Armed and Dangerous: The Rise in K-Pop Fan Culture

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A presentation slide with a soft gradient background transitioning from peach-pink on the left to light purple-blue on the right. The bold, outlined title 'ARMED AND DANGEROUS' is displayed at the top. The subtitle 'The Rise in K-Pop Fan Culture' is prominently featured below it, and 'Presented By: Abby Waldman' is at the bottom right. A continuous white line art forms a stylized heart shape in the center-left, and extends as swirls across the slide. In the bottom left, 'Scan to Learn More' appears above a black and white QR code.

Armed and Dangerous: The Rise in K-Pop Fan Culture

Abby Waldman

A portrait of a young woman with a pleasant smile, featuring long, dark brown hair parted down the middle. She wears a crisp white collared shirt under a textured black V-neck sweater vest, with a subtle necklace visible. The background is pure white.

Biography

Hi! My name is Abby Waldman and I am a fourth-year professional communication student with a double minor in marketing and public relations. I have a genuine passion for creating and generating content. I am also the social media lead for Signify, a time I have enjoyed immensely as I was blessed to be able to work with a group of people as dedicated and passionate about the event as I am!

Research Summary

For my research, I am focusing on fan culture, specifically looking at the K-Pop fandom and analyzing its reach and influence on mainstream culture. K-pop, which stands for Korean pop music. Its fans are a global and driving force on issues such as social justice and political activism. They are also one of the largest financial music industries, with it being valued at approximately $5 billion U.S. dollars. Through this, I investigate the hierarchies within the k-pop community and the power these fandoms hold with their abilities to use mass media to persuade certain outcomes. In doing so, I also expose some of the toxicity within the fandom regarding the ideas surrounding “Idols” and the need to defend them.

Tags

Music, Culture, Society, Media

Lightning Talk

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