Theorizing the Korean Wave| K(Q)ueer-Pop for Another World: Toward a Theorization of Gender and Sexuality in K-Pop

Authors

  • Jungmin Kwon Assistant Professor in the School of Film, Portland State University

Keywords:

K-pop, Korean music industry, queer, gender, sexuality, performance, performativity

Abstract

This article argues that the K-pop space, which on one level appears to be homogeneously cishetpatriarchal, actually encompasses multiple configurations of gender and sexual identity. Nonetheless, academic discussions about gender and sexuality in K-pop have been significantly weighted toward the idea of “soft masculinity” regarding male performers, thereby muffling other possible interpretations. I suggest a new term, K(Q)ueerness. It means the aesthetics, imaginations, practices, performances, and ideas of K-pop players sublate binaristic identifications, including masculinity and femininity and heterosexual and homosexual—as well as Butler’s distinction between performance and performativity—to embrace the multifarious expressions of gender and sexuality surrounding K-pop. This article aims to highlight diverse modalities of K(Q)ueerness and increase queer sensibility within the K-pop studies discipline and K-pop fan communities.

Author Biography

Jungmin Kwon, Assistant Professor in the School of Film, Portland State University

Dr. Jungmin Kwon is an Assistant Professor in the School of Film. Her research and teaching interests include film and digital media, gender and sexuality, entertainment industry, fan culture, and Korean film and media. Her work has been published in academic journals such as Television and New Media, International Journal of Communication and Journal of Fandom Studies.

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Published

2022-12-29

Issue

Vol. 17 (2023)

Section

Special Sections

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