K-pop Reader

The K-pop Reader examines how digital technologies and artificial intelligence are transforming gender representation, fandom, performance, and cultural production in K-pop.Bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives on digital mediation and cross-cultural exchange, the collection investigates how emerging technologies reshape posthuman aesthetics, authenticity, labor, and virtual embodiment while raising ethical questions surrounding deepfakes, digital afterlives, intellectual property, and the use of artists’ voices and likenesses. Case studies - including PLAVE, MAVE:, Rozy Oh, AI covers, and digitally mediated fan communities - illuminate the evolving relationships among human performers, virtual bodies, technology, and fans. Ultimately, the collection considers how technological innovation both challenges and reinforces existing understandings of gender while emphasizing the continuing importance of human creativity, vulnerability, and affective connection.This book is ideal for students and researchers in media studies, gender and sexuality studies, popular music, Korean studies, and digital culture, particularly those interested in transnational fandom and AI’s role in creative industries.