Almost South–South solidarity: The frustration of K-pop fans (but not true fans) in South Africa

Abstract

This article illuminates the contours of digitalization in a less studied light of emotion. Based primarily on interviews of South African audiences consuming Korean digital creative contents, the research illustrates their affective responses, such as empathy and collective pride but also frustration. A particular focus goes to highly educated audiences characterized by the #RhodesMustFall movement in South Africa. Grounded in a theoretical framework which combines notions of distinction in cultural sociology and South–South solidarity in international relations, this study explains how K-pop fans in South Africa become holders of highbrow empathy trapped in the loop between digital connection and physical marginalization. In the hollow loop, South African audiences are distinctively invited to become fans yet prevented from advancing their own modes of cultural appropriation. While the international visibility of Korean creative contents may bring collective pride to fans in South Africa, they struggle to find their place in return.