Image: Congratulations to Benjamin Han, Associate Professor in the Department of Entertainment and Media Studies at Grady College, on his co-edited publication, Korea Pop Culture beyond Asia: Race and Reception! Korean media has exploded in popularity across the globe in the past decade: BTS and other K-pop groups have packed stadiums, Parasite garnered record-breaking critical success, The Masked Singer and Single’s Inferno became viral TV hits, and multiday KCON fan events have highlighted not only media but Korean food, cosmetics, and fashion. Exploring how fans from different cultural and racial backgrounds engage with Korean media in local and individual contexts, this edited collection reveals complex transcultural affinities, conflicts, and negotiations. The essays delve into the ways people create meaning from, and shape affinity to, Korean television and music. The book also explores Korean popular culture’s influence on audiences’ imaginative play, desires, and fantasies, critically examining topics such as TikTok as a space of Asian fetishization, Black YouTubers’ K-pop reaction videos, the perception of Korean men in opposition to European hegemonic masculinity, and Middle Eastern fans’ responses to appropriation in K-pop. Throughout, the contributors provide perceptive analyses that reveal what the interplay of race and Korean entertainment tells us about the complex nature of transnational fandom.
