Global love / national hatred: the phenomenon of K-pop in Turkey

Abstract

This article explores the love and fandom of a widespread global popular culture phenomenon in a national context, that is, Korean pop music (K-pop) and its broad appeal among Turkish youth. Recently, K-pop fandom - which extends to the love of Korean TV series, language, and culture - has been discussed in conservative Turkish media as an "alarming" trend growing in popularity among adolescents. This article examines how Turkish K-pop fans express their emotional involvement and love for the music on social media - mainly on Twitter and on YouTube. The questions that this article poses are the following: How are emotional connections formed through popular culture in the Global South-Global South axis? Do these global bonds surpass national feelings? What is the language used to communicate love for the global phenomenon? What tensions does love for a global product generate in a context of increasing xenophobic and militarist tendencies?