Pandemic to “Fandomic:” The Revival of Fandom Publics in the Digital Space of Latin American K-Pop Fandom

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus has changed our daily lives dramatically, driving us to spend time in the virus-free digital world, providing an imagined community in which we can be reborn. In this study, I highlight an interesting intersection of three phenomena in virtual spaces the culturally hybrid content of the Korean Wave, or Hallyu;participatory culture of fandom;and a new kind of public defined by emotion. I show how Hallyu fandom becomes a fandom public using digital media by exploring the voluntary practices of Chilean fans in the production of the 2018 KBS Music Bank World Tour in Chile. Chilean K-pop fans form a Latin American fandom community in a digital space where they act as a fandom public based on affective intimacy, thereby influencing wider society. This finding offers insights to determine the capabilities of Hallyu fandom as a public. © 2022 Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies.