Idol Or Ideal The Korean Pop Idol Through Critical Phenomenology

Reyes, J.E.S. (2018). Idol, or Ideal?: The Korean Pop Idol Through Critical Phenomenology, Unpublished Bachelor Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.

In the present global media landscape, with the ubiquity of technology and communities growing past the physical, cultures converge and diverge to recreate the international, but nonetheless, local. Situated in the context of global phenomena comes the ever-present “celebrity” that has developed in societies all over the world to be a valuable multifaceted entity in itself. This has led to the emergence of the “idol”, as such in the case of Korean Pop music as a genre that has perpetuated through various locales, including the Philippines.

This research aims to define the K-Pop idol as a phenomenon. With the use of critical phenomenology along with the use of grounded theory departing from Richard Dyer’s star theory, it examines methods, processes, and standards involved in the creation of the idol. With its analysis of mediated images and the context of South Korean values, it found that the idol is a celebrity or public individual that has been subjected to construction under an entertainment company and performs a role of performing music and images, while also being an entity reflective and negotiating of ideals and identities of audiences and fans that consume them.

Keywords: Hallyu, K-Pop, celebrity, idol, critical phenomenology, celebrification, star theory, grounded theory, cultural studies, production, fandom