Fan Culture
Along with SHINee members, SHINee fans are a part of SHINee World and are called Shawols - a mixture of the word SHInee and the Korean pronunciation of the English word “world” (wol-deu). Due to SHINee’s debut single Noona Neomu Yeppeo (Older girl, You’re So Pretty), many of SHINee’s fans are older women. Shawols and SHINee members share a bond that is strengthened by SHINee’s standard greeting (“안녕하세요 빛나는 샤이니입니다!”/“Hello, we are Shining SHINee!”), special songs and vocabulary, assigned family roles (i.e., “Key Omma,” “Baby Tae”), and nicknames for each member. In a nod to each member’s distinct personality, SHINee is one of the few groups in which each member has their own (unofficial) fanclub, in addition to SHINee World.