers of their own.

Fandom

EXO-L

The official fanclub for EXO is called EXO-L, meaning EXO-LOVE. L is 12th letter of the alphabet, corresponding to the original 12 members of the group. It is also between K and M, which is meant to symbolize EXO-L promoting EXO worldwide alongside EXO-K and EXO-M.

Because the group existed for over two years before being given an official fanclub name, there was a lot of speculation what the name might be. Many early international EXO fans took to calling themselves Exotics. Some were disappointed when the actual name was announced, while others found the meaning behind it sweet.

I agree with the general opinion that it’s not the best fan club name. It’s a little awkward, and it’s unfortunate the hand sign EXO uses is also the same hand sign that means Loser. But it’s not terrible. Really, there are much worse fan club names out there. Oh yeah, I’m looking at you JYP and your brilliant idea of “IGOT7.” Even GOT7 knows you f-ed up on that one.

kpopyourlife

Some fans prefer to call themselves as Aeri (or Eri), after Baekhyun referred to the fans as such in a tweet. The name is a combination of L (prononouced as Aer) and -ie, a suffix in korean that indicates closeness and familiarity.

The fandom's official color is Silver, though no specific pantone has ever been stated by SM Entertainment. Perhaps due to this vagueness, fans have also claimed Cosmic Latte (#FFF8E7) as their fandom color, which has lead to the general misconception that this is the actual official color of the fandom, misinformation that's even managed to get into Koreaboo and KProfiles.

Some fans believe this goes back to 2015 and it's due to a verse in the song Love Me Right, 내 우주는 전부 너야 (my entire universe is you), and Cosmic Latte being "the average color of the universe as perceived from the Earth".

Lightstick

There are three version of the official EXO lightstick. Version 1.0 was used for their early concerts, 2.0 was released in 2017 and version 3.0 was released in 2019. The three are similar in design, with the top looking like the EXO logo, but version 1.0 is black while version 2.0 and 2.0 are white. Version 2.0 also introduced the added feature that during concerts the light will sync with the performance. While version 1.0 and 2.0 are sold out, version 3.0 of the lightstick can be purchased via the official SM Entertainment webshop.

Solo Fandoms

As do many other big k-pop acts, EXO has always had a huge problem with solo stanning. As members have set off into their own solo ventures, both in the music and acting industries, members' solo fandoms have grown and solidified, resulting in extreme fandom in-fighting. Among the new fans who discover them through their solo work, there's big sentiments of dissatisfaction aimed at SM Entertainment for not managing talents the way fans wish or expect, as well as animosity against the other members of the group.

With the exception of Baekhyun, all members have uniquely named solo fandoms, though most of these have never been acknowledged by the artists. There's also cases of members having more than one solo fandom name.

• Suho: bunny citizen or bunnyzen. From 토끼백성, literally rabbit people, adopted by international fans as bunny citizen. This is a nickname Suho came up with for fans who called him rabbit prince (토끼왕자님) and was adopted as his fandom solo name.
• Xiumin: elsas. Adopted after the Disney character from Frozen, Elsa, who has ice powers similar to Xiumin's. Since 2022, also fairies. Xiumin came up with the term during promotions for his solo debut album, Brand New, denoting himself the Fairy King. He's been using it since then, and fandom has embraced it as a more gender-neutral nickname.
• Baekhyun: doesn't have a widely accepted solo fandom name. Some fandom nicknames fans use include erikyoong, a combination of Eri and Kyoong (a cute way of pronouncing the last syllable of Baekhyun's name Khyun/Kyoong, 현 with the G/K sound from 백); and, according to some articles, "Baekhyun family". Other fans tend to call them Baekhyun-Ls or bbh-ls.
• Chanyeol: yeolmae. From 열매, literally fruit or berry, and the phrase 알찬 열매, literally fruitful fruit or berry, which may be the origin of Chanyeol's (찬열) name.
• Chen: soondingie. From 순딩이, a nickname Chen came up with during a chat event. It means gentle and innocent. More officially, Chen nicknamed his YouTube subscribers dandelions (민들레) in late 2019.
• D.O.: dandanie. From 단단이, strong ones, and 단단하다, which means strong or hard. It's connected to D.O.'s superpower, which is Earth or super strength (or both).
• Kai: erigom. From Eri+곰 (gom, bear). Fans call him bear and he has adopted the nickname.
• Sehun: xunqi. Originally coined by Sehun's extensive Chinese fanbase and later adopted by international fans, Xun comes from Sehun's Chinese name and Qi from 骑士 (qíshì, knight).
• Lay Zhang: either XBACK or Xingmi. His official fandom name is XBACK ("Xing-Baby-Alliance-Crowned-King"), an abbreviation of 兴的宝贝同盟到一起加冕为王 (Xing's babies' alliance came together to crown the king), which also gets abbreviated to 贝壳 (beike, shell), by Chinese fans, and 贝壳r (beiker) by Lay. XBACK is a name Lay came up with, and it's debatable if it's exclusively his international fandom name, as Chinese fans also call themselves 兴迷 (Xingmi, fans of Xing). Many fans also prefer Xingmi to XBACK, because this is a fandom name that predates Lay's involvement with SM Entertainment and EXO; his followers started calling themselves that around 2005, when he became a child celebrity in his home town of Hunan, China.

