Running head: A FEMINIST POLITICAL ECONOMY 1

Literature Review

The Korean music has been influential to the fans leading to the creation of K-pop

culture. That culture has expanded the feminist debate inside and outside the K-pop context

leading to some fans appreciating feminist views while others oppose it. Several misconceptions

of feminism are common in such debates revealing that the fans are still learning about feminism

but they are yet to understand it fully. Kim (2017) posits that during the performance, feminist

fans criticize anti-feminist content while on the contrary; the anti-feminist fans object the

feminist views whereby they criticize members of the bands who are regarded as anti-feminist.

Outside the K-pop context, several women discuss men who are against feminism and label them

as gay (Kim, 2017). Such aspect illustrates the level of misconceptions in the society regarding

the idea of feminism. Some may bring in the idea of sexual orientation which is irrelevant in

feminism. However, despite the misconceptions that surround the issue, the influence of K-

popping is profound in its fans.

The influence of the K-popping on the fans has expanded their influence and practices in

the society. The K-pop has created a culture that gradually alienates its fans from the mainstream

of the Korean culture. Its impact is often undervalued but research reveals that the chanting and

singing associated with K-popping reveal the voices of the female fans on the issue of feminism

(Kim, 2017). The fans engage in music-oriented practices and build different subcultures. They

engage in feminism fandom whereby they participate in the feminist discourse surrounding the

K-popping while participating in political activities through the fandom. Therefore, it is evident

that the K-pop culture has political and economic impressions (Kim, 2017). The beauty of K-pop

is not unique since it connects with both the old and new as well as the local and the global.

Accordingly, the culture to some extent promotes feminist ideas and to another extent, it
connects with the mainstream Korean culture. It is evident that the K-pop industry has led to the

emancipation of the popular ideal of the female subjectivity that influences the perceptions and

behavior of the girls substantially. That element has been made possible by the diversity in the

production values that entail choreography, fashionable outfits, slick music videos and catchy

songs (Kim, 2018). The models act as idols to the young girls who in turn borrow certain values.

Furthermore, the fans have adopted a feminist political economy framework that is

supported by the media. The media has been vocal in promoting a feminist political economic

perspective by encouraging women to make investments (Lee, 2014). The Korean society is

patriarchal since time immemorial and the roles of women have always been limited to bringing

up children and carrying out the household chores. With such attitudes, women remain

underrepresented in higher ranks either in political matters or in administration elements.

However, Lee (2014), popular media inspires women to participate in the financial market in an

effort to solve the problems they encounter in the male-dominated society. Additionally, the

media studies necessitate women to commodity financial information. Essentially, they can

achieve that factor by embracing brand differentiation, multi-platform delivery and creating

niche markets. Similarly, the media studies enlighten women on how to promote the

consumption of commodities by engaging in production and reproduction at the household level,

in transnational corporations and financial markets (Lee, 2014).

Equally important, a feminist political economic approach to communication reveals

how feminist ideas by several women to eliminate the inequality in the society. The approach

unearths how gendered production, distribution, and consumption of goods and resources and the

ideology of feminism is used as a means of stabilizing social relations (Lee, 2011). Studies

acknowledge that there are unbalanced power relations between men and women. The feminist
political economic perspective necessitates for the state and International bodies such as the UN

should advocate for an information society that favors neoliberal capitalism. Therefore it is

essential to engage the civil society in such discussions (Lee, 2008). The impacted changes

together with the societal transformation influence the improvement of women in the public

arena. Organizations started by women are essential in that they advance gender equality and

women’s policies mainly from the late 1990s when they began to participate in the Korean state

(Kim, 2013). Nevertheless, it is evident that more efforts are required to ensure a sustained

progress. The increasing levels of education among the Korean women over time have exposed

them to the ideas of gender equality and feminism. The concept of feminism has been involved

in policy agenda setting and policy formation through participation in legislative politics

currently. The participation of females in structuring the government policies has impacted

positive changes on the Korean women as they undertake efforts to mobilize the general public

for their cause.

 References

Chun, J. (2014). Introduction: gender and politics in contemporary Korea. Journal of Korean

Studies, 19(2), 245-255.

Kim, G. (2018). K-pop female idols as cultural genre of patriarchal neoliberalism: A gendered

nature of developmentalism and the structure of feeling/experience in contemporary

Korea. Telos, (184), 185.

Kim, J. (2017). K-popping: Korean women, K-pop, and fandom. UC Riverside. Retrieved from

https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5pj4n52q

Kim M. (2013). Women's Political Participation in Korea. World Academy of Science,

Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol:7,

No:6.

Lee, M. (2008). A feminist political economic understanding of the relations between state,

market and civil society from Beijing to Tunis. International Journal of Media and

Cultural Politics, 4(2), 221-240.

Lee, M. (2011). A feminist political economy of communication. Feminist Media Studies, 11(1),

83-87.

Lee, M. (2014). A feminist political economic critique of women and investment in the popular

media. Feminist Media Studies, 14(2), 270-285.