#k-pop

  • The New Enemies of Argentina’s Far Right: Taylor Swift and BTS Fans - The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/world/americas/argentina-election-swift.html

    Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian economist, has stayed aloft in Argentina’s presidential campaign on the wings of the youth vote.

    To win the runoff election this month, he will need to hold on to that key demographic, pollsters say. But now, a major hurdle stands in his way: Swifties.

    Squadrons of Argentine fans of the pop star Taylor Swift have gotten political. They have trained their online sights on Mr. Milei and his rising libertarian party, framing them as a danger to Argentina, while Ms. Swift herself is preparing to arrive in Argentina next week for the launch of her Eras Tour outside North America.

    “Milei=Trump,” said one post from a group called Swifties Against Freedom Advances, which is the name of Mr. Milei’s party.

    But it isn’t just Swifties who are organizing against Mr. Milei. He and his running mate, Victoria Villarruel, are also contending with criticism from legions of loyal fans of another musical juggernaut, the K-pop band BTS. They are so active and organized on the internet that they have become known as the BTS Army.

    Last week, the fury of that army was unleashed upon Ms. Villarruel after a series of her tweets denigrating the K-pop group resurfaced. In 2020, she likened the name BTS to a sexually transmitted disease. She also mocked the dyed pink and green hair of some members.

    Those tweets prompted such a fierce response from BTS fans, accusing her of xenophobia, that a large BTS fan club in Argentina felt compelled to try to calm their fellow fans down. “The message that BTS always transmits is one of respect to oneself and everyone else,” said a statement from the club, which has been viewed 1.9 million times, according to X.

    Ms. Villarruel’s only reaction online to the BTS blowback has been a post in which she called her S.T.D. post part of “funny chats” from “a thousand years ago.”

    Mr. Milei’s political base is particularly reliant on young voters. One survey of 2,400 people in October showed that nearly 27 percent of his support came from people ages 17 to 25, versus less than 9 percent for Sergio Massa, the center-left economy minister who opposes Mr. Milei in the runoff. People under 29 account for 27 percent of all eligible voters in Argentina.
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    Many young voters said they see Mr. Milei, who has taken to wearing leather jackets and wielding a chain saw at his campaign events, as the “cool” outsider candidate who has also become a sort of online meme.

    #Fans #K-Pop #Election_Argentine #Taylor_Swift

  • How K-Pop Fandom Operates as a Force for Political Activism | Time
    https://time.com/5866955/k-pop-political

    illions of dollars in donations. Viral hashtag domination. Ticket interference at Trump rallies. These might sound like the actions of a highly-coordinated political or philanthropic campaign. In reality, it’s the work of a broad coalition of K-pop fans. Over the past few months, the power of K-pop fans to make their values known has become a hot topic of media conversation.

    But for those who have been paying close attention, the impact of K-pop’s fans on our present political discourse should not come as a surprise. Accustomed to mobilizing quickly online, and often holding progressive values, fans of K-pop groups like BTS, Stray Kids, Monsta X and Loona are uniquely prepared to organize and succeed in their choices of online activism. They have been known to deploy their influence over the years in the service of causes ranging from human rights campaigns to education programs, often in the names of the idols they support.

    The millions of supporters of different groups, both within the U.S. and beyond, are hardly a demographic or political monolith, however.

    “K-pop fans aren’t just K-pop fans. It’s not a binary; that’s dehumanizing,” says Tamar Herman, a pop correspondent for Billboard and author of the upcoming book BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears. “It’s not just K-pop fans who are doing this. It’s Black people who are K-pop fans who are doing this, it’s allies who want to support Black Lives Matter who are K-pop fans who are doing this.”

    #K-pop #Mobilisation #Culture_numérique

  • The Civic Hijinks of K-pop’s Super Fans - Data & Society: Points
    https://points.datasociety.net/the-civic-hijinks-of-k-pops-super-fans-ae2e66e28c6

    K-pop fandoms, normally known for their dedication to South Korean music “idols,” made headlines this past month, between their social media manipulation to “defuse racist hashtags” and amplify the circulation of “petitions and fundraisers” for victims during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and their apparent foiling of Trump’s recent political rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The social media manipulation strategies of K-pop fandoms have been so impactful that hashtag trends such as #BanKpopAccounts have accused them of ruining user experiences and called to ban them. But some recent coverage on the power and sway that K-pop fans have over social media information ecologies has presented (unwittingly) truncated histories, (parochially) centered American K-pop fans, and cast these fan activities as somehow novel or even surprising.

    Yet, the opposite is true.

