Critical Approaches to Transmedia Storytelling in K-Pop

Critical Approaches to Transmedia Storytelling in K-Pop examines how K-pop has evolved beyond a musical genre into a global cultural phenomenon with its own transmedia ecosystem, in which complex narratives unfold and engage audiences across media platforms.

Contributors to this volume present a variety of case studies to explore how artists and companies construct expansive storyworlds through a variety of media - including music videos, social media, games, webtoons, concerts, and merchandise - to draw fans into participatory, interpretive engagement. Through these analyses, the book demonstrates how these narrative universes employ non-linear narratives, transtextual references, mathematical structures, AI characters, and immersive technologies to challenge boundaries and binaries between digital and physical reality, artist and narrative, and production and consumption. By emphasizing collaborative meaning-making and emotional investment to create compelling fan experiences, these narrative practices have transformed global fan culture and industry economics.

Ultimately, this volume collectively argues that K-pop's transmedial approach constitutes not merely a marketing strategy, but a sophisticated artistic framework that redefines the relationship between music, narrative, and performance in the digital age. Scholars of media studies, fan studies, popular music, Korean studies, and transmedia storytelling will find this interdisciplinary volume essential for understanding K-pop's growing influence on contemporary media practices.