Keywords

In a Canadian radio interview (Q on CBC 2018), the Korean American actor Steven Yeun, who spent a part of his early childhood in the Canadian city of Regina before settling in the US, spoke about his experience filming the Korean film Burning (2018). Yeun stated that, while filming, he was able to find a side of himself that he did not see before. He described the experience of playing a Korean character in the Korean film produced with a Korean crew. Reflecting on his usual American film projects, in which performing an Asian character rather than a character was implicitly incorporated into his roles (whatever the role), Yeun said, “When in Korea they don’t think about that. They just go that’s ‘You are that character now.’” Then, he added with a glimpse of a smile on his face, “You feel what you can’t explain here. (Interviewer: Tell me more about it) You know what it is? It’s that the gaze and the lens of the Western world is not upon you anymore. So you don’t have to explain yourself. You can just be. I think that’s the key distinction.”

Yeun’s experience echoes young Korean Canadians’ experiences of racialization during their growing up in Canada. As addressed in the previous chapter, the diasporic youth were often aware of the Western and White gaze and felt marginalized. By internalizing the White-dominant cultural frame, they learned to see themselves as ethnic or racial subjects, rather than seeing themselves from their own perspective. In this regard, Korean Wave (or Hallyu) media seems to offer new cultural resources with which the diasporic Korean youth can see themselves without referring to, and being validated by, the White gaze.Footnote 1

The pressure to internalize the White-dominant cultural frame is exercised through various everyday contexts. Media plays a crucial role in shaping and maintaining the hegemonic discourse of Whiteness-as-a norm (Dyer 1997). The near absence of Korean or Asian characters and themes in the Canadian mediascape (Fleras 2011) may reinforce the diasporic youth’s compliance to the White gaze. Grace, a 19-year-old student who grew up in Vancouver, only recently began to question why there were no Asians on Canadian TV.

When I was younger, I watched Canadian shows on the Family Channel. I didn’t see many Asians. I saw Latino and Black people but no Asians. So I felt that I was underrepresented. But I didn’t really notice it. I didn’t really notice it until people have told me about the issue. (…) I felt it was normal, but it wasn’t. I felt like it was normal that Asian people weren’t on TV shows because it is Canada. It wasn’t until I was older that I thought like “Oh, maybe it’s good to have an Asian in TV shows as well because my friends are all Asians.”

In Grace’s account, the clause “because it is Canada” may reveal how she learned to think about the ethno-racial composition and diversity of Canada. Grace, who immigrated at the age of 6 and grew up in Vancouver, might have been instructed to believe that Canada was represented primarily by White people but not by any people of color.Footnote 2

The absence of representation or the misrepresentation of Korean and Asian people on Canadian TV may function to justify the White-dominant cultural frame that maintains and reinforces “the gaze and the lens of the Western world” pointed out by Steven Yeun. The stereotypes of Asians in North America, which emerged as early as the eighteenth century, have reduced Asians as the “yellow peril” who are dishonest, uncivilized, and inferior to Whites and thus considered to be a great threat to Whites (Lyman 2000). In comparison, a relatively recent (since the 1960s) Western stereotype of Asians is the model minority trope that essentializes Asian culture to explain Asian Americans’ relatively successful upward social mobility; this seemingly positive stereotype in practice serves to “construct Asians as immutably foreign and unassimilable with whites” (Li and Nicholson 2021, p. 4). The model minority stereotype also serves to maintain the ideology of White privilege as it “helps to divide racial minority groups by pitting Asians and other minorities against each other and leads to discounting structural and cumulative disadvantages that other minority communities face” (Li and Nicholson 2021, p. 4).

Most of the young Korean Canadians interviewed for this book experienced racialization as they were marginalized by the yellow peril trope in which Asians’ behaviors, appearances, and foods are “not as normal as” Whites; otherwise (especially in relatively Asian-populated locations), they were pigeonholed as those who were docile and only good at study (but not at other activities) according to the model minority trope. While growing up, the young Korean Canadians (like many other Asian Canadians) were forced to conform to these two dominant stereotypes of Asians. They learned to see themselves as the other of the dominant group. In this regard, Hallyu appears to be a significant moment in which Korean and other Asian diasporic youth explore ways to see themselves without referring to the White gaze.

