As part of KPK’s decennial year, we are launching K-pop Commons, a repository of K-pop project ephemera – documents and artifacts that were not created for formal publication or commercial display (e.g., books, book chapters, galleries/exhibitions), but that are meaningful to the creators of the items and that reflect the impact of K-pop on those who know it best: fans. 

Doing Hallyu

One of the great things about why We Do Hallyu is our commitment to supporting, gathering, organizing, and disseminating nascent, emerging, and established scholarship and research on various facets of Korean popular culture, including, but not limited to music (all genres), media (mostly television, and including digital-born and internet communication channels (e.g., YouTube, websites)) and film.

We not only cover these areas of development and their tangible and intangible results, but how these outputs have evolved and impacted the economic, political, and social landscapes of the global places and communities where they have landed. Our work serves as a verifiable and trusted reminder of where K-pop originates and offers a balanced path for the curious to see where it may be going – a crucial necessity as consumers struggle with information evaluation and verification in the age of economic, political, and social polarization. Our efforts represent public scholarship and the creation and dissemination of knowledge without paywalls that build understanding and foster grounded discussion with the public.

The methodology of KPK’s collaborative work is grounded in Digital Humanities, which, at its core, is a democratic praxis centering the ideals of Communities of Practice. This methodology and its associated ideals align very well with our identity as aca-fans. As academics, we recognize and practice the rigor and rationale of formal research. As K-pop fans, we respect the knowledge of experience and close, consistent exposure to and relationships with like-minded communities.  In short: we value ways of knowing from those who know – whether that knowledge is formal or informal. After a decade of this work, we reaffirm commitment to our documentation efforts with our newest project: The K-pop Commons. 

We Do Hallyu…And Fans Do Too

K-pop Commons is open to submissions from K-pop FANS! We want to curate your stuff! That paper you wrote for your English class? We want it. The poster you presented at a conference? We want it. The video you created that compares the technical vocal skills of Jonghyun and Park Hyo Shin? Yes, please, and thank you! The website you made documenting the fashion styles and related influences of 1st and 2nd generation female Kpop groups? Yes, we’ll catalog that, too.

Your work will be documented and organized so people can find and credit your efforts as a creator of original, scholarly work that reflects the global impact of Korean popular culture. You’ll see your work connected to the efforts of other K-pop fans. Most importantly, K-pop Commons visitors – and you – will have a better understanding of how your work impacts the development and growth of Hallyu.

Items appropriate for submission to the K-pop Commons include, but are not limited to:

• • Conference posters and/or presentations
  • Course or class research papers, essays, infographics, etc.
  • Websites

Published books, book chapters, journal articles, theses, and dissertations are not appropriate for the K-pop Commons. If you are an author of a work that has been formally published, let us know so it can be added to our working bibliographies. Additionally, fanservice items (fan fiction, fan art, cover dance videos, etc.) will not be considered for K-pop Commons submission.

Items submitted to the K-pop Commons will be under the most restrictive Creative Commons (CC) license (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs /CC BY-NC-ND) unless the submitter requests another CC licence. Learn about CC Licenses. Items will generate a “permanent” link for wayfinding. A citation will be provided for each submission.

To submit your work, complete the K-pop Commons Submission Form.

We Do Hallyu. (So Do You).