Things in Thai GL That May Be New to Foreign Audiences 🌍
- Dec 13, 2025
- 9 min read
Updated: Jan 25
The Thai GL industry has several unique practices, both from the industry side and the fandom's. Here are some interesting things about Thai GL that I noticed as a foreign fan, and may be new to foreign audiences.
21 Things in Thai GL That Confuse or Shock Foreigners
Table of Contents:
Money Bouquets/Walls
While not common in other cultures, cash is an acceptable gift in Thailand, particularly among family members, which is how Thai fans typically treat artists. A common sight at fanmeetings, money walls and money bouquets are literally what the name implies — walls of cash, bouquets, and other designs made out of cash. Fans raise these funds to show their love for the artist. Here's an example from one of Freen Sarocha's fan clubs:
Another example was when Lingling Kwong received around $283k during a 2024 fan meeting. She has also been gifted gold bars, among other expensive gifts like luxury fashion items.
TukTuk Ads, Billboards, and Other Public Ads
If you're a K-pop fan, you might have seen this trend because fans sponsoring ads for idols are pretty common, and these ads can also appear abroad, not just in their home country.
A uniquely Thai version of this trend is the tuktuk ad, which is an ad placed on a type of public transport in Thailand.
Food Support
As you may have guessed, the main love language of Thai GL fandoms is gifts. Another example is food support, which is how they help energize the actresses and crew while shooting a series or movie.
This is usually food or food trucks sent to the set, and tend to be branded, with the faces and names of the actresses plastered all over the packaging and decorations.
Live Selling
Live selling — selling products on livestream — is a big trend in Asia, and even our Thai GL faves do it (Namtan even played a live seller on Breakup Service!)
They sell everything from cosmetics to cooking paper. Aside from the joy of interacting live and buying something from the actress, brands encourage spending by dangling rewards for top spenders. These can be exclusive merch or opportunities to interact with the artist online or at a special event.
Some brands also create campaigns that involve multiple GL actresses, which turns the event into the Olympics of spending.
Fanservice
Fanservice is such a polarizing topic within the Thai GL community. Some fans love it, and some fans hate it, while others are in the middle and just call for responsible shipping.
But who we rarely hear from are the artists who have to engage in fanservice themselves. Here's a video from former BL actor Perth Nakhun discussing how fanservice works in the industry (sorry, don't have a GL version for now but I'm guessing it's similar!)
Parasocial Relationships
Parasocial relationships are defined in psychology as a strong, one-sided connection or familiarity with a person, whether real or fictional. Fans may project their own feelings onto artists, which causes them to feel a deep connection even if they've never met the artist.
Channelled healthily, artists can inspire fans to become better in the hopes of becoming more like the person they idolize, or their romanticized version of that actress or character. These positive feelings and encouragement could also help actresses feel supported and inspired as they navigate their careers.
However, when channelled negatively, fans may become possessive, hold unreasonable standards, and invade actresses' privacy. One sad story is Near Inthira's, who starred in Unlock Your Love and Lucky My Love. After her boyfriend passed away, she posted a tribute to him, which caused some fans to harass her because they felt betrayed she was dating a man and that the ship wasn't real. Despite losing someone she loved, Near was the one who apologized to fans — for being in a relationship.
Real-Life Shipping (Khu Jin)
Khu jin, or imagined couple, refers to the real-life shipping of artists rather than characters. Shipping is common in many circles, including K-pop, where it's common to see idols become touchy with each other to fuel fans' fantasies, while never acknowledging it and distancing themselves from homosexuality. Khu jin takes this, but turns it on its head by putting their romantic "relationship" front and center through storylines and fanservice in series, other types of content, and events.
Ship Names
Anyone new to Thai GL may be unfamiliar with the naming convention for ship names. Since GL is an offshoot of BL, it follows the same practice of naming ships using the "seme-uke"/top-bottom logic: the top's name goes first, and the bottom comes next.
These names could apply to both character names and the actresses' real names as well. Aside from establishing a brand, it's also used to trend the ship on social media.
The top often displays traditionally masculine characteristics, such as being more dominant and protective. Physically, they tend to be taller, which come in handy in swoon-worthy scenes like when one woman is against a wall, and the other leans in; or the shorter one falls, and the taller one catches them just in time.
LingOrm is one exception to this because Orm is taller than Lingling, yet Lingling is the definitive top in the ship. The top also initiates intimate moments, which is why some people went wild when Bell topped Claire first in ClaireBell. This dynamic is also evident in the styling of promotions for 4Elements: tops wear suits and bottoms wear dresses.
Some yuri fans don't really like this, as they feel the seme-uke logic doesn't apply to women the same way it was intended for men. GL actresses have also talked about this:
You also have the KaoJaneJaneKao ship, whose very name refuses to follow the top-bottom logic and instead goes for a vers approach, allowing flexibility and switching in roles.
Fandom Names
Ship names are easy because they just put the actresses' names together, but it's more complicated for fandom names. These names are often an extension of the actresses' identities and something meaningful for their fans:
Having a fandom name allows fans to identify with a community, and to an extent, an identity. For example, Anys, EmiBonnie's fans, have been associated with gaming since EmiBonnie themselves play PUBG with their fans.
Fan Clubs
While fan clubs aren't unique to Thailand, the way they're organized for Thai artists is probably different from other countries. While this isn't something I'm completely knowledgeable about, from what I've observed, there's always an "official" fan club based in Thailand. A good indicator of this is usually if it has the 'official TH' title and if the actress follows the account.
These fan clubs work closely with the artist's team. For example, for Namtan Tipnaree's public birthday event, her official Thai fan club drew the lucky participants who could join and provided instructions about the seat plan. Among other responsibilities, they also assisted in receiving gifts and providing guidelines on permitted gift items.