This chapter examines how young Korean Canadians engage with narrative-based Hallyu genres (dramas, entertainment shows, films, and vlogs), which will also be referred to as “Korean TV” as a whole. The Korean TV in this chapter does not narrowly refer to programs that are broadcast via network TV channels but includes a wide range of narrative content transmitted via digital screens; other newer media practices, such as personal vlogs (e.g., live streaming eating shows), and Korea-themed overseas media (e.g., the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Kim’s Convenience) are also examined.

This chapter focuses on narrative media genres to address how diasporic youth engage with transnational Korean media as they navigate between the media of “here” (the country of residence) and “there” (the ancestral homeland) while seeking to feel at home. In so doing, the chapter discusses how diasporic young people explore new modes of representation, which move beyond the White-dominant mediascape of Canada. The study of diasporic young people’s reception of transnational Korean TV suggests that narrative genres contribute to young Korean Canadians’ engagement with their ancestral homeland and ethnic identity as well as their diasporic “feeling at home” in their everyday contexts (Brah 1996). Furthermore, by engaging with Korean TV, the diasporic youth may explore how they can see themselves not necessarily through the Western gaze but through bicultural navigations.

Korean TV in North America

Beginning of Hallyu Through Korean TV

While K-pop has increasingly received global media attention owing to a series of mega hits by the K-pop group BTS, Korean narrative media genres have also been globally disseminated for decades. In fact, looking back at the history of Hallyu, made-in-Korea TV dramas, entertainment shows, and films played a significant role in the beginning of the wave in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In particular, several intra-Asian hit dramas, including the romantic drama Winter Sonata (2002) and the historical drama Dae Jang Geum–Jewel in the Palace (2003), initiated the early surge of Hallyu in a wide range of Asian countries, popularizing the phrase “the Korean Wave” (Hallyu). Thus, early Hallyu studies focused on drama audiences and industries (e.g., Chua and Iwabuchi 2008), whereas scholarly attention has shifted to K-pop in the later phase (e.g., Choi and Maliangkay 2015; Fuhr 2016). The popularity of Korean dramas (known as K-drama) has been globally expanded further in collaboration with global streaming sites, including Netflix, through which many K-dramas have gained global viewership, for example Descendants of the Sun (2016) and Crash Landing on You (2019). As of 2020, dramas are the most popular Hallyu genre for overseas consumers (Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange 2021). While K-drama has been acclaimed for its high production values and growing audience bases (Ju 2021), some of the genre’s conventions, such as the excessive use of clichés and the patriarchal portrayal of women, have been criticized (An 2022).

Korean TV has attracted intra-Asian and global audiences owing to several factors such as cultural proximities (especially among Asian audiences in Asia or diasporic contexts) and relatable experiences of modernity projected in K-dramas (Chua and Iwabuchi 2008; Han 2019; T. S. Kim 2020). More specifically, emotional engagement through romantic comedies and melodramas has been identified as a key factor in K-drama’s growing global fan bases (Ju 2020). According to Ju’s (2020) study, US audiences express their “desire to relax, seek comfort, and find entertainment in these dramas” and find “emotional attachment to the K-drama narrative” (45). Kim and Li (2018) found that Korean entertainment game shows are particularly appealing to Asian audiences with their harmonious, family-like interactions between celebrity hosts and guests, without promoting individualized competition. Shared Asian experiences of rapid modernization may be another component with which the Asian audiences can identify. That is, Hallyu media has been recognized as cultural content symbolizing the most advanced Asian form of modernization and has arguably emerged as “the new Asian hegemony” (Leung 2021, p. 192).

Asian audiences’ viewing positions may be further compared with people of Asian heritage who reside outside of Asia. That is, diasporic Asian audiences are attracted to Korean TV as they identify with particular values portrayed in the dramas, such as family norms and work ethics (T. S. Kim 2020). In addition to K-dramas, Korean entertainment shows (yeneung), such as Running Man (2010–present) and Infinite Challenge (2005–2013), have been popular among young people. Popular Korean entertainment shows have been introduced to overseas audiences through local remakes. The exportation of TV formats (not the exportation of final content products) has been a new component of Hallyu. For example, Running Man has been localized and remade as the Chinese show Hurry Up, Brother (2014–present), which was also followed by its Vietnamese version (2019–present). Among increasing format exports in the Hallyu industries, King of Mask Singer (Bongmyeongawang, 2015–present)Footnote 3 is especially noteworthy as the show’s format was sold globally, while being acclaimed as “a game changer in global TV” (R. Wang 2019). These comical game shows, which sometimes include guest appearances by K-pop idols and/or other Hallyu celebrities, have been especially appealing to young audiences (Kim and Li 2018).

