Contested fandom and nationalism: How K-Pop fans perform political consumerism in China

Abstract

In post-THAAD period, anti-Hallyu sentiments in China have never faded out, exemplified by outbursts of anger from staunch nationalists. Social media has been considered by scholars as a force for fandom nationalism, meaning that the nation is an idol for online nationalists to love. Worshiping different idols from the nationalists, K-pop fans in China appear to take on the self-effacing ethos, while, their enthusiasm towards Hallyu has never been incinerated. This study sets out with how Chinese K-pop fans behave as deliberate consumers of Hallyu despite the authorities’ informal tamping down on South Korean media products and domestic nationalists’ constant outpouring of anti-Hallyu sentiments. After conducting digital ethnography on Weibo, this study finds that consumerism is political and employed by China’s K-pop fandom as a unique form of fan activism, while it also works as a safety valve for them to negotiate with the nationalists without undercutting the ideology.

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