Fanmeetings
Usually, especially in Western media, fans are limited to seeing their favorite actresses onscreen. However, in Thai GL, artists are expected to perform in live events, such as fanmeetings.
To describe a fanmeeting to someone new or outside the Thai GL space, I'd say it's a mix of a concert and a talk/game show. Actresses perform songs and dance, and the production value can be likened to an actual concert. The event also features some form of Q&A and/or games.
Hi-Bye, Hi-Touch
While you see foreign singers reach out to fans at concerts, in Thai GL, it's formalized and something you could pay for, collectively referred to as "fan benefits."
Hi-bye, usually included in all ticket types, is when fans exit the venue in a line, passing through the actress/es who'll wave at them. Hi-touch, depending on the event, could only be available for the most expensive tickets, with some even offering it only through a raffle, so even an expensive ticket won't guarantee it. During a hi-touch, the fan could high-five the artist.
Mascots
While Thailand loves their mascots, in the GL space, GMMTV dominates, with three GL CPs getting their own mascots: Muvmuv (MilkLove), Lunar (NamtanFIlm), and Any (EmiBonnie). These mascots don't simply represent the CPs because they feed into the lore and turn them into parents, with the child being their mascot.
These mascots, entertainers in their own right, sometimes accompany the actors at events, like movie premieres, and even get invited to shows. Some of the more popular mascots also get their own brand deals.
Their "birth" is shown in a video called "MY IDEAL FAN," where the artists draw the mascot and explain why they chose to create and name it that way. Here's EmiBonnie creating Any:
Blessing/Worship Ceremony (Buang Suang)
The blessing ceremony, or buang suang, is another uniquely Thai custom that blends Hindu, Buddhist, and Thai folk beliefs. In this ritual, film and TV crews ask the gods for their blessings to make the production successful.
Companies usually post about the blessing ceremony on social media. In some instances, companies even allow fans to watch the ceremony, such as in the case of 4Elements:
Merit Making
Merit-making is deeply rooted in Thai Buddhist culture, and with more than 93% of Thais identifying as Buddhist, it's common to see Buddhist references in Thai GL.
A recent example is Film Rachanun's public birthday celebration. Instead of a typical birthday event, Film opted to make merit with fans (and Namtan) on her birthday.
Sports Competitions
GL-producing companies like GMMTV, and recently Ch3, organize sports competitions that become hybrid sporting events, concerts, and fanmeetings. GMMTV has been holding its annual Starlympics since 2023, which features their artists competing in different sports and performing in a mini-concert. Of course, there are opportunities for fanservice as well!
Ch3's response is the Girls Cup, which also pits the artists in games, but only features female talents. Fans are also treated to benefits, like taking a group photo with the teams.
Outings
This is specific to GMMTV as I haven't really seen other companies publicly promote their company outing like the blue company does. It's one of the most awaited events for fans because it's one of the rare times when you see artists interact with each other in real life.
I know there's a 2025 version of this on GMMTV's channel, but that video barely features the women so here's one from June Wanwimol instead! There are a bunch of GL actresses here, including some who have already left the company:
Participants are also required to come in costume for the first night, which creates more buzz as fans eagerly anticipate what their faves are wearing.
Trend Parties/Social Media Hype
Social media plays a big part in the Thai GL industry, so much so that it has helped out faves land huge brand deals with luxury brands. Hashtags, trend parties, and online conversations on social media sites like X and Reddit help drive the globalization of Thai GL and get the actresses noticed by brands, who could potentially invest in their next project or hire them for brand campaigns.
Actresses Having a Bachelor's Degree (and Beyond)
Alongside their impressive acting credentials and stunning visuals, it's also typical for Thai GL stars to have at least an undergraduate degree. Again, this may be a cultural difference with other parts of the world where earning a degree isn't as important anymore, but generally, in Asia, kids are expected to get an undergraduate degree. They even hold public graduation events that fans can attend:
One of the most impressive examples is ClaireBell's Mable Siriwalee, who is a literal scientist and has a Master's in Cellular and Molecular Science for Biomedical Applications from Suranaree University. She is also credited in five cancer research papers.
Side Businesses and Self-Management
Aside from having impressive degrees, some of our Thai GL faves also flex their entrepreneurial muscles by becoming CEO of their own companies. I wrote an entire post about this so check it out if you're interested to learn which Thai GL actresses have their own businesses.
Actresses Singing Show OSTs
Rounding up this list is when actresses sing their own soundtrack. People have mixed opinions about this, especially since not all actresses can sing (and that's okay as long as they can act!), and the song tends to get overplayed sometimes to the point it gets repetitive or annoying, especially during intimate scenes.
Ending this blog with one of the most iconic Thai GL soundtracks of 2025, More Than Words (Us the Series) by Emi Thasorn. I feel like every Thai GL fan, regardless of fandom, has this on their Spotify Wrapped this year! It was #1 for me! 🤣🫶🏼
Which of these were new to you when you started getting into Thai GLs? Let me know in the comments! Please don't forget to subscribe to my blog if you like my content!
DISCLAIMER
Please note that I'm not Thai, and despite doing my due diligence in researching these topics, I acknowledge that my knowledge could never beat the lived experience of someone from Thailand.
Watching Thai GLs got me really interested in Thai culture, and I feel I have a deeper appreciation of what I'm watching if I understand it more and identify the nuances I might have missed. I figured other international fans might feel the same, so I'm using this blog to try to bridge Thai culture in GLs and the global fandom. 🇹🇭🌍
If I got anything wrong or missed any cultural nuances, please comment below or send me a note so I can correct or update anything I might have missed. 🫶🏼