Digital Platforms

Korean TV’s increasing popularity was not only driven by its content, themes, and formats, but also its digital platforms (i.e., the ways the content is delivered). Many of the Korean Canadians interviewed for this book were heavily reliant on the Internet through mobile devices and thus appreciated the importance of the digital circulation of Hallyu media. In her interview in 2015, 22-year-old Emma praised Korean TV’s intimate and relevant content, and she appreciated the role of the Internet that allows her to gain knowledge about her ethnic homeland.

It’s like “Oh, thank goodness!” I can watch Korean TV here. Before over 5 years ago, we didn’t have an immediate access right? When there is a show comes up in Korea, you get it next day. I think it’s a fortunate thing to get it really quickly here.

Illegal downloading was a method for prompt access to an extensive range of Hallyu media among the earlier 2015 interviewees, but most of the interviewees seemed to primarily use streaming services, including Netflix, Viki, and YouTube. Owing to the Hallyu industries’ diligent integration into global digital platforms, as well as the fans’ voluntary contributions through their translation labor, a large number of Korean films and TV shows have become available on global digital platforms, such as Netflix, and some shows have been acclaimed by both global viewers and critics. Moreover, Korean directors and producers have increasingly collaborated with Netflix to create Netflix original content, such as Okja (2017) and Kingdom (2019–2021). Dramas, entertainment shows, and films have certainly been an integral component of the rapidly rising Hallyu, and global streaming platforms (also known as OTT, or Over-The-Top services) have paid particular attention to Hallyu content. Korean TV programs have increasingly been streamed through global OTT services, whereas an increasing number of shows have been funded by, or have collaborated with, overseas media corporations. Netflix announced its plan to invest 500 million dollars in 2021 alone to add more Korean media content to its repertoire (M. Kim 2021). The Hallyu industries’ collaboration with Netflix has often been considered as an opportunity for the global dissemination of Hallyu content (Ju 2021), and Netflix’s incorporation of Korean content has also contributed to the company’s growing market share in the Korean OTT market. Owing to its aggressive investment in Korean content and streaming service booms during the pandemic, Netflix rapidly emerged as the dominant player (40% share of the Korean OTT market, which is far higher than any other service providers) in Korea—the birthplace of Hallyu—and is considered as a threat to domestic OTT businesses (Kwon 2021).

In terms of the dollar amount of exported Korean TV dramas, for the entire overseas export in 2018, Asia was the largest market of Hallyu TV (65.5%) followed by North America (21.4%); Japan, the US, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong were also large market countries (Noh 2020).Footnote 4 North America has been a main overseas market for Korean TV even before the recent wave of Hallyu. Korean diasporas in the US and Canada have constituted a loyal audience group (Park 2013). In Canada, the Korean language speciality channel All TV was established in 2001 and has offered licensed Korean network TV programs as well as its own Canada-produced programs. All TV is packaged into major Canadian digital TV service providers (e.g., Bell and Rogers), and several interviewees’ families subscribed to this service. However, most of the young people interviewed for this book accessed Korean TV online via illegal or licensed streaming sites, such as YouTube and Netflix. A few participants interviewed earlier in 2015 accessed Korean TV by (illegally) downloading on their laptop computers and sharing the files with their peers or by viewing through illegal streaming sites, but this tendency appeared to be replaced with viewing through subscription-based streaming sites (e.g., Netflix and Viki). It was noticed in the later interviews that the young people also navigated to watch clips of Korean TV available on YouTube through their mobile phones in between their daily routines.