Charity Work

As with most K-Pop fandoms, EXO-L have collected a lot of donations for charity in the name of their fandom and EXO over the years. EXO as a group have also been credited with doing private charity work and donating generously to good causes. Many of the members have also asked fans not to send them birthday presents, but rather to use the money they might have spent on them to help those in need instead. Because of this, many fan groups organize donation drives to celebrate the birthday of a member instead.

An incomplete list of charity projects by EXO-L between 2014 and 2017 can be found here.

In 2020, Korean EXO-L collected almost 13 million won for Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association to be used to prevent spread of the Corona Virus.

Controversies

Kris Leaving EXO

In May 2014 Kris filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment, asking to terminate his contract. The reasons he named for wanting to leave were that he had been diagnosed with myocarditis due to the rigorous schedule, and that SM did not treat him with respect. It was the start of a long legal process that ultimately led to Kris being the first member to leave the group.

The members of the group expressed confusion and hurt over Kris' actions, and many of the Korean fans felt betrayed by his actions. Some even claimed that his actions were typical of Chinese people, and that it was to be expected after Chinese Super Junior member Hangeng had terminated his contract with SM in a similar way.

So he requested this to the same lawyer Hangeng used. This is why I don't like Chinese members being added to groups. I already knew Kris would do this when I saw him on varieties. Aigoo, SM are you stupid? You already got backstabbed by Hangeng, and now this again?

K-Netizen

These reactions angered some fans, who felt there was nothing treacherous about Kris doing what he had to in order to be free and happy. Instead he was judged harshly because he was the first to leave, and because he did not share his intentions with the members an EXO vs Kris mentality arose among some fans.

If they were real fans, they'd be happy for them. Their freedom and happiness should be important. They're not pets who they can just keep on leashes forever.

アンジェラ

Baekhyun's Dating News

On July 19, 2014 a series of pictures showing Baekhyun in a car with Taeyeon, a SNSD member, were released by Dispatch. Shortly after the news broke, SM Entertainement confirmed that they were indeed dating each other :

Having started off as close sunbae-hoobae, the two recently developed feelings for each other and are at the beginning stages.

SBS Popasia

Many fans were upset with the news, and a petition asking for Baekhyun to leave Exo was quickly created. It gathered about 1,800 signatures before it was deleted.

Some fans also contacted SBS's Inkigayo to ask Baekhyun to step down from his job as a MC in the music show. Baekhyun also had to face fans calling him a "betrayer" while recording this show. The backlash was so intense that Baekhyun published an apology letter on Instagram

Hello, this is Baekhyun. Although this is very late in reaching the fans… the reason I am leaving these words for you is because I wanted to apologise for hurting and disappointing you all. Many times I have written these words, only to erase them repetitively, feeling that I would just be making excuses, I also didn’t have the courage to give voice to my heart and clear the misunderstandings.. but I write this because I want convey my sincere feelings. I feel deeply sorry for causing pain to the hearts of every one of my precious fans. And for more hurt to be caused through the misunderstandings of what occured, I am even more sorry. Now that I am writing, I have thoughts that my words may be futile… I am afraid that I may regret posting this, because my words may cause more pain to someone. Those thoughts cause turmoil in my heart. My wish for our fans… is to never hurt again.. though I am extremely lacking, I will work hard and bit by bit approach our fans once more.. and EXO is such a very precious name to me. I want to make clear that I have never once taken EXO in vain. From now on I will be EXO’s Baekhyun who does his best both on and off stage. I hope that the sincereity of my words is conveyed..

baekhyunee_exo

While he deleted it soon after, this post gathered a lot of attention. Some people were accusing him of not being able to protect Taeyeon from hateful comments :

I just don't like people praising Baekhyun for apologizing when Taeyeon tried to do when it was going on and no one wanted to hear it.

