An Analysis of the Korean Wave as Transnational Popular Culture: North American Youth Engage Through Social Media as TV Becomes Obsolete

Abstract

This article explores the ways in which the new Korean Wave phenomenon is integrated into a social media–embedded cultural landscape in North America. By employing in-depth interviews with K-pop fans in Canada, it analyzes recent developments characterizing the Korean Wave in tandem with cultural industries in the age of social media. It discusses the increasing role of social media and changing media consumption habits among youth in Canada. It finally maps out why social media has contributed to the enhanced popularity of the transnational media culture produced in a non-Western region.