Stifled, invisible, and threatened: cultural appropriation in K-pop through the lens of identity-negotiating fans of color

Abstract

Through a series of in-depth interviews, this article investigates how fans of color negotiate incidents of cultural appropriation in K-pop. Respondents employed various coping mechanisms to navigate the impact of such offenses while simultaneously grappling with the dissonance arising from negotiating alienating rhetoric and their own cultural identities. Criticism of cultural appropriation incidents was met with severe backlash, particularly exacerbating the marginalization faced by Native American fans who encountered underrepresentation and limited support. Drawing attention to the paradoxical interplay of globalization and ethnic nationalism in Korea, this research unveils a troubling cycle in which incidents of cultural appropriation in K-pop silence and render fans of color invisible within hostile environments.