Do Not Dismiss: How Community Is Built Through KPop and Their Fandoms
Location
John Q. Imholte Hall, Room #112
Event Website
https://2026undergraduateresearchsy.sched.com/event/2Ix87/do-not-dismiss-how-community-is-built-through-kpop-and-their-fandoms
Start Date
15-4-2026 3:30 PM
End Date
15-4-2026 4:00 PM
Description
Fans of the music genre KPop have been dismissed as juvenile or unimportant by some scholars and social commentators. Existing scholarship tends to focus on how the kpop fandom creates a space where the fans form groups amongst themselves, ex: dance cover groups, rather than how the fandoms influence individual motivations and benefits of participation. My aim with this study is to consider the effects that Kpop fandoms have on how fans identify and present themselves, feel a sense of belonging, and partake in the creative process. By using methods of oral history and content analysis of online social spaces, I demonstrate that Kpop fandoms provide not only a sense of group belonging but also individual advantages such as self-confidence and expertise.
Publication Date
2026
Do Not Dismiss: How Community Is Built Through KPop and Their Fandoms
John Q. Imholte Hall, Room #112
Fans of the music genre KPop have been dismissed as juvenile or unimportant by some scholars and social commentators. Existing scholarship tends to focus on how the kpop fandom creates a space where the fans form groups amongst themselves, ex: dance cover groups, rather than how the fandoms influence individual motivations and benefits of participation. My aim with this study is to consider the effects that Kpop fandoms have on how fans identify and present themselves, feel a sense of belonging, and partake in the creative process. By using methods of oral history and content analysis of online social spaces, I demonstrate that Kpop fandoms provide not only a sense of group belonging but also individual advantages such as self-confidence and expertise.
https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/urs_event/2026/oralpresentations/5