Consuming K-Pop in Chile in a Digital Age
The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Latin American Studies, 2026
저자: Benjamin M. Han(인디애나 대학교), Wonjung Min(아시아연구소), Dal Yong Jin(사이먼 프레이저 대학교)
This chapter provides an overview of the interaction between K-pop fandom and digital activism in Chile. While digital platforms, especially social media, have played a critical role in the circulation and reception of K-pop in Chile, the chapter illustrates the dynamic interplay between the global and the local. As K-pop has emerged as a legitimate form of global popular culture in Chile, fans have used digital media platforms to engage in various forms of political activism, as evidenced during the Chilean presidential election in 2021 and in protests against the racialization of Koreans in a comedy sketch on the TV channel Mega. These forms of digital activism highlight how fans have played an instrumental role in the propagation of K-pop as a global cultural phenomenon, while also illustrating how digital intimacy materializes in physical spaces. These spaces become intimate sites of social gathering, bodily performance, community building, and activism, where fans experience K-pop as a lived and embodied experience.
