Korean Pop Culture beyond Asia

Showcases the dynamism of cross-cultural engagement with Korean media

Korean media has exploded in popularity across the globe in the past decade: BTS and other K-pop groups have packed stadiums, Parasite garnered record-breaking critical success, The Masked Singer and Single’s Inferno became viral TV hits, and multiday KCON fan events have highlighted not only media but Korean food, cosmetics, and fashion. Exploring how fans from different cultural and racial backgrounds engage with Korean media in local and individual contexts, this edited collection reveals complex transcultural affinities, conflicts, and negotiations. The essays delve into the ways people create meaning from, and shape affinity to, Korean television and music. The book also explores Korean popular culture’s influence on audiences’ imaginative play, desires, and fantasies, critically examining topics such as TikTok as a space of Asian fetishization, Black YouTubers’ K-pop reaction videos, the perception of Korean men in opposition to European hegemonic masculinity, and Middle Eastern fans’ responses to appropriation in K-pop. Throughout, the contributors provide perceptive analyses that reveal what the interplay of race and Korean entertainment tells us about the complex nature of transnational fandom.

"Diving deep into the global phenomenon of Korean popular culture, this book provides a treasure trove of groundbreaking investigations into the way that Korean media texts are being consumed and understood by diverse audiences all over the world."—Lori Kido Lopez, University of Wisconsin, Madison

"Korean Pop Culture Beyond Asia: Race and Reception is a welcome collection of original studies on the transcultural reception of Korean pop culture through the critical lens of race. The book’s engaging case studies lucidly explore the complexities of media reception practices in transcultural and racial contexts."—Kyong Yoon, author of Diasporic Hallyu: The Korean Wave in Korean Canadian Youth Culture