These studies call into question the earlier research conclusion that Confucianism is the most important factor in determining cultural proximity in Korean Wave. Aside from that, Malaysian K-pop fans are said to adhere to Korean beauty standards while K-beauty-a term that refers to skincare and cosmetics products that originated in South Korea has grown to become a huge craze among locals (Cheong, Citation2019). Malaysia was also ranked fifth in terms of tourist arrivals in Korea, trailing Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand (Kim & Ryoo, Citation2007). Alanzalon ( Citation2011) discovered in his research that approximately 80% of Malaysian respondents began learning the Korean language due to a deep interest in Korean culture. This is supported by the fact that Korean food chains are gaining popularity in Malaysia, with high interest and demand even among Muslim Malaysians (Buang et al., Citation2018). ( Citation2020) revealed that one of the prominent themes of Korean Wave discourse on social media in Malaysia is the interest in Korean food in Korean dramas. In Malaysia, it seems well established that the Korean or Hallyu wave has flourished in a lot of aspects of Malaysian lives, and this depicted the surging of Malaysian acceptance of Korean popular culture in society. The concept of soft power was first introduced by Joseph Nye who suggests that soft power is the state’s ability to “charm” other participants in the global political process, to demonstrate the attractiveness of its own culture, political values, and foreign policy (Valieva, Citation2018). Whereas hard power such as military, war, and authoritarian regimes cannot be used to win over people, the Korean government uses soft power through diplomatic means to influence world audiences. This success is facilitated by the use of soft power and cultural diplomacy by the Korean government (Ganghariya & Kanozia, Citation2020). The involvement of global fans in the idol industry resulted in K-pop becoming South Korea’s number one cultural export. Today, BTS-the currently most popular K-pop group, alone contributed 3.6 billion dollars to South Korea’s GDP in 2018 (Suntikul, Citation2019). The prevalence of K-pop on various media platforms in Malaysia has made it easy for locals to gain access to this particular genre. They also revealed although the entry of the Korean wave to Malaysia is rather late compared to other countries and the initial response was rather unfavourable, Malaysians have accepted the Korean Wave faster, in fact, “more aggressively”, especially in the 2010s. It started in Malaysia and other Southeast Asia countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam in the late 1990s (Suh et al., Citation2010). The term “Hallyu” or Korean Wave refers to Korean popular culture products such as drama, music, and movies, as well as food, cosmetics, and animations (Ganghariya & Kanozia, Citation2020). This study demonstrates that fans are part of a participatory culture in which they actively create and produce media content and give them a social role in their respective fandoms. ![]() Purposive and snowball sampling were used to collect the sample for this study. Researchers conducted a semi-structured in-depth interview with eight participants to learn about their fan experiences. ![]() They also engage in fan activities as they are members of various K-pop fandoms-communities built around a shared enjoyment and interest towards K-pop groups or idols. ![]() In this study, a K-pop fan is defined as someone who commits to a one-sided relationship with K-pop idols and develops an intimate attachment to them. This study is particularly interested in examining how K-pop fans’ participatory culture help unleash an individual’s talent. The rapid rise of the Korean wave in Malaysia has also prompted academics to seek a better understanding of this phenomenon. The Korean wave or Hallyu wave has flourished in many aspects of Malaysian lives, demonstrating Malaysian’s acceptance of Korean popular culture in society.
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