Beyond Japan: CUHK graduate brings Hong Kong influence to UK underground idol culture

In a graduation photo shared on social media, paperboatyuuki celebrates completing her Japanese Studies degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Now, she is balancing life after graduation with another role — performing as a member of UK-based underground idol group DearWish.

Rather than simply recreating the Japanese model, she hopes to blend influences from Hong Kong's idol scene with Japanese underground idol culture while adapting it for an international audience.

She first discovered underground idol culture in Hong Kong, where she was inspired by local idol groups Sica and Monochrome.

After moving to the UK, she realized that underground idol culture remained relatively unfamiliar among local audiences.

“I wanted to share the joy of both watching and being an underground idol with people in the UK,” she said.

From Hong Kong fan to UK idol

Her journey into the idol scene began after she saw a post by future DearWish teammate Kylie asking whether anyone wanted to become an idol in the UK.

She applied and later met fellow members Bibittia and Mime during the audition process. The four went on to form UK-based underground idol group DearWish.

For paperboatyuuki, becoming an idol has been less about performing alone and more about building connections with others.

One of the most rewarding parts of the journey has been meeting her fellow members, production crew and fans, known as Dearies.

“Being able to meet all the DearWish members and crew, as well as all the Dearies, and share the joy of underground idol culture together,” she said.

The group is independently run and self-funded, with members and producer Poniya covering expenses including travel, costumes, music production and events.

Introducing an unfamiliar culture

Explaining underground idol culture to British audiences remains one of the group’s biggest challenges.

“Especially for audiences from non-Asian backgrounds, they are seldom exposed to any type of Japanese sub-culture and might have no idea what idol even is,” she said.

While idol culture has gained international attention through anime such as LoveLive!, she said many overseas audiences are more familiar with fictional portrayals than the real-life interactions between idols and fans.

Elements such as fan chants, Tokutenkai (special interaction events) and wotagei (coordinated fan chants and dance performances) remain unfamiliar to many British audiences.

She believes the growing popularity of anime has helped more people explore Japanese entertainment culture, with series such as Oshi no Ko introducing audiences to the behind-the-scenes world of the idol industry.

Creating a cultural fusion

Although underground idol culture originated in Japan, paperboatyuuki said DearWish is not simply bringing the Japanese model overseas.

“I would say we are somehow promoting Japanese culture, but we are, at the same time, trying to create a new fusion culture here as well,” she said.

She believes Hong Kong’s idol culture has also shaped her approach, particularly its closer relationship between idols and fans.

Compared with Japanese underground idols, she said Hong Kong idols are often more down-to-earth, with active social media engagement and frequent content creation.

“I do like how Hong Kong idols are more down-to-earth than traditional Japanese underground idols,” she said.

DearWish now attracts supporters from around the world, with most audiences based in the UK and a significant number of fans from Hong Kong.

Continuing the idol journey

Having graduated from CUHK, paperboatyuuki has no plans to leave the idol stage.

“I have already graduated and yes, I am still an idol and I will still be,” she said.

Looking ahead, she hopes underground idol culture will continue expanding globally while preserving the close relationship between performers and fans.

“I hope that the close relationship between fans and underground idols can always be maintained, even though the lines between idols and underground idols are starting to blur,” she said.

Her advice to young people who dream of becoming underground idols is simple:

“YOLO” — You Only Live Once.

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