The all too familiar rags to riches odyssey in which seven young South Korean boys (RM, Suga,V, J-Hope, Jin, Jimin, Jungkook) emerge from obscurity to become true superstars in the pop music universe. This book aims to provide a better understanding of Hallyu's theoretical and institutional history on one hand, and new features of the Korean Wave on the other hand. The changes in the nature and appearance of the Korean Wave, conceptual and theoretical shifts in the studies of the Korean Wave, and the influences of the development of media technologies on the Korean Wave are all very significant. The role of social media in the Korean Wave’s transnationalization in recent years is especially intriguing because fans around the world can easily access social media to enjoy K-pop, digital games, and films. Meanwhile, industrial and technological contexts of the Korean Wave have changed significantly during the last 20 years. Hallyu originally implied the exports of a few cultural products, such as television dramas, popular music, and films however, Korea has recently developed and exported K-pop, digital games and smartphone technologies as well as relevant youth culture. The components of the Korean Wave have also greatly expanded.
Geographically, while Asia has been the largest cultural market for the Korean cultural industries, other parts of society, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America have gradually admitted Korean popular culture. Since the Korean Wave phenomenon started in 1997, Hallyu has undergone many changes. To those who are curious about ARMY, I hope that this book can serve as a ‘full-scale anatomy of ARMY.’ For ARMY, I hope that this book is valuable as a neat documentation of their achievements. This book revolves around these general aspects, and rather than posing as a work of theoretical criticism, its identity resembles an archival document that captures the dynamics of ARMY in the contemporary cultural landscape. To this aim, I analyze social media and online fan communities that serve as discursive spaces for ARMY, and observe in particular how ARMY forges BTS’ cultural status by compromising and negotiating with mass media that hold cultural power. BTS and ARMY Culture illuminates how ARMY, which is a kind of imaginary community of BTS-loving fans, has created epistemic distance towards standard K-pop culture and cements BTS’ status in global mainstream music via tangible fan practices.
While research is a language of rigorous logic, criticism is a language of warm interpretation―or in the words of Terry Eagleton, “a sensitivity to the thickness and intricacy of the medium.” If research is to approach something through objectivity and tested theories, this book can be understood as a work of criticism for general readers, written by an Aca-Fan (academic and fan) who lets her affection shine through. This book started from the wish to apply the perspective of a cultural studies scholar in order to investigate the fandom ARMY as a most ardent outcome to arise from a “community of taste.” On a personal level, the most pressing question was which vantage point to assume for myself. Read all about the K-POP group that is changing the face of international music in the Unofficial BTS Bible.ĪRMY is a community of taste, and BTS is their common denominator. In the BTS Bible, you’ll learn everything you could want to know about the sensational singing group, including: Individual member profiles Band concept and style History of their six-year rise to fame Chart-topping songs and videos Interviews with worldwide fans and music experts And more! Don’t get left behind in the wake of the BTS success. TIME Magazine named the Korean Pop group as one of the 25 most influential people on the internet and named them as one of TIME's 100 most influential people of 2019. BTS is also known for breaking the mold of K-POP, including social topics such as mental health, individualism, and social commentary in their hip-hop lyrics. They led the Korean Wave of music into the United States in 2017, and as of 2019, they are the only Korean group to top the US Billboard 200, and the first group since the Beatles to have three number-one albums in less than a year. Despite slow beginnings, the K-POP group now has millions of listeners around the world. The seven-member Korean boy band formed in 2013 and has slowly grown to worldwide fame through their music. Join BTS’s ARMY and learn the history of the international K-POP sensation! BTS (aka Bangtan Sonyeondan) has become one of K-POP’s most well-known singing groups.