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Female Empowerment and Radical Empathy for the Sustainability of Creative Industries: The Case of K-Pop

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: Contrary to the critical understanding of the cultural and/or creative industry that unduly emphasizes demoralized commercial activities of profit-maximizing, accompanied by the concomitant destruction of individual self-realization, the 21st century perception of the industry highlights its potentials for both creativity and more importantly, sustainability. The global success of Korean pop music (K-pop) unlocks a new possibility for the creative industry in a postcolonial country, with a newly constructed value chain that strategically allows female empowerment through radical empathy, a concept that bridges social empathy among formerly oppressed groups with their new political opportunities of political struggles. Based on survey data and structural equation modeling, this paper empirically corroborates a theorized conceptual link between participation in the K-pop industry and the resulting radical empathy among female fans toward industrial sustainability.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su15043098

Authors: Ingyu Oh, Kyeong-Jun Kim, Chris Rowley

Institutions: Kansai Gaidai University, University of Seoul, City, University of London, University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Asian Culture and Media Studies

Subfield: Cultural Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Gender equality, Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,447