This chapter surveys various forms of identification with and consumption of K-pop idol celebrity and youth culture, from reactions on video logs to K-pop music videos, to theorize the particular forms of vicarious experience that bind K-pop idols to their fans and fans to each other. Vicarity relies on the ubiquitous reflexivity that defines social media platforms as sites of subject formation via media production and consumption. Social media participation constitutes an immersive, everyday form of meta-media, by which vicarious substitution through the consumption of vlogs/reactions induces acutely affective experiences of identification. Vicarious media seem to suggest a proxy for politics as an expression of collective sentiment – the ways in which media platforms bridge the private and the public through the increasingly complex arena of the social. Yet traditional modes of political organizing, remain recognizable in the activities of fan collectives. This chapter thus articulates how K-pop sheds light on the contradictory impulses for intense individuation – through the atomized personas overdetermined by social media and the vlog form – and the corresponding longing for ideals of collective agency and community that we see across multiple nodes of media consumption.

Singing along has aided songs to gain wide geographic distribution and popularity. In the case of K-pop, singing along is hampered by the lack of language skills. However, a key component of K-pop’s success has been the visual – music videos that feature beautiful stars and trending fashions – and, perhaps most of all, a prominent dance component. Fans from around the world have been moved to interact with K-pop by substituting dancing along for singing along. The barrier to participation is low – cover dancers benefit from a song and choreography created by other artists. While some dancers only practice, without uploading videos or performing, others attract viewers to private subscriptions for access to full videos and interactions with the dancers. Fans perform dances for crowds, upload them online, enter cover contests, and even develop new careers. They can become quite well known, their videos drawing millions of views. Just like the K-pop idols, the Korean government supports these activities. This chapter outlines the variety of cover dance activities, investigates the motivations of cover dancers using interview data, discusses the implications for cultural diplomacy, outlines the economy of K-pop cover dance, and touches on the ways it contributes to learning about Korea.