Theorizing the Korean Wave| Translational Audiences in the Age of Transnational K-Pop

Abstract

This article examines how overseas audiences of K-pop are not only the end users but also directly engage with the translation of the cultural flow. The audiences participate in linguistic translation and furthermore negotiate and re-decode the linguistically translated texts. Acknowledging that the reception of foreign cultural content is open to continued cross-cultural decoding by different stakeholders, including audience members as well as cultural intermediaries, this article focuses on transnational audiences’ engagement with two modes of cultural translation practices—producerly and semiotic translation. The article examines audiences’ experiences of cultural translation and the reconfiguration of audiencehood in the era of transnational digital media.