Kneeka1

I dont think either of them should apologize but taeyeon did when shit was hitting the fan/at the beginning bearing most of the burn, the period in which he should have said something has past and just now when the scandal has died down he decides to speak up? idk I'm iffy with that

ggumd

But he also received many supportive comments :

Ppl hated on Taeyeon for apologising immediately saying it wasn't sincere, and when he takes his time to think out a proper apology he is hated on as well. You just can't win. Anyway this is not the first time he's speaking out since he did address the fans during the concert with pretty much the same message so I don't think the timing is really as big a deal as everyone is making it out to be.

gabbeeee

Even if baekhyun's apology was a bit late i find his apology so sincere and as long as baekhyun is happy i'm happy too

dyongnuts

The dating news also started various theories, some more serious than other:

To start off, the timing was a little too perfect. It had just been announced that Kr!s had filed a lawsuit against and was leaving SM Entertainment! SM, while probably expecting it, are panicking. Fans are hurt, angry, confused, and fighting. SM needs something to take everyone’s mind of the departure (and Kr!s’s claims of mistreatment). And what could possibly do that? Well, the first SM couple between a Girls Generation member and her number one fanboy. Said fanboy is also currently one of EXO’s most popular (aka most promoted) members, not to mention being part of one of the biggest EXO ships.

myfirelight64.

plot twist; baekhyun is actually gay and sm found out about it so they covered up for him by releasing this news

pcybkhyn

Baekhyun and Taeyeon allegedly broke up on September 2015, after what seems to have been an on and off relationship.

Chen's Marriage Announcement

In 2020 Chen announced that he would be marrying his girlfriend, while also hinting at the fact that she was seven months pregnant. This sudden news divided EXO-L, and many reacted strongly to what they felt was a large betrayal.

EXO-L ACE, a large Korean Fanbase released a statement where they asked SM to remove Chen from the group. The reasons they listed were that Chen's actions reflected badly on the rest of the group, the fandom "falling apart" due to conflicting opinions about the news, and worry about EXO's future promotion schedule. Similarly, the fanbase DC Inside EXO called for a boycott of EXO's promotions until Chen was no longer part of the group.

Some fans were so opposed to Chen's actions that they organised a silent protest outside of a building owned by SM. About 50 masked fans participated, holding signs.

We want him out of the group because we don’t want controversial labels following EXO. Being a baby daddy, premarital pregnancy -- these negative labels are tainting EXO’s image

Protester

Other fans reacted to the announcement with glee and humour, congratulating Chen and making jokes about how Sehun (who is the youngest member) would no longer be the baby of the group. Especially international EXO-L condemned what they found to be toxic behaviour by the Korean EXO-L. To show their support, they made hashtags #AlwayswithCHEN and #EXOLBelievesInEXO9 trend on Twitter and organized streaming parties meant to boost Chen's music.

Instead to tell Chen to leave EXO, why would you not leave the fandom? The problem isn't Chen. The problem is your toxic mentality. [...] Breaking news: all 9 EXO members are humans with their own feelings, their own private life and their own love life. They won't be single forever for your sick mentality. They are not your dolls. They are not your properties. When you buy their albums, this is the album that is yours, not the idol. Now take a deep breathe, question yourself. See how sick your attitude is and become a better person and support EXO happiness. Case when we really love someone, we want the loved one's happiness. Not to own him.

@exopero

In February SM released a statment in support of Chen, letting fans know he would continue as a part of the group. Following the controvercy, Chen also posted a letter where he apologized to fans for his poor wording and the suddenness of the news. He also thanked them for their love.

Chen's daughter was born in April 2020, and twitter saw an outpour of support and love, making the hashtags #WelcomEXOPrincess and #종대야_축하해 ("Jongdae, congratulations") trend worldwide.

Shipping

As of February 2021, there are over 40k works listed under EXO on Ao3. In late December 2023, the EXO tag hit 50k works.

Pairings

See: List of EXO Relationship Names

Because of the large number of works, all EXO members are shipped with each other (including themselves) as well as former members. However, some pairings are more popular than others. As of 2024, the ten most tagged ships on AO3 are:

1. Baekhyun/Chanyeol
2. Jongin/Kyungsoo
3. Jongin/Sehun
4. Chanyeol/Kyungsoo
5. Baekhyun/Kyungsoo
6. Jongdae/Minseok
7. Junmyeon/Sehun
8. Lu Han/Sehun
9. Lu Han/Minseok
10. Baekhyun/Jongdae

Tropes

Popular tropes in EXO works include:

• Modern non-idol AUs, like College AU and High School AU
• Omegaverse Dynamics
• Historical AU

Example Fanworks

Fanfiction

• camera (shy) - jongin is suho's biggest fan, but strangely enough, he finds deceptively mild-mannered joonmyun even more intriguing. (curledupkitten)

