Festive Resistance: From K-pop to Democracy

Taejong Kim 지음

e퍼플 2025년 06월 13일 출간

작품소개

책소개

On 3 December 2024, South Korea declared martial law—only to rescind it six hours later after a torrent of public outrage. When citizens returned to the streets, they no longer carried candles; instead, K-pop light sticks painted the night in neon hues. Objects once reserved for cheering at concerts instantly became political beacons, and a new form of festive resistance emerged, mixing pop songs, satirical banners, and collective defiance.

This book documents and interprets that cultural revolution. Drawing on more than two thousand news reports, I employed topic-modeling techniques to uncover the hidden patterns of discourse that shaped the 2024 protests. Behind the statistics lay a photograph, a lyric, or a prepaid bowl of gimbap—micro-stories that rewrote the traditional grammar of protest.

Yet a festival is never merely a party. Beneath the music and humour lie democratic crisis, generational friction, artistic censorship, and the amplified voices of women and marginalised groups. ‘Festive Resistance’ weaves these threads together: the social capital of K-pop fandom, the institutional resilience enabled by Korea’s famed “ppalli-ppalli” (hurry-hurry) culture, and the transnational solidarity that rippled far beyond Seoul’s plazas.

I hope the pages ahead offer two sparks of inspiration. First, they show how colourful democracy can become when culture meets politics. Second, they suggest ways our everyday tastes and digital tools can metamorphose into public action. In the smile of a stranger holding a glowing light stick, we may glimpse the future of protest culture.

목차

Chapter 1: Why We Should Pay Attention to Korean Protest Culture Now
Chapter 2: The 2024 Protests: What Does the Media Tell Us?
Chapter 3: From Candlelight to Light Sticks: Evolution of Collective Symbols and Citizen Action
Chapter 4: When Resistance Becomes a Festival: Music, K-Pop, and the Energy of the Streets
Chapter 5: Fandom, Prepayment, and the Birth of New Forms of Resistance
Chapter 6: Resistance in the Digital Age: The Voice and Participation of the MZ Generation
Chapter 7: The Time of the Constitution: The National Assembly's Response and Citizen Resistance Against Martial Law
Chapter 8: Undaunted Democracy: The Dynamics of Civil Resistance in Crisis
Chapter 9: Broadening the Horizon of Democracy: The Voices of Women, Minorities, and Diverse Groups
Chapter 10: What Does Art Do: Artistic Resistance Amidst Concert Cancellation Controversy

출판사 서평

Dear respected readers,

As I conclude this book, I have looked back on the unprecedented events of martial law and impeachment that Korean society experienced in 2024. Through this book, I aimed to go beyond simply recording political events to capture the diverse voices and experiences of our society, and the meaning of democracy.

The declaration of martial law and the impeachment process were a crisis for Korean democracy, but they also provided an opportunity to confirm the strength and potential of our society. The National Assembly, judiciary, media, civil society, artists, and various sectors of society acted in their own ways to protect democracy. Particularly moving was the voluntary participation and solidarity of ordinary citizens.

One of the focal points of this book is the voices of diverse members of society. From the digital activism of the MZ generation, the active participation of women, the solidarity of minorities such as farmers and people with disabilities, to the resistance of artists—various members of our society gathered under the single value of democracy. This is important evidence showing that our democracy has matured further.

Another important discovery was a new form of citizen participation that transcended the boundaries between online and offline. The process of information sharing and organization through social media and messenger apps, and how this led to physical gatherings in plazas, demonstrated new possibilities for democracy in the digital age.

These events have now become history, but their meaning and lessons remain alive with us. We have once again learned that democracy is not a completed state but a process that must be continuously protected, and how important the participation of each individual citizen is in that process.

I hope this book serves not only as a resource for looking back on the experiences of 2024 but also as a source of wisdom for preparing for challenges our society will face in the future. Democracy was not easily obtained, nor is it maintained automatically. Even if it is somewhat uncomfortable and there are conflicts at times, respecting diverse voices, engaging in dialogue, and moving forward together is the true face of democracy.

Finally, I deeply thank all those who shared valuable experiences and insights for this book. This book could be completed because of your stories. I also thank the readers who have read to the end. We are all protagonists of democracy.

Thank you for the journey we have taken together.

작가정보

저자(글) Taejong Kim

Taejong Kim is a digital humanities and social sciences researcher who analyzes megatrends and social phenomena through text data, particularly news big data, and proposes data-driven solutions to social issues. He holds an M.A. in Communication from Yonsei University (2012) and a Ph.D. in Education from Kongju National University (2019).

Dr. Kim's professional journey includes positions as a Visiting Researcher at the Missouri School of Journalism (USA), Research Professor at Daejeon University, and Postdoctoral Researcher at both the Youth Policy Analysis and Evaluation Center of the Korea Youth Policy Institute and the Science Data Education Center of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information. Currently, he serves as a researcher specializing in AI Convergence Services at the Artificial Intelligence Meteorology Division of the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences. He has also contributed as a committee member for policy research on "Exploring the Status and Key Agenda of Metaverse" at the Korean Academy of Science and Technology.

His research portfolio includes notable publications on ChatGPT-related social issue analysis, COVID-19 media coverage analysis using news big data, and discourse analysis of lifelong education through news big data. As a news big data scientist, Dr. Kim conducts interdisciplinary research across digital technology, communication, health, environment, diplomacy, education, agriculture, and the arts, while also writing data-driven columns and mentoring graduate students across various disciplines.

Dr. Kim has received numerous accolades, including commendations from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (2018), the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (2015), and the Minister of National Defense (2012). His academic contributions have been recognized with Outstanding Paper Awards from the Minister of National Defense (2015, 2017) and the Korea Press Foundation (2018).

From 1999 to 2019, Dr. Kim dedicated himself to youth education, career development, and media promotion within the military. He has organized several educational initiatives, including the Space Challenge Competition and Youth Aerospace Camp (2014-2016) and an aviation simulation competition (2015), demonstrating his commitment to nurturing the next generation of innovators.

Email: [e-mail]
ORCID: 0000-0001-8087-2092
Wikipedia: https://w.wiki/_sQw2