BTS as method: a counter-hegemonic culture in the network society

Abstract

This study focuses on the BTS sensation, examining how three entities – digital networks, the K-pop industry, and fandom – have engaged in the production of an alternative global culture. Based on a multimodal critical discourse analysis of this rising cultural act, the current study pays attention to the dialectical interaction of digital transformation and cultural subjectivization in the contemporary music ecosystem. By integrating Manuel Castells’ notion of the network society into Stuart Hall’s articulation of cultural resistance, I consider BTS as a counter-hegemonic cultural formation from the periphery within the network society. I also argue that the BTS phenomenon has not only unveiled the ideological dimension of Korean cultural formations, but has also proposed new possibilities of non-western and peripheral societies and subjects in the globally networked cultural sphere.

Civic Engagement Intention and the Data-Driven Fan Community: Investigating the Motivation Behind Chinese Fans’ Online Data-Making Behavior From a Collective Action Perspective

“…Therefore, the greater one’s interaction with a fan community, the more likely they are to build collective efficacy. The collective efficacy further makes fans feel empowered and engage more in collective actions (e.g., Bird & Maher, 2017; Kim, 2021). H5 and H6 are posited as follows:…”

The personal branding on social media of Tilly Birds

“…Some Thai singers draw inspiration from K-pop, however the result is often just another K-pop clone that lacks the distinctiveness and brand identification of Thai culture. K-Pop, BTS in particular have broken into the mainstream media in an unprecedented way, BTS was on The Late Late Show, The Tonight show, The Ellen DeGenres Show, multiple mainstream audiences are exposed to K-pop (Kim, 2022).…”

“…In order for K-pop to achieve commercial success, it was required to take into consideration the following four factors: producers, casting, producers/promoters, and content (Kim, 2022). As a result of digitalization, many fields, including the music industry's producers and consumers, saw opportunities to expand their markets and their shared interests in the industry as a whole (Kim, 2022).…”

“…In order for K-pop to achieve commercial success, it was required to take into consideration the following four factors: producers, casting, producers/promoters, and content (Kim, 2022). As a result of digitalization, many fields, including the music industry's producers and consumers, saw opportunities to expand their markets and their shared interests in the industry as a whole (Kim, 2022). From a macro perspective, the music industry has transitioned from analog to digital, offline to online, albums to singles, division of labor to corporate integration, local distribution to worldwide distribution, and music to imagery.…”

“…From a macro perspective, the music industry has transitioned from analog to digital, offline to online, albums to singles, division of labor to corporate integration, local distribution to worldwide distribution, and music to imagery. In addition, the focus of the industry has shifted from musical performance to visual representation (Kim, 2022).…”