An Introduction to K-Pop and BTS: Hybridity and Transcultural Reimaginings

By: Joanne Miyang Cho and Tessa C. Lee

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Synopsis: This Palgrave Pivot examines a key area of the Korean Wave or Hallyu, which stands for the global popularity of South Korean popular culture that started in the 1990s. While K-dramas (Korean dramas) have found many viewers throughout Asian countries and some Western countries in recent years, K-pop (Korean popular music) has had broader appeal not only to Asian audiences, but also American (North and South), European, and Middle-Eastern audiences. This book&’s unique contribution is to provide a concise and succinct analysis of K-pop from transcultural perspectives through its most famous example, BTS. The first chapter contextualizes K-pop within the Korean Wave movement. The second and third chapters provide a history of K-Pop, spanning from Seo Taiji and Boys in the early 1990s to the present (including BTS and Blackpink), and presents K-pop as a glocalized phenomenon. The fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters critically examine the most prominent band in the K-pop world, BTS, and the unique connections to their transnational fandom called ARMY.