EASC Readings

January 7, 2023: K-pop as Global Youth Culture: Promises and Pitfalls

Speaker: Pil Ho Kim (East Asian Languages and Literatures, Ohio State University)

Note from Dr. Kim: All these resources, including BTS podcasts, are optional – you don’t need to watch or read any of them for my talk.

Print resources:

• KOCIS (Korean Culture and Information Services), K-pop Beyond Asia (2015)
  • This is now a bit outdated resource, but still pretty good guidebook for the history of K-pop produced by the South Korean government agency in charge of cultural promotion.
• Wonseok Lee, “’This is How We Support K-pop Stars’: From Unilateral Support to Mutually Inspired Partnership,” Korean Journal of Popular Music 30 (2022) – PDF file below.
  • A latest academic research article on K-pop fan culture.
  • PDF File
• CedarBough Saeji et al., “Regulating the Idol: The Life and Death of a South Korean Popular Music Star,” The Asia-Pacific Journal 16:13 (2018)
  • Trigger warning: this article talks about suicides and may not be suitable for everyone) A hard-hitting report on the dark side of South Korean society where the youth suicide rate high, and in particular K-pop industry where performers (“idols”) are under constant pressure.

Slides from Presentation

• Kim_EASC_GFP_2022-23_Slides

Online resources:

• BTS Bookworm, BTS: By the Book
  • A podcast collection of various book chapters on the K-pop supergroup BTS.
  • Please pick a few episodes of your choice to listen to.
• BBC Four, K-pop Idols: Inside the Hit Factory (2019)
  • A BBC documentary on K-pop industry and culture.
• Hark-Joon Lee, 9 Muses of Star Empire (2012)
  • A fly-on-the-wall documentary on a K-pop girl group in the making; it’s ten years old but still rings true about the ruthlessness of the industry.
• BTS: The Odyssey of Seven Young Artists (Koreana) (2019)
  • Korean Culture & Arts Koreana Magazine special feature about BTS.

East Asia Background Material:

• East Asia Website Resources Link
• East Asia Padlet
• Gateway to Korea (Korea.net)
• Introduction to North and South Korea (slides)
• Lesson Plans about K-Pop:
  • K-Pop and what it tells me about Korea
  • Korean Pop Culture: K-Pop: More Than Just ”Gangnam Style”

• Jan. 25, 2023: Sijo Workshop: You Know Haiku, Now Try Sijo (6:00- 7:30pm ET, Online, Synchronous)
• Jan. 31, 2023: NCTA Workshop: Folding it into the Curriculum: Origami and STEAM in the K-12 Classroom (5:30 – 8:30pm ET, Online)
• Apr. 1, 2023 Deadline: Sijo Teacher Workshop (2 contact hours, Asynchronous)
• Apr. 1, 2023 Deadline: Ohio-Kentucky Sijo Student Competition (all K-12 students in Ohio and Kentucky, prizes for students, benefit for teacher of place winners)
• July 10-21, 2023: National Consortium for Teaching about Asia Seminar: Foundational Seminar: Exploring East Asia through Mind and Body (10am-1pm ET daily, M-F, 10 days, Online)
• July 17-21, 2023: Global Teacher Seminar 2023: Global Movement of Goods and People (1:30 – 4:30 ET, daily, M-F, 5 days, Online)