Keeping the Faith with CassPH
The Philippine K-Pop community is a vibrant group of people, young and young-at-heart, who express their passion for Korean music, drama, food, pop culture and all things K-Pop.
To recognize and celebrate this energetic subculture of fan clubs, talents, and personalities, Yahoo! OMG! Philippines is starting a feature called "Fanday Mondays." Every first and third Monday of the month, Yahoo! OMG! Philippines, through its "oK Pop" blog, will feature one local K-Pop fan club or personality. The goal of this series is to increase awareness and foster camaraderie among local K-Pop fan clubs and K-Pop fanatics.
Today's feature is on Cassiopeia Philippines, one of the first K-Pop fanclubs in the Philippines. Until today, the members of Cassiopeia Philippines remains true to the object of their affection: K-Pop royalty Tohoshinki, also known as TVXQ or DBSK. Due to the group's split in 2009, Cassiopeia supports the two offshoot groups—the three-member JYJ and the duo TVXQ.
Club Name: Cassiopeia Philippines
Website: http://cassph.org
Related K-Pop Star(s): TVXQ, DBSK, DBSG, Tohoshinki, JYJ, Park Yoochun, Micky Yoochun, Kim Junsu, Xiah Junsu Kim Jaejoong, Youngwoong Jaejoong, Hero Jaejoong, Shim Changmin, Choikang Changmin, Max Changmin, Jung Yunho, U-know Yunho
Year Established: 2006
Date of Artist Debut: December 26, 2003
Starting the fire
On January 2006, the five members of TVXQ including Yunho, Jaejoong, Yoochun, Junsu and Changmin visited the Philippines for a commercial shoot. Braving the scorching heat, several of their loyal Filipino fans came to watch the boys as they shot their commercial. It was during this time when Yunho, TVXQ's leader, described them as "필리핀 카시오페이아," or Cassiopeia Philippines. With this, the fans (who only knew each other from online forums) gathered to formally establish Cassiopeia Philippines or CassPH. Today, CassPH's goal is to lead and unite all Filipino TVXQ/Tohoshinki/JYJ fans and to promote awareness of K-Pop culture and music in the Philippines. The group's official color is pearl red, a clear symbol of the fiery passion they feel for their idols.
Fanning the fire
Cassiopeia Philippines is truly one of the most diverse K-pop fan clubs in the country. The club never fails to organize events to fan the flame of TVXQ/Tohoshinki/JYJ love. CassPH has had a total of eight successful gatherings aside from having coordinated with Arirang TV for the "KPop Party: Pops in Seoul in Manila." Aside from these, CassPH also provides opportunity for bulk album purchases and coordinated fan gifts such as the "TVXQ's Philippine Travel Guide," a specially made guide for the five members in case they plan to visit the country.
Staying true to their commitment to encourage camaraderie among the Philippine K-Pop fandom, the biggest contribution Cassiopeia Philippines achieved was being the prime mover for the organization of the Philippine K-Pop Committee Incorporated (PKCI) which is responsible for the several successful K-Pop conventions in the country.
Keeping the faith
As a fan club, the Cassiopeia (in the Philippines and around the world) has indeed faced challenges. Due to the split of the group in 2010, it was inevitable that the fans also experienced an internal "split."
The Cassiopeia are well aware of the high profile split of TVXQ in 2010 when three of the group's members, Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu filed a case against their management, SM Entertainment (SME). The other two members, Yunho and Changmin, chose to stay with the company. Despite this controversy, most Filipino Cassies continue to support all the TVXQ members through their separate activities as JYJ and TVXQ. They also support the members' individual activities as actors in Korean dramas.
Asked about the challenges of keeping their unity, an official CassPH representative expressed that "We can't help but feel sad but we have been, is, and will support them on all their activities whether it's a solo, duo, trio, quartet or a quintet activity. One of the main challenges is the so-called 'fanwar.' Some fans can't help but throw nasty stuff at each other. It's really just sad. We were all one just 2 years ago and now things are truly not the same anymore. Still, we strive to unify all fans of TVXQ/Tohoshinki/JYJ."
The loyalty and passion of the Cassiopeia are evident during their group gatherings where one will, without doubt, see a sea of red. These gatherings are perfect occasions for local Cassiopeia to proudly wear their red "Always Keep the Faith" shirts as a collective. Fans wore these shirts to signify their hope for the original TVXQ members to one day unite as a group. There is truly nothing the fans wish for more than for the five original TVXQ members to again make music together. With CassPH leading the way, Filipino fans have a great unifier.
Catherine Deen blogs for Yahoo! Philippines OMG! She lives, eats and breathes Korean music, cuisine, telenovelas, and pop culture. Follow her on Twitter @cathsdeen.
