Abstract
With the steady rise in global popularity of the Korean music group BTS, the South Korean government and surrounding industries have swiftly begun utilizing their image and international recognition for specific nation branding purposes. While K-pop soft power strategies are not novel to the South Korean state, what is new is the rapid speed at which BTS have become a beacon for South Korean culture, language, and symbolism in the international arena. However, few scholarly works have sought to investigate the role fans have played in this heightened position for the group as state representatives, with minimal research conducted into the work fans do within the framework of ARMY fan culture. This paper will thus aim to fill the gap in scholarship on ARMY as an organized labour network, focusing on the role fans play as labourers in online spaces that work to promote, disseminate, and cultivate wider recognition for BTS as artists. Through the conjunct engagement of a political economy framework and theories of participatory culture, this paper will explore the manner through which the free labour of ARMY, premised on affect, has constructed the fandom as active agents of soft power alongside BTS themselves.
Highlights
On October 20th, 2020, Jimin of the South Korean group, BTS, hosted a 32-minute mediated chat with BTS’ fan community, ARMY, through the streaming platform, Vlive
While focused on Jimin in this case, are components of the ARMY fandom structure, ranging from hashtags to billboards to even cafe cupsleeve events held across the globe
What these events represent and point to is a key notion prevalent within the fandom structure, namely the presence of fan work and the opportunities it affords for cross-cultural understanding and global representation
Summary
On October 20th, 2020, Jimin of the South Korean group, BTS, hosted a 32-minute mediated chat with BTS’ fan community, ARMY, through the streaming platform, Vlive. In the half an hour he was speaking, he addressed topics ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, answered fans’ questions, provided encouragement, but he discussed his 25th birthday that has just passed In this segment, Jimin pointed out and acknowledged the hard work fans had put into running events, trending hashtags, and celebrating Jimin across the globe. What these events represent and point to is a key notion prevalent within the fandom structure, namely the presence of fan work and the opportunities it affords for cross-cultural understanding and global representation. This fan work represents a type of labour within the digital gift economy of fandom that translates into soft power for South Korea as a nation state through networked affinities premised on affect
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