K-pop, Social Networks, Gender Representation: The Problem of Presentation and Perception (The Case of BTS)

Abstract

Over the past ten years, Korean pop culture has gained enormous popularity around the world. The Boy Band BTS is one of the brightest representatives of this culture. The BTS fandom (ARMY) has about 90 million people around the world, most of which are teenagers and young people. Musical creativity and non-concert activities of the group broadcasted through social networks significantly affect BTS listeners’ perceptions of a wide range of issues, including those related to gender relations. Although there are a lot of research papers devoted to the phenomenon of BTS both in South Korea and abroad the gender aspects of this topic have not yet been studied. The purpose of the article is to analyze the gender representation contained in BTS songs and the nature of gender perception by BTS fans in the process of network communication between the boy band and the fans. The method of qualitative analysis of documents (lyrics of songs) was used and an analysis of a case related to a discussion on the network about one of the songs of BTS, which users rated as misogynistic, was carried out. Research results. Social networks are the key channel for interaction between BTS and their fans. Equally important, fans are not merely an object, but also a subject of communication, they play a huge role in the promotion of the group in the network space. In terms of gender representation, BTS songs can be subdivided into three groups: songs with a discriminatory presentation of gender relations, those with an egalitarian presentation, and songs that do not address gender representation. The third group makes up the absolute majority in the work of the boy band, since BTS focuses on universal problems that are equally important to both girls and boys. The discussion on the song “Joke” taken place in 2015–2016 showed that today fans have real means of controlling the content of the group’s songs and in order to maintain their popularity BTS songwriters need to avoid misogyny. Fans therefore are becoming a deterrent to the spread of discriminatory gender representation in the work of the group, strengthening the group’s positive influence on its fans, including in promoting gender equality. This applies not only to BTS, but to other K-pop groups as well.

Keywords

• popular culture
• soft power
• misogyny
• hallyu
• south korea
• feminism
• music fanaticism