The meteoric rise of Korean Pop (K-Pop) band, Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS), has launched the genre from niche markets to global phenomenon. Now a multi-billion-dollar industry, fans internationally are adopting Korean fan behaviors within the fandom. My research seeks to explore the culture of K-Pop as a “third space” society, measuring its current globalization and affect on western perceptions of Korea. This research will provide an ethnography of Korean soft power spaces, will engage in discussions of appropriation and appreciation, and will utilize fieldwork conducted in South Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
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