COLLECTING DATA
About my Research
As a K-Pop researcher, I focus on fandoms and fannish behaviors, rather than strictly the idols themselves (though I’ve been known to accidentally shift my gears from time to time). Below are the central research questions that dictate my thesis research.
RQ1: How do Anglophone participants in K-Pop fandom perform the role of the fan?
RQ1a: What is “Koreanness”? What and who is K-Pop? How do Anglophone fans understand Koreanness?
RQ1b: What Korean traditional behaviors and customs have been adapted into the K-Pop fan subculture? Where do these behaviors originate?
RQ1c: How are these adaptions of the traditional then reperformed by Anglophone fans? What Anglophone cultural superstructures manifest in K-Pop fan spaces and behaviors?
RQ2: In what ways are these “reperformances” considered cultural appropriation, rather a transcultural product formed from cultural contact zones?
RQ2a: How are Korean domestic fans responding to Anglophone projections/injections/adaptions?
RQ2b: Are Korean agencies employing market-specific strategies in response? Should Korean agencies shift strategies?
Become A Part of It
Help me answer these questions and more by providing either a survey or interview to further my research. Click on the link below to find out how.
K-Culture Related Publications
For academics and K-enthusiasts alike, here are some publications where I dive into some of my media and cultural studies work on K-Pop.
