Guide to Popular Media
Guide to Popular Media, a four-part lecture series, focused on the paradoxical potential of popular media to offer both a means of escape from reality and a way to intervene in it. The series also explored changes brought about by the emergence of new media and technologies, including the diversification of voices and perspectives, and the expansion of audiences.
In the first session, “The K-pop Industry and Fandom Culture: K-pop Natives”, Bokgil, organizer of the K-pop DJ event ‘Sad K-pop Party’, and popular music critic Kim Yoonha discussed the current position of K-pop as both a space of immersive fantasy and a firmly grounded social reality. Drawing on their experiences as both insiders and consumers of the K-pop scene, the speakers delved into specific topics such as the evolution of the K-pop industry and fandom culture, and the complex negotiations consumers undertake between idols, the industry, and broader societal dynamics.
The second session, “Navigating Back and Forth Between Reality and Fantasy”, featured science fiction writer Bo-young Kim
, who explored the spatiotemporal universality of fantasy literature, its capacity to create critical distance, its imaginative engagement with the marginalized, and the reinvention of classical narrative forms.
The third session, “On the Edge of Escape: The Mediascape Created by Contents Lab Vivo”, invited cultural studies scholar Hyekyong Sim to examine the trajectory of comedian Song Eun-i’s Content Lab VIVO. The session explored the diverse forms of pleasure offered by alternative variety programming produced through this platform.
The fourth session, “Sitcom Euratpapa: Yeonbunhong TV’s Journey Towards Diverse Entertainment”, featured director and activist Kim Il Rhan, who discussed Eurach Papa, Korea’s first queer family sitcom produced by Pink TV—a YouTube channel run by the LGBTQ+ rights collective Pink Factory. The session explored the potential of entertainment content and platforms to reshape sociocultural landscapes, while also reflecting on the challenges that lie ahead.
