• Date: November 29th, Tuesday, 2022, 12:00 – 13:40
• Online via Zoom [in English]

Presenter: Chuyun Oh (San Diego State University)
Discussants: Myoung-Sun Song (Illinois State Univ.), Chung-kang Kim (Hanyang Univ.)
Moderator: Wonjung Min (The Center for Hallyu Studies)

K-pop Dance: Fandoming Yourself on Social Media is the first book to discuss K-pop dance and the evolution of K-pop dance fandom on social media in North America. Based on the author’s 5 years of ethnographical field research with 40 amateur fans and professional K-pop dancers in New York, California, and Seoul, interviews, and her personal experience of choreographing and performing, the author traces the transformation of K-pop dance from the 1980s to 2020s. K-pop, which has settled to gestural point choreography in the 2020s, represents the characteristics of social media dance that emphasizes multidimensional and decorative upper arm movements and whimsical and colorful facial expressions. K-pop cover dance is performed by fans around the world, imitating the choreography, dance, facial expressions, and costumes of the original song and performance. It reflects the historically deeply rooted dance fandom and a style of intercultural communication. Dance is not distinguished from the dancer’s body. When fans imitate the dance of K-pop idols, they imitate and idolize their bodies so that eventually they arrive at ‘fandoming’ themselves and their bodies. This book is the first theoretical research material on K-pop dance and dance fandom which will be useful to students and researchers of K-pop dance, Hallyu popular culture studies, media studies, Korean studies, performance studies around dance, including topics such as dance survival programs, competitions, commercials, TikTok dance challenge, and the expansion of broadcasting dance departments.