WILAYAH: The International Journal of East Asian Studies

INTERMEDIALITY IN FANDOM CULTURE: THE IMPACT OF BTS ON KOREAN LITERATURE READING HABITS: FOCUSING ON INDONESIAN ARMY

Nining Setyaningsih — 2024-03-31

Fandom forms cultural spaces where audiences unite. This article introduces fan activities influenced by idols, discussed and shared in affinity spaces. It offers a theoretical framework, focusing on BTS fandom (ARMY) reading habits in Korean literature. This model highlights content intermediality's importance in analyzing media content within fandom culture. Using content analysis and digital
ethnography methods, this study examines Indonesian ARMY fandom through the @IARC_twt twitter account. Results reveal productive reading activities within the Indonesian BTS ARMY fandom, including build reading habit through sub community in twitter, transmedia storytelling through idol reading lists, and hashtag-sharing. These activities also promote books related to BTS album themes and Korean literature to the public. Furthermore, the article explores the positive impact within fandom culture and conceptualizes a productive fandom model.

BTS’S MAGICAL SPELL IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: THE POISONED CHALICE OF FREEDOM THAT I SWALLOWED KNOWINGLY

Kwangsik Kim — 2024-03-31

The question this paper aims to address is whether we can find a philosophical message for the age of artificial intelligence in the songs of BTS. The research objective of this paper is to show that we can find a philosophical message for the age of artificial intelligence in the songs of BTS. The research method of this paper is to first find a philosophical message for the era of artificial intelligence through Yuval Harari's book Homo Deus, then analyze the lyrics of BTS's song "Blood Sweat and Tears" based on the message, find a philosophical message for the era of artificial intelligence contained in the song, and support the philosophical message with Nietzsche's Philosophy of the Superhuman. The research finding of this paper is that we can find a philosophical message for the era of artificial intelligence through the song "Blood, Sweat & Tears" by BTS, which can also be supported by Nietzsche's Philosophy of the Superhuman. The message is: "Swallow the poisoned chalice of freedom, even though you know it's
poisoned!". The conclusion that can be drawn from this finding is that the humanity that needs to be renewed in the age of AI is Homo sapiens, who thinks for himself. It is not AI-recommended Hommo Sapiens, not AI represented Homo Sapiens, but Self-deciding free Homo Sapiens, a free human who wanders, crosses over, thinks and decides for oneself.

THE PSEUDO HAPPINESS AS SONG STRATEGY’S SIMULACRA VERSUS PANOPTIC: BTS’S SONGS AND BTS MEMBERS

Fitria Angeliqa — 2024-03-31

The reflections of joy in the lyrics are part of the singer's message tactic in his songs. Even so, with the overall packaging of the singer's appearance. The problem is when world-class singers sing self-motivating songs for their listeners, at the same time, life's troubles become familiar to the singer. Many articles also reported how severe depression, mental health, and suicide occurred in the lives of
these artists. Demi Lovato, Shia, and Ariana Grande are some Western artists claiming to have experienced mental health problems. In the ranks of Korean artists, names such as Twice Jeongyeon, AOA Kwon Mina, HyunA, Red Velvet Wendy, and Super Junior Heechul are artists who have also experienced mental health problems and severe depression. The same thing happened to the BTS members. RM and Suga are two members who have admitted to experiencing depression and seeing life as an uphill struggle. This study aims to describe how BTS songs with the theme 'Love yourself' do not reflect the lives of BTS members under strict agency rules and fans' supervision. Ultimately, the theme of 'love yourself' is just a simulation strategy that generates 'false joy' for the members but has a substantial economic impact on the agency. This study uses the concepts of simulacra, panopticon, and duality reflection. At the same time, the research method is qualitative, with document study as a data collection technique. The unit of analysis is the text, namely the BTS song lyrics with the theme 'love yourself' and media reports about the members' lives. These two data are then compared and produce a simulacra picture because there is no reflection on what is being sung and what the members are experiencing. A life full of surveillance from fans and companies removes the privacy boundaries of the members who are – in the end – just a commodity for business turnover. It is where the irony occurs. The pseudo happiness experienced by these members generated many economic benefits for the agency. Increasing the number of listeners, purchasing merchandise, selling concert tickets, traffic on social media, and brand endorsements are essential aspects that can be monetized by the agency, which accompanies the fame of the songs sung by BTS. While living without romantic relationships, solitude, and loneliness, the prohibition of direct interaction via social media with fans are some things that fence off the members' lives and make them even more alienated from social life.

