The Korean Wave (Hallyu) and Its Cultural Translation by Fans in Qatar

Authors

  • Saadia Izzeldin Malik Qatar University

Keywords:

popular culture, fandom, Arab, transcultural, affinities, identity

Abstract

This study employs in-depth qualitative interviews with Arab fans of Korean popular culture who live in Qatar to examine their cultural translation of Korean TV drama and K-pop music. It uses a transcultural approach to fandom studies, rather than foregrounding nationality as an analytic category. It focuses on fans’ appropriations of these cultural texts in relation to their affinities, feelings, emotions, and accumulations of cultural capital used to negotiate their consumption of Korean popular culture. This article identifies emotions of frustration and fascination as central to these fans’ transnational media engagement. It thereby shows that affinity is a central concern for research on transcultural receptions of non-Western cultures by non-Western audiences.

Author Biography

Saadia Izzeldin Malik, Qatar University

Dr. Saadia Izzeldin Malik is an Assistant Professor in Mass Communication at the Department of Mass Communication, Qatar University. She earned her PhD in Communication from Ohio University and earned two Master Degrees. A Master Degree in Women Studies from the Institute of Social Studies, the Hague, the Netherlands and a Master Degree in African Studies, Ohio University. Dr. Malik’s primary research interest includes: women and media, popular culture, political economy of mass communication, migration and diaspora studies, media ethics, and global/international communication. Dr. Malik has published in reputable journals such as: Media Culture & Society, Intellectual Discourse, Diaspora Studies, and  Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration. Dr. Malik served as a chair of the department of Mass Communication, Qatar University from 2009-2011

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Published

2019-11-14

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Section

Articles