    K-pop fans, many of whom have mastered the power of social media manipulation and (mis)information via their intensely intimate relationships with their beloved idols, have a long history of utilizing their platforms in the service of social justice. It is absolutely necessary that the recent BLM activism of K-pop fans be historicized within this broader, global narrative, and that K-pop fans be recognized as more than just “bandwagoners” jumping at a media movement to simply “promote their faves.”

    South Korean entertainment companies recognized early on the transformative potentials of the internet, from the late-1990s uses of first generation Social Networking Site Cyworld to present-day mobilizations of social media. The K-pop industry played an influential role in the development of digital fandom, deploying social media services such as Twitter, Instagram, and the live-streaming app VLive to provide fans opportunities to interact directly with idols. For instance, it is routine for idols to interact with fans in live broadcast countdowns upon the release of each new song, just as it’s common for agencies to release poster and video teasers/trailers on Twitter and Instagram in the lead up to a ‘comeback’ or new release. Such intense social media interactions in turn boosted the strong sense of intimacy between idols and their fans, as well as allowed fans to regularly commune with each other in digital spaces. As a result, K-pop fans formed “tribes” who strategically draw upon the affordances of social media to promote their favorite idols on the world stage, allowing K-pop to go global.

    For instance, K-pop fans often facilitate ‘bulk pre-orders’ to increase album sales; host mass ‘streaming parties’ on YouTube, Spotify, and Shazam to increase music chart impact in a move known as “chart jacking”; plan “coordinated hashtag campaigns” on Twitter to signal boost their favorite group; or “keyword stuff” search terms on Twitter to alter SEO results and clear or bury bad press. Fans are also concerned over the wellbeing of idols, closely monitoring their personal safety and petitioning for agencies to take action, calling for fair representation in promotional material, and demanding for choreographies to be modified for the health of idols.

    However, idol support initiatives have also culminated in elaborate schemes, such as the BLACKPINK Starbucks hoax of April 2019: A rumour claimed that streaming any song from BLACKPINK would earn listeners a free drink from Starbucks through a digital voucher claimed via Twitter direct messaging or by showing “receipts” to the barista in the form of screen grabs of the streaming. Various Starbucks social media managers had their hands full clarifying this misinformation.

    K-pop fans have always been political

    K-pop fans deploy their networks and social media clout to consistently raise awareness of charitable causes, sharing resources across the globe to make the world a better place. K-pop fan activism within the BLM movement emerges from this broader history.

    Fans have mobilized support networks in the service of social justice as acts of cybervigilantism, with many clubs hosting charity events in honor of idols that are tied to these broader support projects. The recent Australian bushfires in January 2020 saw dozens of fandoms join forces to raise relief funds, with some even adopting wildlife in the name of their favorite idol. Fans of BTS alone have reportedly engaged with over 600 charity projects around the globe addressing a variety of issues. In fact, charity work is so essential to K-pop fandom that an app exists in South Korea where fans can record the amount of donations made on behalf of an idol group to develop a “charity angel” ranking.

    Fans have mobilized support networks in the service of social justice as acts of cybervigilantism…

    Social media campaigns have also regularly been hosted by K-pop fans seeking to hold K-pop stars and the industry accountable. As an expression of their strong support for idols, fans consistently call on K-pop groups to do better when they perceive that they have slipped up. For instance, fans were vocal in calling out racially insensitive performances such as when fans pressured girl group MAMAMOO to apologize for performing in blackface during a concert in 2017. Agencies, media outlets, and fandoms have also been called out for colorism and photo-editing idols’ images to preference fairer, whiter skin.

    …the activism of K-pop fans within the BLM movement is situated within broader social media debates surrounding anti-blackness within the K-pop fandom itself.

    Likewise, Black K-pop fans regularly express frustration at the persistent appropriation of Black culture and hip-hop fashion within the K-pop industry, for instance the persistent appropriation of braids, cornrows, and dreadlocks in K-pop styling. Recently, fans voiced dissatisfaction with BTS’s J-Hope, who was criticized for appropriating dreadlocks in the music video of the song “Chicken Noodle Soup ft. Becky G.” Indeed, the activism of K-pop fans within the BLM movement is situated within broader social media debates surrounding anti-blackness within the K-pop fandom itself.

