Diasporic Korean Audiences of Hallyu in Vancouver, Canada

This study analyzes how diasporic audiences engage with the transnational flows of Korean media and popular culture (Hallyu). Drawing on in-depth interviews with young Korean Canadian audience members in Vancouver, this study examines the diasporic reception of Hallyu. While growing up, the young people in this study were exposed to Korean media and popular culture in their immigrant families. However, they gradually became selective and critical audiences of Hallyu, and negotiated their identities and socialities through consuming this transnational cultural trend. This study offers insights into how a transnational cultural form is incorporated into the lives of its young diasporic audiences who have grown up negotiating different cultures. The study also contributes to articulating a diasporic perspective in the existing studies of Hallyu.