ScholarWorks@중앙대학교

초록

This study explores the essence of political participation among 2030 female idol fans, who are considered leading agents of generational political change in South Korea after the 2024 martial law crisis. Employing participatory culture, political consumption, and civic imagination as theoretical frameworks, this qualitative research was conducted through in-depth interviews. The findings suggest that their political engagement can be understood as a process where experiences in the idol market are reapplied in a political context to positively influence society. Idol fans have developed their unique and humorous language and discourses using idol content, and have also engaged with social issues inside and outside the idol industry, advancing forms of resistance such as organized boycotts. Therefore, their political participation should not be viewed as a temporary trend or merely collective action at the fandom level. Instead, they are growing as individual citizens who actively express their beliefs and values to change societal structures, extending beyond the idol worldview to foster broad social relationships. This study's academic significance lies in its analysis of how idol fans, often dismissed as idol enthusiasts, in actively developing their engaged citizen identities through experiences within and across the idol industry's networks.

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