The Critical Stans Episode Five: “The (Mostly) Wonderful World of K-pop”

Join The Daily Vox journalists SHAAZIA EBRAHIM and FATIMA MOOSA every week as they chat all things fun and serious around fan culture, fandoms and what it means to be a stan. The’ll be destroying tropes around the supposedly traditional hardcore male football fan and the manic pop culture fangirl; covering everything from football, Young Adult fiction to Beyoncé and Kpop. Living in the fanworld as women of colour who are avid consumers of all things fan-related means that it is impossible to ignore the politics of these things. And that’s what the Critical Stans are all about.

It’s finally Kpop week! We have been waiting for this podcast since the launch of The Critical Stans. For episode 5 we take an in-depth look into the amazing world of the K-pop industry. We look at what K-pop is, who our favs are and what we find problematic about the industry. Korean pop music has been increasing in popularity worldwide over the years helped by artists like BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) and PSY.

With thanks to Ndapwa Alweendo, Melissa Limenyade, Yasaar Moosa and Luke Waltham.

Produced by Sipho Hlongwane.

If you missed our last four episodes, check them out below.