TRANSITIONING FROM THE STAGE TO THE BARRACKS: EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF MILITARY SERVICE ON BTS ARMY’S CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Franchesca Nicole Collantes — 2024-03-31

BTS’ loyal fandom exists in the Philippines despite the geographic disparity and the language barrier and they have developed a fanatical attitude towards the group. All "able-bodied men" in South Korea, including members of BTS, are required to serve in the military for two years. This study seeks to examine the effect of the inactivity of BTS on Filipino ARMY but might have the intention to switch to other K-pop groups to idolize. The study is anchored in the Expectation Disconfirmation Theory and mainly employed a quantitative design. The results showed that Filipino ARMY’s Expectation and Hedonistic Consumption have a significant effect on Disconfirmation. Emotional Attachment was added as a moderating variable, and results showed that it has a significant moderating effect between Disconfirmation and Switching Intention. The study will benefit marketers as the results can give insights on how to sustain brand loyalty.

GOING BEYOND GEO-CULTURAL PROXIMITIES: DISCOVERY OF CULTURE PATTERNS AND MALAYSIAN BTS FANDOM

Yuslinda Mat Yassin — 2024-03-31

The recent global success of K-pop can be attributed to innovative communication strategies, characterized as fan-based, new media- driven, transnational flow approaches reaching out to fans. This study analyzes textual communication and interactions within the online communication of BTS’ fans through Malaysia’s ARMY official Twitter account @BTSMY_ARMY. It also aims to discover fandom activities emerging from this online communication. Through virtual ethnography and quantitative content analysis of 401 tweets, this research identified five distinct cultural patterns that unite Malaysian BTS fans: 1) Fan Account and Fandom Culture, 2) Streaming Parties and Charting Activities, 3) Creation of Fanart and Graphic Edits, 4) Bilingual Communication and 5) Fan Projects and Supportive Initiatives. It can be concluded that these culture patterns are used as a basis for online interaction, engagement, and knowledge sharing among Malaysian BTS fandom, despite linguistic and cultural differences, transcending geographical divides and going beyond geo-cultural proximities.

LOVE YOURSELF: A SUCCESSFUL TRENDING CAMPAIGN IN BUILDING SELF-ACCEPTANCE OF BTS ARMY

Nurul Hamizah Mohamed — 2024-03-31

A person can experience a lot of exchange in feelings, different emotions, relationships, loves, and many more throughout their growth. Some of us face failures, traumatic experiences, and downtime that create anxious minds of feeling unworthy and hopeless. Having a role model has been agreed to be helpful in the character development of human beings. In other words, idols affect the admirer’s choices in life matters. Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS), a seven-member boy band from South Korea, stood up at United Nations in 2018 and spoke about their support for self-love to increase child esteem. However, this campaign is not only successful in being delivered to children but also to youngsters and adults. This effort has greatly impacted their 90 million worldwide fans to be aware of their worth, proud of their own, accept their flaws, and respect differences. In a survey on BTS ARMY, 90% of the participating fans agreed to support the artist until today because they can feel the positive energy from BTS. Even though most of the songs in the albums are made in the Korean language, ARMY understands and can feel the message of the songs clearly. They can react and relate the songs easily to their situation. Fans also gain motivation from speeches, advice, or even idols' characters. The slogan of LOVE YOURSELF is very straightforward and adaptable to be a value in human lives.

CENTRAL ASIA PLUS JAPAN DIALOGUE: ITS ROLE IN JAPAN’S STRATEGY IN CENTRAL ASIA

Olga Dobrinskaya — 2024-03-31

The article researches the Central Asia and Japan Dialogue (CAJ) which was established in 2004 with the aim of fostering intraregional integration and increasing Japan’s role in the region. It analyses the role it plays in Japan’s strategy in Central Asia, in the way it contributes to the realisation of Japan’s foreign policy goals towards the region. In almost 20 years CAJ has become a permanent
framework for discussions which combines official dialogue and informal track and covers wide spectrum of issues, from political agenda to development assistance. CAJ has become instrumental in outlining the areas of practical cooperation although it did not lead to full scale economic integration of the countries of the region. CAJ is an important venue for discussing security agenda as well as maintaining Japan’s engagement in the issues of Afghanistan. Political agenda of CAJ has been restrained as it reflects Japan’s awareness of the close relationship of the Central Asian states with China and Russia, however, in times when Japan’s relations with China and Russia are characterized by a certain level of tensions, Tokyo tends to use CAJ to gain CA supports vis-à-vis these states. . Global issues are less controversial and are usually discussed multilaterally.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SSW NO.2 RESIDENCY STATUS: A CASE STUDY OF CHINESE MIGRANT WORKERS IN JAPAN