    Apart from racism, several other K-pop fan initiatives focus on combating misogyny and abuse, in light of the rise of ‘molka’ or spycam incidents that prey on women and digital sex crimes (like the April 2020 Nth Room scandal) in South Korea. Considering the fact that young women make up a significant demographic in K-pop fandom, it is unsurprising that fans’ activism has evolved to also address discrimination against women around the world.
    K-pop fandom as subversive frivolity

    K-pop consumption is not an apolitical act and its fans are not disengaged or obsessive teenagers seeking to troll the world due to their sense of millennial ennui. Rather, K-pop fans in South Korea, Asia, and beyond are critical consumers who deliberately and explicitly act to address social justice concerns by harnessing their high visibility and strong community on social media networks. As noted by The Korea Herald reporter Hyunsu Yim, “the largely female, diverse & LGBT makeup” of K-pop fandoms are primed to push back against the “male dominant/less diverse/more right-wing” online discourses through their social media activism.

    The vernacular social media manipulation expertise of these fans has been honed since K-pop’s humble beginnings on websites and forums, where their fan activity is often cast as playful and feminized activity; but it is exactly this underestimation and under-valuation of K-pop fan networks, knowledge, and labor that has allowed millions of K-pop fandoms to evade sociocultural surveillance, optimize platforms’ algorithmic radars, and spread their messages far and wide in acts of subversive frivolity.

    Whether it is to persuade you to stream a song or to protest against social injustice, you can be sure that K-pop fandoms are always ready to mobilize, fueled by ferocious fan dedication, and remain extremely social media savvy.

    Dr. Crystal Abidin is Senior Research Fellow & ARC DECRA Fellow in Internet Studies at Curtin University (Perth, Australia). Learn more at wishcrys.com.

    Dr. Thomas Baudinette is Lecturer in International Studies, Department of International Studies: Languages and Cultures, Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia). Learn more at thomasbaudinette.wordpress.com.

    #K-pop #Culture_participative #Médias_sociaux #Politique

  • K-Pop Fans Thwarted the Dallas Police Department App During Black Lives Matter Protests | InStyle
    https://www.instyle.com/celebrity/k-pop-fans-dallas-police-department-app-black-lives-matter

    Trop fun : une app de dénonciation vidéo mise en place de la police de Dallas rendue inopérante par les fans de K-pop qui ont noyé le système avec des vidéos de leurs groupes préférés.

    Legions of K-pop fans stepped up to show the Dallas Police Department that they wouldn’t stand for police brutality during the city’s Black Lives Matter protests. According to Paper, the Dallas PD rolled out an app called iWatchDallas so that citizens could submit videos of “illegal activity.” The department didn’t expect the app to be flooded with K-pop videos, however. During the weekend’s Black Lives Matter protests, Twitter users called on one another to submit music video clips, fan-cam videos, and instructional dance videos set to huge names like BTS, NCT 127, and BLACKPINK.

    Users implored each other to overload the app so that anyone scanning the videos would be overwhelmed with K-pop, not possibly incriminating evidence.

    i got a video for you pic.twitter.com/VVDkRRmsfO
    — anahi (@belispeek) May 31, 2020

    I got footage of a criminal right here

    pic.twitter.com/2uBxIhwuYU
    — see pinned📌Jimin’s Little Spoon⁷ (@heatherhellrasr) May 31, 2020

    Paper reports that the app actually crashed and the Dallas PD tweeted that “due to technical difficulties,” the app was temporarily down. The magazine also notes that this may be the very first instance of using fancams in such a manner, writing that it was the “first direct action-related use of fancams.” For those unfamiliar, fancams are generally user-created video clips that showcase a single member of a K-pop group or a solo artist, usually so that viewers can see performances from many different angles.

    pigs are using this app to have people send in videos so they can identify those in protests. if we can swarm these pages, they won’t be able to find anything on anyone. how about we put our fancamming into good use and upload so many fancams it floods the app? pic.twitter.com/760nGHwmHZ
    — lee hoseok knows acab 🐰 (@leehsk93) May 31, 2020

    It’s not all K-pop fans are doing. Dazed adds that many Twitter fan accounts for BTS and BLACKPINK have halted their usual activity. Instead of tweeting about their favorite acts and promoting new material like BLACKPINK and Lady Gaga’s “Sour Candy,” K-pop Twitter is making space for discussions on police violence and Black Lives Matter protests.

    #Memes #Fancams #K-pop #Culture_fan #Culture_numérique

  • La police de Dallas appelle à dénoncer des manifestants, son app tombe grâce à des vidéos de K-pop
    https://cyberguerre.numerama.com/5388-la-police-de-dallas-appelle-a-denoncer-des-manifestants-s

    La police de Dallas a demandé aux habitants de la ville de dénoncer tout comportement répréhensible sur l’app iWatch Dallas. Mais au lieu de recevoir des vidéos de manifestants en action, elle a été inondée de vidéos de K-pop, au point que l’app est devenue temporairement indisponible. L’application iWatch Dallas de la police locale a subi une forme de cyberattaque plus qu’originale : un déni de service (ou DDoS), orchestré manuellement depuis les réseaux sociaux, par les nombreux fans de K-pop. Tout a (...)

