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.

Les recherches en comportement du consommateur sur la globalisation mettent souvent l’accent sur l’interaction dialectique ou dialogique entre une culture globale et une culture locale. Dans cette thèse ethnographique multi-site, nous nous attachons à comprendre l’interaction entre les formes culturelles globales provenant de différentes origines et la culture locale. Nous étudions celle-ci dans le contexte de la consommation de la musique pop sudcoréenne (K-pop) et de la musique pop anglo-américaine (USUK-pop) chez les jeunes Vietnamiens. Notre recherche révèle que l’interaction entre les formes culturelles globales et la culture locale est dynamique, complexe et transformative. Nous identifions deux formes d’interactions culturelles : une verticale où la culture locale et les formes culturelles globales s’opposent et rentrent directement en dialogue ; l’autre horizontale où la culture locale favorise une relation dialectique et dialogique entre les formes culturelles globales. Ces interactions se manifestent dans trois espaces : imaginaire, discursif et corporel. Elles se transforment et se manifestent constamment selon les expériences vécues des consommateurs locaux. Sur le plan théorique, notre travail contribue à prolonger la conceptualisation de l’interaction culturelle entre global et local. Ce travail offre également des implications méthodologiques dans l’étude de la globalisation ainsi que des apports managériaux pour le marketing international. / Consumer research on cultural globalization has paid attention to either dialectical interaction or dialogical interactions between a local culture and a global cultural forms coming from one origin. In this multi-sited ethnographic study, we focus on the cultural interaction between local culture and global cultures coming from different origins. We focus on the Vietnamese youngconsumers’ consumption of Korean pop music (K-pop) and Anglo-American pop music(USUK-pop) as a context. Our study shows that the cultural interaction between global and local is dynamic, complex and transformative. We identify two manifestations of this interaction: one is vertical, in which local culture simultaneously opposes to and dialogues with global cultural forms; another is horizontal, in which local culture stimulates dialectical and dialogical exchanges between global cultural forms. The interactions between global and localoccur in three spaces: imaginary, discursive and corporeal. They transform and performdifferently in consonance with lived experiences of local consumers. Our study extends theconceptualisation of cultural interaction between global and local. It also offers somemethodological reflections to the literature on globalization, as well as managerial implicationsto international marketing.

Perceptual features are qualitative features used to describe music properties in relation to human perception instead of typical musical theory concepts such as pitches and chords. This report describes a music discovery platform which uses three different methods of music playlist generation to investigate if and how perceptual features work when used for music discovery. One method abstracts away the complexity of perceptual features and the other two lets users use them directly. Two user testing sessions were performed to evaluate the browser and compare the different methods. Test participants found the playlist generation to work well in general, and especially found the method which uses emotions as an interface to be intuitive, enjoyable and something they would use to find new music. The other two methods which let users directly interact with perceptual features were less popular, especially among users without musical education. Overall, using perceptual features for music discovery was successful, although methods should be chosen with the intended audience in mind. / Perceptuella särdrag är kvalitativt framtagna särdrag som beskriver musik med fokus på mänsklig perception snarare än musikteoribegrepp som tonhöjd och ackord. Den här rapporten beskriver en musikhemsida som använder tre olika metoder för att generera spellistor med avsikt att undersöka om och hur perceptuella särdrag fungerar för att hitta ny musik. En metod abstraherar bort perceptuella särdragens komplexitet och de andra två metoderna låter testare använda dem utan abstraktion. Två användbarhetstest utfördes för att utvärdera musikhemsidan och jämföra de olika metoderna. Testanvändare tyckte överlag att genereringen av spellistor fungerade bra och att speciellt metoden som använde känslor som gränssnitt var intuitiv, rolig att använda och en metod de skulle använda för att hitta ny musik. De andra två metoderna som tillät användare att direkt använda perceptuella särdrag var mindre populära, speciellt bland användare utan musikutbildning. Överlag var användandet av perceptuella särdrag för att hitta musik en framgång, dock bör metoderna väljas utifrån användarnas kunskap.

