Proyecto de investigación 2017-2019, financiado por la Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC).

Denna uppsats undersöker koreansk populärmusiks explosiva framfart från slutet av 1990-talet och framåt. Den försöker svara på vad K-pop och dess idoler mer specifikt har representerat och erbjudit fans att konsumera och koppla detta till dess växande popularitet i ett historiskt perspektiv. Vidare försöker uppsatsen svara på varför K-pop gradvis har vuxit markant från slutet av 2000-talet i perifera regioner som Sverige. Uppsatsen analyserar ett urval av idolers representation i olika medier och källor som behandlar hur svenska fans förhåller sig till K-pop. Resultaten visar att idoler historiskt och med tid mer frekvent medverkat i många olika medieformat där de byggt upp en performativ image i relation till den rådande diskursen som en form av skådespeleri. Samtidigt har de idoler som följt kopierat originalkonceptet till det yttersta, vilket då också inbegriper plastkirurgi. Detta har resulterat i en ökning av ofta oskiljbara men visuellt vackra idoler. För många fans så ligger här en stor del av attraktionen; möjligheten att konstruera sin egen avgränsade konception av idoler för att fylla olika behov. För svenska fans så verkar det som att detta likaså är en del av anledning till dess växande popularitet när gränsen mellan det verkliga och fiktiva suddas ut. Det är också en möjlighet att anamma ett annat figurativt universum där exotiska idoler i sin allomfattande roll fritt kan konsumeras inom K-pop diskursen.

This paper presents the concept of soft power which is applied on the case of the Republic of Korea. South Korea, defined as a middle power, strives to make itself visible in the international milieu by focusing on soft power and multilateral cooperation with other countries. The Korean Wave (or Hallyu) refers to the increased export of Korean cultural products (mainly popular music, dramas and films) to the rest of Asia and to the world and projects an image of modern and cool country which attracts foreign tourists and students and helps the branding of the nation and its products.

Korea has become a strong influencer of global popular culture. With a handful of Korean celebrities entering mainstream U.S. pop music, Hallyu, the Korean Wave, has been growing tremendously in popularity. Following this global trend, American audiences are increasingly tuning into K-pop. The current study uses Q-sort methodology to investigate the motives, opinions, and attitudes of American fans of K-pop, specifically to find what drives people to seek music whose roots lie in an unfamiliar cultural landscape. Study results show that non-Korean K-pop fans in the United States fall into three distinct groups: the human lovers ("Honey honey, how you thrill me"), the product and production appreciators ("Music is my life"), and the social connectors ("With a little help from my friends"). Although the music appreciators and the socializers have been identified in previous K-pop research, the "Honey honey" group is a new category in K-pop culture research.

This thesis examines the cultural consumption of the Korean music video Gangnam Style in the broader context of the increasing popularity of Korean popular content, often called the Korean Wave, and of complex conditions of transnational consumption. Specifically, it investigates why the music video Gangnam Style gained popularity not only in East Asia but also over the world, how it is circulated, and what conditions contribute to its success. It focuses on the role of the networked audiences and the interactions between the networked audiences and mainstream media through a chronological analysis on the distribution and reproduction process of Gangnam Style on YouTube. Through the case study of Gangman Style, this thesis attempts to rethink the established globalization theories and to suggest new perspective of cultural circulation in the globalized and digitalized media environment.

