Towards a queer theory of the Korean Wave: Potentiality and paradox

Within this brief editorial introduction to our Special Issue on ‘Queering the Korean Wave’, we unpack just what it means to queer the theorization of Korean popular culture’s transnational circulation both politically and methodologically. We assert that a queer theory of the Korean Wave must always be grounded in a recognition of the paradox of the K-pop industry’s heteropatriarchal and homophobic tendencies while also celebrating the potential for fans to transform it into a resource for combatting heteronormativity through their creative fandom practices. Specifically reflecting on the spread of K-pop fandom among LGBTQ+ communities around the world – and especially in Asia – we ultimately emphasize that it is via fans’ active and transformative engagement with K-pop that queer emancipatory knowledge is produced, exploring how the queer potentials of K-pop are unlocked by fans as the genre spreads transnationally. Finally, while introducing the work of the Special Issue’s contributors, we discuss how a queer theory of the Korean Wave must also always be based in decolonial collaborative relationships which de-couple the generation of queer theory from its traditional centring within Western academic institutions.