Este trabalho apresenta uma reflexão antropológica a acerca da prática musical do pop sul coreano (Kpop) em São Paulo. Na etnografia que se apresenta, descrevo e analiso como vídeos e coreografias Kpop afetam os fãs do gênero musical, construindo relações sociais no seu entorno. Apresento, para tanto, primeiro, como o Kpop é visto e ouvido por fãs em São Paulo, dando especial atenção ao videoclipe, que compartilhando características visuais e sonoras únicas, é capaz de gerar nos espectadores reações próprias ao gênero musical. Mostro ainda que esses videoclipes, junto a outras mídias que circulam na internet sobre os artistas sul coreanos, são parte da pessoalidade desses artistas e mediadores de sua capacidade de afetar pessoas. É na cena Kpop de São Paulo que esses vínculos entre fãs e artistas sul coreanos se desdobram, produzindo novas relações entre pessoas, artefatos e lugares. Por fim, apresento uma etnografia da dança cover de Kpop, mostrando como esses fãs constroem em seu próprio corpo essa capacidade de agência apreendida dos ídolos Kpop. Considerando essas diferentes facetas da prática musical estudada, reflito neste trabalho sobre os modos de produzir relações sociais por meio de práticas musicais. / This research presents an anthropological reflection about Korean pop (Kpop) music practice in São Paulo. In this ethnography, I describe and analyze how music videos and choreographies affect fans of the genre, constructing social relations in its vicinity. Firstly, I present how Kpop is seen and heard by these fans in São Paulo, driving special attention on music videos. These medias share visual and sound characteristics that allow them to make Kpop fans react in a unique way. I also state that these music videos combined with other medias about South Korean artists that circulate on the internet are part of Kpop idols personhood that mediates their capacity to affect people who get in touch with them. It is in the Kpop musical scene in São Paulo that these affection ties between fans and artists take place and unfold. In the scene, new relations between persons, artefacts and places are produced. At the end, I present an ethnography of Kpop cover dance, paying attention to the way Kpop fans construct in their own body the capacity for agency apprehended from Kpop idols. Looking at different aspects of the Kpop music practice, this work reflects upon the production of social relations through music practices.

Este trabalho apresenta uma reflexão antropológica a acerca da prática musical do pop sul coreano (Kpop) em São Paulo. Na etnografia que se apresenta, descrevo e analiso como vídeos e coreografias Kpop afetam os fãs do gênero musical, construindo relações sociais no seu entorno. Apresento, para tanto, primeiro, como o Kpop é visto e ouvido por fãs em São Paulo, dando especial atenção ao videoclipe, que compartilhando características visuais e sonoras únicas, é capaz de gerar nos espectadores reações próprias ao gênero musical. Mostro ainda que esses videoclipes, junto a outras mídias que circulam na internet sobre os artistas sul coreanos, são parte da pessoalidade desses artistas e mediadores de sua capacidade de afetar pessoas. É na cena Kpop de São Paulo que esses vínculos entre fãs e artistas sul coreanos se desdobram, produzindo novas relações entre pessoas, artefatos e lugares. Por fim, apresento uma etnografia da dança cover de Kpop, mostrando como esses fãs constroem em seu próprio corpo essa capacidade de agência apreendida dos ídolos Kpop. Considerando essas diferentes facetas da prática musical estudada, reflito neste trabalho sobre os modos de produzir relações sociais por meio de práticas musicais. / This research presents an anthropological reflection about Korean pop (Kpop) music practice in São Paulo. In this ethnography, I describe and analyze how music videos and choreographies affect fans of the genre, constructing social relations in its vicinity. Firstly, I present how Kpop is seen and heard by these fans in São Paulo, driving special attention on music videos. These medias share visual and sound characteristics that allow them to make Kpop fans react in a unique way. I also state that these music videos combined with other medias about South Korean artists that circulate on the internet are part of Kpop idols personhood that mediates their capacity to affect people who get in touch with them. It is in the Kpop musical scene in São Paulo that these affection ties between fans and artists take place and unfold. In the scene, new relations between persons, artefacts and places are produced. At the end, I present an ethnography of Kpop cover dance, paying attention to the way Kpop fans construct in their own body the capacity for agency apprehended from Kpop idols. Looking at different aspects of the Kpop music practice, this work reflects upon the production of social relations through music practices.

This master thesis analyzes activities of South Korean companies from music industry in the markets in Europe and this analysis is based on a questionnaire survey. The first part focuses on the theory and describes the Korean popular music, cross its history, major companies in the sector and their activity in foreign markets. In following theoretical chapters there is the definition of basic marketing terms, the theory of marketing research, its methods and evaluation and use of marketing research in culture, a summary of the economic situation in South Korea and differences in business negotiations between Koreans and Europeans. The practical part of the thesis describes in detail the selected companies, their products and activities in Europe. Furthermore there is an introduction to research and information about the survey. The final part deals with the evaluation and interpretation of the findings, conclusions drawn from the information obtained and the proposed solutions.

