The Cambridge Companion to K-Pop

Probes the complexities of this vibrant global phenomenon, its infrastructure, idols, dance practices, and transnational community building.

Suk-Young Kim (Edited by)

9781108940030, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 March 2023

320 pages
24.2 x 16.9 x 1.8 cm, 0.56 kg

How did Korea with a relatively small-scale music industry come to create a vibrant pop culture scene that would enthrall not only young Asian fans but also global audiences from diverse racial and generational backgrounds? From idol training to fan engagement, from studio recording to mastering choreographic sequences, what are the steps that go into the actual production and promotion of K-pop? And how can we account for K-pop's global presence within the rapidly changing media environment and consumerist culture in the new millennium? As an informed guide for finding answers to these questions, The Cambridge Companion to K-Pop probes the complexities of K-pop as both a music industry and a transnational cultural scene. It investigates the meteoric ascent of K-pop against the backdrop of increasing global connectivity wherein a distinctive model of production and consumption is closely associated with creativity and futurity.

Introduction: Korea's moment in the limelight Suk-Young Kim
Part I. Genealogies: 1. Sticking it to the man: early neoliberalism in Korean pop music Roald Maliangkay
2. Itaewon class, Gangnam style and Yeouido star: the industrial revolution of Korean pop in the 1990s Hyunjoon Shin
Part II. Sounding out K-pop: 3. Finding the K in K-pop musically: a stylistic history Jung-Min Mina Lee
4. Recording the soundscape of K-pop Hyewon Kim
Part III. Dancing to K-pop: 5. K-pop dance music video choreography Chuyun Oh
6. Embodying K-pop hits through cover dance practices CedarBough T. Saeji
Part IV. The making of idols: 7. K-pop idols: media commodities, affective laborers and cultural capitalists Stephanie Choi
8. From K-pop to Z-pop: the pan-Asian production, consumption and circulation of idols So-Rim Lee
Part V. The band that surprised the world: 9. BTS, transmedia and hip hop Kyung Hyun Kim
10. The BTS phenomenon Suk-Young Kim and Youngdae Kim
11. Transcultural fandom: BTS and ARMY Candace Epps-Robertson
Part VI. Circuits of K-pop flow: 12. K-pop and the participatory condition: vicarity, serial affect and 'real-life contents' Michelle Cho
13. Idol shipping culture: exploring queer sexuality among fans of K-pop Thomas Baudinette
14. Following the footsteps of BTS: the global rise of K-pop tourism Youjeong Oh.

Subject Areas: Music industry [KNTF], World music [AVGW], Rock & Pop music [AVGP]