Sabrina Nur Raudha — 2024-03-31

Approaching five years since the issuance of unlimited residency status for foreign workers in the 3K job sector, the acquisition of Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) No.2 status in Japan remains considerably below the government's anticipated target. This research aims to analyze the opportunities of SSW No.2 residency status for foreign workers, focusing on the case study of Chinese migrant workers from the dual labor market theory perspective. The research employs a qualitative approach with data collection conducted through literature sources. The findings reveal that, thus far, SSW No.2 status is predominantly held by Chinese migrant workers. However, the opportunities for foreign workers to obtain this status are notably limited due to a complex and challenging acquisition process. Employment in the secondary market accompanying this status requires foreign workers with skills equivalent to local workers. Aside from the benefit of bringing one's family, this status seems to offer no other long-term appeal. An urgent reevaluation of the procedures for obtaining SSW No.2 status is deemed necessary as a long-term solution to address the labor crisis in Japan.

MIGRATION DECISION-MAKING OF INDONESIAN WOMEN MARRIED TO JAPANESE MEN

Trivinia Athina Sari — 2024-03-31

The increasing intensity of interaction between Indonesian and Japanese nationals in the tourism and industrial sectors has led to an increase in international marriages between Indonesian women and Japanese men. This paper explores the migration decision-making factors of Indonesian women who married Japanese men. This qualitative study was done by conducting in-depth interviews in 2023 with Indonesian migrant women who met their spouses in Indonesia and currently living in Japan. We examine the push factors from Indonesia and pull factors from Japan that inform the decision-making of migration. The main pull factor for migrating to Japan is the economic factor where men who are the breadwinners of the family can optimally provide for the family by working in their home country. Although Indonesian migrant women lose the support system of their extended family, it turns out they find new comfort in being away from their extended family in Indonesia.

KESAN KONTEKS SEJARAH DAN PEMIKIRAN KONFUSIANISME DINASTI CHOSON TERHADAP NILAI DAN NORMA KONTEMPORARI KOREA SELATAN

Soo Kee Tan — 2024-03-31

Dari tahun 1392 hingga tahun 1910, Konfusianisme merupakan ideologi pemerintahan kerajaan Choson di Korea. Semasa zaman revolusioner ini, prinsip Konfusianisme mempunyai kesan yang besar terhadap sistem sosial, budaya dan pendidikan negara. Artikel ini meneroka pengaruh berterusan falsafah Konfusian terhadap budaya Korea Selatan kontemporari. Konfusianisme telah diterima pakai oleh dinasti sebagai kerangka moral dan intelek yang terkemuka, dan ini mempunyai kesan yang mendalam terhadap hubungan keluarga, kehidupan seharian dan sistem pemerintahan negara. Tradisi Choson menerima pakai prinsip Konfusian iaitu berbakti kepada ibu bapa dan etika kerja yang kukuh, yang masih jelas dalam hubungan keluarga moden dan tempat kerja Korea Selatan. Sebagaimana dilihat tradisi akademik Konfusian bertahan dan bagaimana hierarki masyarakat telah berkembang menjadi idea kesetaraan dan peluang, ia menunjukkan bagaimana Korea Selatan telah dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan nilai semasa sambil mengekalkan asas sejarahnya. Sebagai komponen utama hubungan antara Dinasti Choson dan Korea Selatan moden, artikel ini mempamerkan kepentingan pendidikan yang berterusan, didorong oleh sikap meritokrasi. Artikel ini juga melihat bagaimana amalan budaya–daripada budaya popular hingga kepada makanan–mempamerkan kapasiti luar biasa Korea Selatan untuk menggabungkan inovasi dengan tradisi. Warisan sejarah ini menunjukkan bahawa budaya adalah dinamik dan fleksibel, membantu tamadun mengharungi kerumitan masa kini dalam masa yang sama masih menyedari akar sejarah mereka.

IKIGAI AMONG JAPANESE

Noor Syahirah Sazali — 2024-03-31

Ikigai is a combination of "iki" (生き), signifying life, and "kai" (甲斐), representing the realization of expectations and hopes. The emergence of this concept has proven to significantly contribute to a better lifestyle. This study aimed to explore the perception of personal ikigai and its institutionalisation. The results from the analysis of 5400 Japanese articles using Leximancer have shown a positive correlation between ikigai and one's personal passions, meaning, and purpose. Beyond that, ikigai can also be perceived through contributing to others' well-being. The study reveals ikigai's dynamic adaptability to life's challenges and its role in prompting a reevaluation of life purpose during significant events. This adaptive quality emphasises the resilience and relevance of ikigai in navigating the complexities of existence. Finally, institutions and community initiatives do help in fostering ikigai within communities.