El ámbito musical está en crecimiento desde hace unos años, debido a la aparición de nuevos géneros y cambios culturales que ha sufrido el país. Gracia ello, se ha dado paso a nuevos géneros como el k-pop. El enfoque del género es brindar a los consumidores una experiencia única, en donde disfrutarán de bandas conformadas por hombre o mujeres, los cuales realizan puestas en escenas coloridas con coreografías estructuradas. La presente investigación se enfoca en explicar cómo las bandas son un producto y que este necesita de acciones de marketing para ser creado. Por ello, se investigó la relación entre el estilo de los artistas y el posicionamiento, las fanpages y streaming como medio de interacción con los seguidores y su relación con el posicionamiento en el ámbito musical. En la parte inicial de la investigación se dan a conocer la opinión de los expertos y del público primario que se obtuvo mediante focus groups y entrevistas semiestructuradas respectivamente, las cuales constituyen al enfoque cualitativo, el cual trata de explicar que acciones son las que estas bandas realizan para lograr el posicionamiento deseado. En segunda instancia, se encuentran los resultados cuantitativos, los cuales se obtuvieron mediante la medición de Anova, correlaciones de Pearson, entre otros. Mediante este análisis se obtuvo que el estilo del artista no tiene una relación significativa con el posicionamiento, que el fanpage sí tiene una relación significativa con el posicionamiento y que el streaming también la tiene. Todo ello será tratado a mayor profundidad en el cuerpo del texto, en donde se pondrán en discusión las diferentes posturas de las teoría con las opiniones de expertos, el pop y los resultados obtenidos en la prueba de las hipótesis. / The musical realm has been growing for a few years, due to the appearance of new genres and cultural changes that the country has undergone. Thanks to this, it has given way to new genres such as k-pop. The focus of the genre is to provide consumers with a unique experience, where they will enjoy bands made up of men or women, which perform colorful scenes with structured choreographies. This research focuses on explaining how bands are a product and that it needs marketing actions to be created. Therefore, the relationship between artists' style and positioning, fanpages and streaming as a means of interaction with followers and their relationship with positioning in the musical field was investigated. In the initial part of the investigation disclosed the expert opinion and the primary audience that was obtained by groups focus and semistructured interviews respectively, which constitute a qualitative approach, which tries to explain that actions are what these are bands perform to achieve the desired positioning. In the second instance, there are quantitative results, which were obtained through the measurement of Anova, Pearson correlations, among others. Through this analysis it was obtained that the artist's style does not have a significant relationship with the positioning, that the fanpage does have a significant relationship with the positioning and that the streaming also has it. All this will be treated in greater depth in the body of the text, where the different positions of the theory will be discussed with the opinions of experts, pop and the results obtained in the hypothesis test. / Trabajo de investigación

This quantitative study aims to understand the parasocial interaction (PSI) and parasocial relationship (PSR) between Swedish k-pop (korean popular music) fans and k-pop idols. The study also aims to understand how gender and stereotypes affect the way parasocial relationships are formed and upheld. Using a survey conducted through Google Forms, respondents (N=131) were questioned about their relationship to k-pop and their habits surrounding the topic k-pop and fandom from a gender- central perspective. The study also utilised previous studies conducted about both PSI and PSR as well as studies within gender, fandom and feminism to gain a greater understanding of the field of research. Results of the study show that most PSI takes place on social media apps such as Instagram, as well as chat and live streaming apps. Results show that most respondents are aware that the relationship they have to an idol is parasocial and that these fans continue the PSR because they want to support the idols. A smaller group of fans however identified their relationship to the idols as being real. Results of the study also show that male fans of k-pop interact with female idols to a higher degree than female fans, and that female fans interaction is more evenly distributed between both male and female k-pop idols. For future research on this topic the relationship between fan and idol could be explored further using in depth interviews, which would also improve the studys generalisation ability as well as improve the disproportionate participation between female and male participants.

This essay examines the presence of parasocial relationships in the comments of one k-pop girl group’s and one k-pop boy group’s vlog series on YouTube with the intent to compare and examine if the way parasocial relationships are expressed differentiates if the artist in question is a man or a woman. By the study of the two comment sections this essay intends to contribute with insights about the phenomenon of parasocial relationships from a feminist perspective. The data is examined by combining a quantitative and a qualitative method. The first step is a quantitive content analysis with which we collect and code 100 comments from each video with the purpose of mapping out the general themes of the comments and to sort out the comments which will be analysed in the next step. In the next step a qualitative linguistic analysis is used to find the main themes of the comments which express parasocial relationships. This step enables a deeper analysis and understanding of the comments which express parasocial relationships and to be able to compare the results these comments are coded as well. The results of both codings are presented in the form of charts and tables. The findings suggest that there is a slight difference between how people express parasocial relationships towards men and women. The comments under the female artists vlog were significantly shorter and had in general less comments that suggested parasocial relationships. The female artists comment section also showed the least amount of identification with the artist, less belonging and more intimacy compared to the male artists comment section.

Hanbok is the traditional fashion of South Korea, and literally translates to “Korean clothing.” Once worn every day, today hanbok is reserved for special occasions and holidays; however new “modern” versions of the attire are becoming more and more popular for everyday wear. This new iteration of the traditional clothing created a new vernacular of Korean nationalism and “Koreanness” through the incorporation of modern fashion trends and traditional Korean aesthetics. Modern hanbok represents the unique relationship between nationalism, globalization, and fashion, and can be seen as an example of cultural hybridization. Looking at modern hanbok through the lens of Hallyu, or the Korean wave, provides insight into how constructions of Korean nationalism and notions of “Koreanness” are created, maintained, and change over time. In order to examine how modern hanbok operates as a new form of Korean nationalism and “Koreanness,” this thesis explores the hanbok tourism industry and the K-Pop industry in conversation with one another. Together these analyses highlight how globalization and nationalism interact with one another in different ways, and showcases Korea’s efforts to create and maintain a national imaginary while negotiating their growing economic, cultural, and political power in the world.