By KTimes In the tranquil pre-dawn early this month, a couple in their late fifties took their place at the forefront of queue outside a Hana Bank branch in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. They were enduring the early morning chill to receive a photo card of the popular trot singer Lim Young-woong, the face of the bank's latest advertising campaign. This dedication is part of an "open run" movement, witnessing fans across the nation embarking on early pilgrimage to bank branches to collect memorabilia of the singer. "I came here with my wife to get Lim Young-woong's photos," said Lee, 59, adding that they will open a new savings account to receive Lim's memorabila. Hana Bank's advertisement featuring Lim Young-woong/Korea Times file These fans, collectively known as the "Heroic Era," have ventured to places related to Lim, visiting Hana Bank's Myeongdong headquarters and Gangnam's Shinsegae Centum City. The singer's name Young-woong translates "hero" in Korean. By the afternoon, fans were seen capturing moments with the singer's bank ad videos on LED panels, a testament to their dedication. The fervor extends beyond the middle-aged fans themselves, as their children actively support their enthusiasm. They photograph Lim's ads at bus stops, sharing these snapshots with their parents. One Instagram post highlighted this intergenerational bond, with a daughter expressing pride in her mother's passion for the singer. Lim's appeal as an advertising model is significant, with an estimated fee of around 900 million won for a one-year contract, placing him in the top-tier payment echelon alongside international sports figures like Son Heung-min. His team's stipulation for advertising contracts, which excludes additional events such as singing performances outside of commercial shoots, is readily accepted by companies like Hana Bank, indicating his strong market influence. Lim Young-woong/Courtesy of Mulgogi Music The impact of Lim's popularity is not limited to advertising. It has also permeated the concert-going experience. The so-called "filial piety tents" have been set up at his concerts for children waiting for their parents, reflecting a cultural shift in concert attendance. The emergence of middle-aged and older fandoms is reshaping the advertising market and the concert attendance environment, signaling a broader cultural transformation. As the day wound down, the fans of Lim dispersed, their memorabilia in hand, but the impact of their collective presence and the changing face of fandom in South Korea remained a topic of both commercial interest and social conversation. In an intriguing academic turn, KAIST's Graduate School of Culture Technology plans to conduct a brainwave experiment study on fans of Lim and K-pop idol group NCT 127. The study aims to observe brainwave patterns when fans listen to their favorite music, offering insights into the neuroscience of music fandom. This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.