Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the ambivalences of transnational K-Pop consumption in Mizoram. I investigate the extent to which that consumption reflects K-Pop fans' cosmopolitan outlook, and the point at which consumers delimit their networks, identifying as being Mizo or as rooted in Northeast India.

Paper long abstract:

K-pop and K-drama are globally en vogue, and have played a major role in Indian youth culture since the start of the 2020s. Young women in particular have been becoming K-pop fans and binge-watching serials, entering or attending dance and song competitions, producing fan videos and circulating memes on social media. The situation in Mizoram is specific, as serials dubbed into Mizo have already been widely circulated among the older woman and family audiences by the regional cable TV infrastructure and dubbing studios for a decade.

I propose to identify examples of how the transnational consumption of popular Korean culture includes processes of cultural de-globalization. Against the background of not just the global rise of populisms, but also the pandemic and the Ukraine war, and in reference to case examples from Mizoram, I suggest that globalization and de-globalization are to be seen as two intertwined phenomena. In detail, I will examine the degree to which cosmopolitan Mizo indigeneity not only enables cultural boundary crossings but also becomes part of the way people set themselves apart from the conservative Other of mainstream India. Secondly, I will investigate the extent to which the consumption of transnational serials and music videos is part of aspiring to be better off, as well as drawing a distinction from those seen as of precarious status. Thirdly, I will analyse the degree to which the representation of Korean women - who are dubbed with loud, shrill voices in serials - serves as a counter-model to the concept of female modesty and the peacefulness of Mizo society.