Zugl.: Rom, Päpstl. Hochsch., Bakkalaureatsarbeit, 2006

Ce mémoire s’intéresse aux fans d’un phénomène encore mal connu au Québec. En effet, la vague coréenne surnommée le hallyu a atteint — notamment à travers la K-pop — un public féminin au sein du Québec, sans que nous en connaissions les tenants et les aboutissants. Cette recherche s’articule autour du souhait d’obtenir une meilleure compréhension de l’intérêt que portent les admiratrices québécoises envers la culture musicale coréenne et souhaite comprendre les conséquences de cette passion sur leurs quotidiens. Ainsi, on découvre que l’appréciation de la musique coréenne engendre celle de la culture coréenne et résulte en plusieurs formes d’appropriation à travers l’apprentissage du coréen, l’intérêt pour les produits de divertissements télévisuels, la connaissance des us et coutumes et le goût pour la cuisine coréenne. Cette appropriation provoquée par le soft power coréen contribue à la construction identitaire des admiratrices de K-pop. En effet, ce mémoire révèle que les interlocutrices intègrent de nouveaux critères de beauté, s’inspirent des valeurs confucéennes coréennes, se considèrent plus tolérantes et ont le souhait de voyager en Corée du Sud, voire d’y séjourner pour une longue durée.

Esta investigación busca brindar un mejor entendimiento de los consumidores de medios audiovisuales coreanos. Además, de analizar e identificar qué elementos hacen de los K-Dramas y videos musicales de K-Pop sean tan atractivos para el público juvenil peruano que pertenece a la comunidad Hallyu en Lima que se forma a partir de la recepción de contenidos audiovisuales coreanos. Por otro lado, busca saber cómo y en qué medida los productos audiovisuales, en este caso coreanos, son capaces de influir en la construcción de identidades y promover la socialización en este público en específico. / This research seeks to provide a better understanding of the consumers of Korean audiovisual media. In addition, to analyze and identify what elements make the K-Dramas and K-Pop music videos so attractive to the Peruvian youth audience that it belongs to the Hallyu community in Lima that it is formed from the reception of Korean audiovisual content. On the other hand, it seeks to know how and to what extent audiovisual products, in this case Koreans, are able to influence the construction of identities and promote socialization in this specific audience. / Tesis

K-pop is the latest in a long line of example of ways East Asian cultures have been constructed in the West. Over time this has created generalizations about K-pop as a phenomenon and as a music industry. Furthermore, it has also contributed to a specific narrative about K-pop fans and how their experiences are justified. The discourse around K-pop fans is founded in stereotypes around gender, age, race and culture and social norms around how female fandoms and subcultures are seen as pathological. In this study, racism is seen as an analytical framework that is positioned within the research fields of postcolonial feminism and critical whiteness studies. This study aims to examine how K-pop fans use social media as a tool for negotiating space and to take back power regarding shaping the public image of themselves and their idols. One of the main goals of this project has also been to complicate the perceived notion of fangirls. This study draws data and empirical material from fan forums on the platform Reddit. By studying the interaction that takes place in these forums, this study shows how discourses about orientalism, authenticity and gender create a hegemonic discourse of K-pop in the West. Also, how fans create counter-negotiations against these discourses by questioning how Asian cultures are portrayed in the West.

This thesis uses the commonly cited concepts surrounding globalization and hybridization to explore the ways in which parasocial interactions and relationships develop between American fans and K-pop groups. A qualitative content analysis of WeVerse, V Live, and YouTube comments has been conducted to get in-depth knowledge of the ways that fans interact with their idols. From various postings on these sites, 50 English-language comments were sampled from each. These public posts showed the varying intensity of fan interactions with idols over social media. Reactions were most present in video livestreams and official K-pop account posts relating to promotional activities and idol birthdays. Many posts show a collection of fan infatuation and longing for some real-world relationship, be it friendly or more intimate. From this, it can be concluded that parasocial relationships are better developed through interactions over social media sites, which has only become a viable option in the last decade. Furthermore, globalization and hybridization are catalysts for new cultural phenomenon like K-pop to emerge in the American mainstream. While globalization has been pushed forward by the expansion of the internet, hybridization has solidified its place as a joining of cultures from different countries. In the area of K-pop, this is seen by the combination of English being mixed in with Korean lyrics to create a catchy chorus or the use of instrumentation reminiscent of American pop and hip-hop and rap. / Media Studies & Production