    #activisme #algorithme #police #délation #bug #hacking

    //c0.lestechnophiles.com/cyberguerre.numerama.com/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/06/Bts-boys-with-love.jpg

  • #Propaganda (9/10). Korean Pop

    Vous faîtes partie des milliards de personnes ayant dansé sur #Gangnam_Style ? Dans le neuvième épisode de #Propaganda, on verra pourquoi produire de la musique pop et raconter des #histoires_d'amour permet de donner une image positive à un pays. C’est la technique du #NATION_BRANDING.


    https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/075937-009-A/propaganda-9-10
    #pop #musique #nationalisme #géographie_culturelle #musique_et_politique #imaginaire_national #Corée_du_sud #vidéo #soft_power #image #ressources_pédagogiques

    ping @sinehebdo

  • épisode 2 2e saison
    http://www.radiopanik.org/emissions/l-emission-masquee/episode-2-2e-saison

    épisode où l’on parle de #k-pop, de #foot, de perroquets et l’on fait des blagues. http://inside-corea.com/musique-histoire-kpop-origines-1995

    Tracklist

    Standard de Liège - Oh Allez allez

    Park Hyang-rim - Oppaneun Punggakjaengiya (Old Korean Trot from 1938)

    Seotaiji and Boys - (I Know)

    BTS – best of meFeat chainsmorkers

    Dreamcatcher - what

    p margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; a:link

    #perroquet #foot,perroquet,k-pop
    http://www.radiopanik.org/media/sounds/l-emission-masquee/episode-2-2e-saison_05732__1.mp3

  • Je découvre la #K-pop nord-coréenne, avec le groupe #Moranbong.

    La page Wikipédia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moranbong_Band

    « Without a break » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADN0H6MREHA

    (avec le lancement du missile derrière).

    « To a Decisive Battle », « Advance and Advance » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqdtL2Mt4lI

    (militaro mais, cette fois, c’est l’infanterie)

    « With pride » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCQ3iJLuw8M

    (avec des paroles, et des sous-titres, mais je ne garantis pas la traduction)

    #violon

  • Road to #K-pop stardom
    http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/bigpicture/2015/01/30/road-pop-stardom/qmsTVMsOtI5FEyYZfzJ5yM/story.html

    Thousands of Korean children dream of becoming household names like rapper Psy, whose 2012 “Gangnam Style” video was a global YouTube hit, often putting up with punishing schedules in the hope of one day making it big in the music industry. A recent survey of pre-teens showed that 21 percent of respondents wanted to be K-pop (Korean pop) stars when they grow up, the most popular career choice.


    Kim Si-yoon plays a toy guitar at her house in Seoul, Nov. 20. Kim is an aspiring K-pop (Korean pop) star. She wakes up at 7:30am for school, followed by hours of voice training, dance lessons and cram school before crashing into bed at midnight. (Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)
    #photographie

  • « Hallyu », l’avènement de la pop-#culture coréenne
    http://diffractions.info/2013-07-04-hallyu-lavenement-de-la-pop-culture-coreenne

    « #k-pop stars are not just singers, they are entertainers. » (Les artistes de k-pop, ne sont pas que des chanteurs, ce sont des amuseurs). Qu’est-ce que le Hallyu ? Le...

    #politique #Corée_du_Sud #culture_numérique #internet #k-culture #rayonnement_culturel #relations_internationales

  • K-Pop, anticrise mondiale ? | Madjid Ben Chikh (Minorités)
    http://www.minorites.org/index.php/2-la-revue/1420-k-pop-anticrise-mondiale.html

    Cela fait deux ou trois ans que Laurent Chambon me presse d’écrire un truc sur la K-Pop puisque, par période intermittente, j’en inonde mon mur Facebook. Pas que j’aime spécialement ça (je n’écoute plus guère de pop, et je n’ai jamais vraiment écouté celle des majors), mais elle est un des signes de notre époque dans lequel il m’arrive d’aimer gambader. Le succès mondial (sauf au Japon, tiens...) de l’artiste coréen Psy m’offre l’occasion d’écrire cet article, car peut être mes propos vous sembleront un peu moins exotiques qu’ils ne l’auraient été il y a un ou deux ans : je n’ai pas l’autorité d’un journaliste du New York Times. Source : Minorités