• Hunt Me Down - The streets held a lot of opportunities, there were many things you could do, many things you could become, many things that could happen to you. Chanyeol had chosen his own path when he was nothing but a child and he had never strayed away from it, now being a member of one of the most infamous assassin clans of the country and carrying the role of sniper. However, he hadn't foreseen their deals getting called off one by one to be given to a new assassin that no one knew anything about besides his odd name. He hadn't expected a confrontation that would throw his whole world into one big dark cloud of confusion either. (Bbaegi)

• without you to hold i'd be freezing - Everyone around Chanyeol talks about how love hides behind every corner, but they are all wrong. The only thing that hides behind a corner is a short asshole who bumps into Chanyeol on a particularly busy morning and spills Chanyeol's coffee when he needs it the most. (mychogiway)

• Following You Into The Dark - After witnessing their parents' brutal murder, brothers Kim Jongdae and Kim Jongin were forced to flee their home and forge an entirely new method of living to ensure their survival. Since the tender ages of 7 and 9, they’ve had to survive by their own means, living in a constant fear of an unidentified enemy that Jongdae code named, Them. Jongdae had begun to believe that perhaps as horrible as the event that night was, it was just a per chance instance. But the day when that belief is challenged, Jongdae has no choice but to accept that the relations run a lot deeper than he originally envisioned. That there is something connecting his family with Them. That there’s a personal vendetta somewhere along the lines. Jongdae knows this now, but he also knows they’ve messed with the wrong person this time around, and even if it kills him, he swears the outcome this time will be different. (nyxsomnium)

• Phoenix - The mercenary crew of the Phoenix takes on the dangerous job of kidnapping three genetic experiments and bringing them across the galaxy, unaware that the scientist who created is chasing them to get his children back. Written as a part of the Exordium Challenge. (unniebee)
• call me daddy, call me baby - chanyeol is going broke for his baby, but he would do anything to keep him...even if that means becoming a baby himself. (Okamiwind)
• EXO-L/Army fanfiction on Twitter

Fanart

• exo as uni students, ^{Archived version} by mardyart, published July 19, 2018

• We got that POWER!!, ^{Archived version} by 38sr, published February 22, 2018

• Chanyeol, Baek, and kyungsoo reminding you to treat yourself and to relax every once in awhile!!, ^{Archived version} by peachyfrosty, published May 28, 2018

Fan Videos

Like most K-pop stans, EXO-Ls make a variety of video content about EXO: compilations of funny moments with captions and added commentary, fancam-style edits to popular music, fake music videos, edited official music videos, sliding pictures compilations set to music, comparing EXO members to anime or other fictional characters, and straight up memes.

"Crack" style videos

• yep4andy
• hannipunk
• xiuxiu

Fake Music Videos

• EXO 엑소 'Runaway' Special Film by Cosmic Futurism.
• ♪ [FMV] 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐧 - EXO by BEE LALA.
• EXO - Baby You Are 90s FMV by monadchi.

Fancam-style edits

• #SEHUN: hoes might've never liked me, and i'm fine with it. by @sehuncybers.
• kai ballerino era by @samsoo_ on TikTok

Memes

• chipi chipi chapa chapa meme by @cbcbcb61 on TikTok.

Others

• Levi and Sehun by @gwlsehun on TikTok.
• Ezreal and Baekhyun by @Candyy_Baekhyun.
• #EXO : Happy 11th anniversary <3 by @exorelics.

Fannish Resources

Archives

• EXO works at AO3
• EXO works at Asianfanfics

See: List of EXO Fests and Exchanges

LiveJournal Communities

• sonyeoncheonji - fanworks community (2011-2020)
• history-exofics - fanworks community (2012-2018)
• exo-het - het fanworks community (2012-2016)

LiveJournal Challenges

• snjc_reversebb - reverse bang challenge (2012-2014)
• The Exordium, The Primordium, & The Microcosm (2015-2016)
• yourmafiaexo - prompt fest for Mafia AUs (2015-2016)
• aideshou - challenge community (2012-2014)
• runandgun - fic exchange (2012-2013)
• femmexo - femslash fanworks monthly challenge (2014-2015)
• girlexochange - fem!EXO fic exchange (2014-2016)
• exoficpalette - palette prompt challenge, see rules (2015)
• exoparents - prompt fest for EXO members as parents (2015)
• hp-exolliarmus - Harry Potter AU-themed prompt fest (2015-2018)

Twitter Fests

• Baeconandeggs (on wordpress)- chanbaek prompt fest (2014-current)

Other Resources

• Wikipedia
• Member Profile

Official Accounts

• Official Website
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Youtube