On Bangtan Remixed: A Critical BTS Reader

Abstract

The volume’s introduction begins by presenting and describing the K-Pop idol group BTS, their performance styles, and the multiplicity of their stage, screen, and “real life” identities. Situating their emergence as the world’s preeminent K-pop musical group, the introduction discusses the roots and musical traditions that have shaped the emergence of K-Pop and BTS’s place in the idol pantheon. It provides historical context for the development of youth culture in South Korea that coincides and fuels the rise of Hallyu, or the Korean Wave. The introduction also tracks the development of the K-Pop idol system and industry practices, including its roots in Japan. The introduction also contextualizes the issues of race and anti-Blackness in K-Pop within a complex regional colonial history and South Korea’s fraught relationship with the United States. Finally, the introduction provides an overview of the book’s structure and contents.