K-pop Live: Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 07 August 2018
Publisher: Stanford University Press

In the 1990s, South Korea underwent a remarkable transformation, transitioning from a military dictatorship to a civilian government, shifting from a manufacturing economy to a postindustrial hub, and evolving from a cloistered society to a more dynamic transnational juncture. These seismic shifts had a profound impact on the media industry, particularly on the rise of K-pop.

In her book, K-pop Live, Suk-Young Kim delves into the meteoric ascent of Korean popular music in the context of the rise of personal technology and social media. She situates a fervent cross-media partnership within the Korean historical context and raises broader questions about what it means to be live and alive.

Through in-depth interviews with industry personnel, media experts, critics, and fans, as well as archival research, K-pop Live explores how the K-pop industry has navigated the challenge of selling live music in an era where virtually everything is available online. Kim delves into the nuances of the affective mode in which human subjects interact with each other in the digital age, observing performances online, in concert, and even through the use of holographic performers.

The book offers readers a comprehensive guide to the K-pop industry's efforts to diversify media platforms in order to reach a wider global network of music consumers. In an era where digital technology permeates nearly all social relationships, Kim sheds light on how what is live becomes a question of how we exist as increasingly mediated subjects, fragmented and isolated by technological wonders while also longing for a sense of belonging and being alive through interactive modes of exchange.

K-pop Live is a valuable contribution to the study of media, popular culture, and the evolving relationship between technology and society. It provides a deep understanding of the K-pop industry's challenges and successes, as well as its impact on global music culture.

Weight: 440g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503605992