POP TALK: How the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Conquered the West

How the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Conquered the West: a Social Ethnographic Analysis of BTS and Korean Popular Music

In 2017, they dethroned Justin Bieber as the Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards In 2018, they addressed the United Nations on behalf of the youth of the world, and in 2019, they became the first band in history since the Beatles to have three number one albums in one year. What is it about Korean Pop boy band, BTS, that made them the exception to the long-ignored rule of Asian representation in the West?

Entering into an age of Hallyu “Mega-Sized,” the Korean Wave has evolved from niche popular culture to globalized phenomenon. BTS’s meteoric and historic success in western markets, recruiting legions of fans worldwide, has ignited conversations of modern orientalism, xenophobia, and the construction of celebrity. This lecture will encourage all who attend to engage in these conversations, as well as discussions regarding hybridized fan culture (including fan rituals, material culture, and a touch of primatology), femininity/masculinity, and how New England had a direct impact on Korean history.

This is a FREE EVENT, please RSVP on Eventbrite.

Join us for this “Pop Talk,” a new public discourse series at the Loring Greenough House, on Saturday, February 29 at 2 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

Loring Greenough House is located at 12 South St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. Free parking available in our lot. Street parking is also available.