In-Person Panel PS6.4

Digital Feminism, Fandoms, and Popular Culture in Contemporary East Asian Contexts

Revealing Political Spectrum of Digital Feminism in China Since 2018 

Beibei Wu 

Chizuko Ueno emphasizes the need for feminism to go beyond national, however, some Korean scholars argue that within the Korean context, nationalism and feminism have successfully integrated. So how about in China? This paper examines the intersection of digital feminism and the rise of nationalism on Chinese social platforms since 2018. It begins by explaining these concepts in the context of China. Using digital ethnography of different feminist groups on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social platform) and analyzing their posts and comments, the study compares feminism in Japan, South Korea, and China. It explores how Xiaohongshu spreads feminist ideas and investigates how digital feminism in China either bridges, integrates with, or succumbs to nationalism and family values, while also explaining why these dynamics occur.

Cruising Hallyu:  An Ethnographic Study on K-pop Fans and Fan Clubs in India. 

Garima  Bisht 

In India, Korean culture fervency has been missing other than some regions in the Northeast states where the majority interest group were young women. However, Hallyu (Korean Cultural Wave) has recently gained prominence in broader Indian consumers. Initial observations suggest that local Indian fan clubs for Korean artists appear to incorporate Indian perceptions of Korean fan organisational behaviour. Indian fandom for Korean artists and culture deserves attention because, despite the growing size and prominent engagement with and consumption of Korean culture in India, scholarship on Indian consumers of Korean culture is scanty. This paper will present findings from ethnographic research conducted in India in early 2024 and the observation of some socio-cultural changes emerging in India, due to the Korean cultural influences and consumerism. Through this paper, the significance and attraction of Korean culture will be explored by visiting and interacting with K-Pop fans and fan-club members in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. How do they perceive Korean popular culture different from that of India, e.g., Bollywood fandom, and in what way do they shape and internalise it as glocalised consumption of foreign cultures? 

Rethinking "Collapsed Idols" and Popular Culture in Contemporary China: A Psycho-Political Perspective

Changchang Wu, Minmin Gu

Since 2020, countless fans and netizens have witnessed or participated in an array of incidents of “inner entertainment circle” (a playful title of Chinese entertainment industry), which more than forty Chinese idols shattered their shrine of adoration and were reduced to objects of ridicule along with a dramatically decline in commercial value. At present, studies on “collapsed house” in Chinese context stay at the dimension of cognitivism, summarizing its semantic evolution while stripping away its socio-cultural context. However,“collapsed house” as a symbolic representation indeed unfolds a new emotional way and mental syndrome of fandom and netizens confronting their idols (objects), which fails to be revealed by a single linguistic context and pragmatics. 

From 2020, we tracked 45 related topics on Sina Weibo with the keyword “collapsed”, and collected 18000 comments on posts marked as “Hot”. Based upon the text analysis of these comments/posts, this article aims not only to sort out the different ways and historical processes by which the subjects (fans and netizens) eventifying “collapsed idols”, but also to unpack the addictive data-driven logic and underlying mentality by satisfying the sexual imaginary security of fans and curing the menta symptoms of netizens from a theoretical framework of psycho-politics.

You Go Girl!: Exploring the Agency of Female K-pop Idols as Songwriters from 2003 to 2023

Sophia Santillan

The K-Pop idol industry has changed a lot over the past 20 years, and with these changes offered more avenues for female K-Pop idols to express their agency. This paper examines seven credited songwriters who have experience as both a K-Pop girl group member and as a solo artist: Lee Hyori, a former member of Fin.K.L. and now best known for her solo activities, Park Yeeun, a former member of The Wonder Girls and is now known professionally as HAT:FELT, Shin Jimin, a former member of the group AOA; Kim Minhyun, a member of Oh My Girl, Chonnasorn Sajakul, a former member of CLC and professionally known as Sorn, Jeon Soyeon, member and leader of G-Idle, and Huh Yunjin, a member of the newly debuted group Le Sserafim. This study applies online ethnographic methods to survey how these K-Pop idols choose different avenues to strategically navigate the music industry and to understand how K-Pop fans feel about the idols changing and adapting to the times. Through the analysis of K-Pop idol's music in the context of significant changes in their careers and in the industry, we witness how despite operating under a capitalist system that only offers limited capacities, female K-Pop idols have always been aware of their positions in the industry and have leveraged it to not only survive but succeed in their careers. This paper argues that these small but important victories that pave the way for more opportunities for women in the industry.