From H.O.T. to GOT7 : Mapping K-pop's fandom, media, and performances in China

• Main Author: Sun, Meicheng
• Other Authors: Lee Sang Joon
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication::Cultural studies; Social sciences::Mass media::Media studies
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/154690
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, has become a global cultural phenomenon. Its growing popularity around the world is indicative of the rise in Asian cultural power. Before entering the markets beyond East Asia, South Korean popular culture was first transmitted in China in the 1990s. Korean popular music, or K-pop, has been a key genre in Hallyu. By employing archival research and case studies, and unveiling rarely considered materials and practices, this dissertation analyzes the constant transmission of K-pop in China in the past two decades, contemporary K-pop fan practices in China, and Chinese K-pop idols’ multiple identity presentations to answer the research question—why is K-pop popular in China. I propose a periodization of K-pop in China based on the different media environment in China after K-pop’s initial entrance into the Chinese market in 1996. Thus, I looked at K-pop in China in the analog media period (1996-2004), the pre-mobile internet period (2005-2011), and the mobile internet period (2012-present). The dissertation first examines the history of K-pop in China. Secondly, the current study uses the Chinese fandom of the male idol group GOT7 as a case study to examine contemporary Chinese K-pop fan practices from the perspectives of fan consumption and fan production. Along with the categorizations of fan consumption and fan production, I postulate that fan labor has become an indispensable part in the operation of the K-pop industry, transforming it into an alternative creative industry. Lastly, I examine the multiple identity presentations of Chinese K-pop idols by looking at the case of GOT7’s Hong Kong-born Chinese member Jackson as well as the political and fandom controversies engendered by such presentations. The dissertation potentially sheds new light on Hallyu studies, Korean studies, and the studies of transnational cultural flows. It also brings new insight to fandom studies and cultural industry studies. It is my hope that the exploration of Chinese K-pop idols will also foster a rethinking of Chua Beng Huat’s (2001, 2012) Pop Culture China in cultural studies, and spark new discussions in celebrity studies.