Streaming Korean TV

Most of the young people in this book were using (legal or illegal) video steaming sites to access Korean TV. As demonstrated by several studies, diasporic Koreans were early promoters of Korean TV in North America and elsewhere (S. Lee 2015; Park 2013; Yoon 2020). Early video streaming services that emerged in the US were indebted to diasporic Korean fans’ labor and creativity, and these streaming services contributed to expanding North American (and global) audience bases of K-dramas. For example, Viki, a popular US-grown video streaming site (currently owned by Japanese media corporation Ratuken) that began to stream many K-dramas prior to Netflix, was founded in 2007 by three young entrepreneurs, including two Korean Americans (Changseong Ho and Jiwon Moon). This streaming service initially relied on collaborative fan-based translations and subtitles for the prompt circulation of K-dramas in overseas contexts. In the early phase of this service, bilingual fans who speak Korean and English collaboratively and voluntarily provided their fan labor for subtitles that have contributed to boosting the global viewership of K-drama (Dwyer 2017; Henthorn 2019). The video streaming site DramaFever (2009–2018) is another example of a Korean American-led venture business that contributed to expanding global audience bases for Korean media. Established by two Korean Americans (Seung Bak and Suk Park), DramaFever was an early, legitimate streaming site for Korean TV content in the US, and the two Korean American founders aimed to “turn the existing illegal services into legitimate ones” (S. Lee 2015, p. 182). After its growth, this popular site was acquired by the media conglomerate Warner Bros. and later discontinued due to “business reasons” (Spangler 2018).

Several early streaming services, such as Viki and DramaFever, demonstrate how diasporic Koreans in North America have contributed to the rise of Hallyu as early adopters, audiences, and/or venture entrepreneurs. In particular, bilingual youth who speak English and Korean have facilitated a unique fansubbing culture, in which grassroots translations are offered, shared, and revised before the official translations (by the distributors) are created. Viki and DramaFever are known for their extensive use of volunteer fan translators’ labor (S. Lee 2015). Along with a unique fansubbing culture, North American fans of Korean heritage have developed a mode of communal watching through digital platforms such as Viki, which allow real-time comments on the shows (Dwyer 2017).Footnote 5 Given that K-pop fans also extensively engage in the creation and sharing of paratexts associated with the original texts (Cruz et al. 2021), diasporic Korean youth—especially those who contribute to subtitling or other paratext practices—play a pivotal role in the translation and dissemination of Hallyu.

Being Here and There Through Korea TV

Due to their storytelling associated with (ancestral) homelands, narrative genres—drama, films, and entertainment shows—constitute an important component of everyday life in diasporas (Aksoy and Robins 2000; Gillespie 1995). Korean TV allows the diasporic Korean youth to immerse themselves in their imaginary and ethnic homeland through engaging narratives that combine intimate feelings and (physically) distant locations. Via the Internet, the young Korean Canadians navigate transnational Korean TV, along with Anglophone (mostly American and partly Canadian) TV. The regular (if not frequent) exposure to Korean TV facilitates their reimagination of Korea as an intimate destination with which they can identify.

Navigating with the Wave

Some interviewees omnivorously watched what was available and appealing to them on streaming services, whereas a few others watched far more Korean TV than American and Canadian. Interestingly, compared to American and Korean TV content, that of Canadian TV was far less consumed. 22-year-old Emma in Toronto said, “I don’t really watch shows and dramas that are Canadian. Canadian shows are not popular.” This response was echoed by many other interviewees who did not consciously access Canadian TV and thus did not make a clear distinction between American and Canadian TV. In particular, when asked about Canadian TV viewing, a common response was that of Kevin, a 22-year-old student in Toronto, who regularly watched American and Korean TV shows: “Um… Canadian… I don’t have access to cable. So, I can’t watch TV. Well, I don’t actually watch Canadian TV.” 21-year-old student Julia noted, “I think just non-Canadian programs [referring to American shows] are more accessible because I am on Netflix and stuff.” The interviewees were more likely to be on streaming sites, such as Netflix, rather than accessing Canadian TV channels, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Among the abundant media content increasingly available through digital platforms, the interviewees engaged with transnational Korean media in their pursuit of ethnic identification and navigation between here and there. For second generation Vivian, a 23-year-old student in Toronto who had not visited Korea in 10 years, Korean TV was an important means to feel and learn about her ancestral homeland.

Watching Korean TV through the Internet helped me integrate with Korea more as I was in Canada all my life. I did use the Internet a lot to connect with Korean society. By watching Korean dramas, I realize, “Oh, this is the fashion trend in Korea,” or I learn how people think and what their values are in Korea. By watching Korean dramas, you can tell Koreans are very hard working and their culture is nice. The good part of Korean culture made me proud of who I am. By seeing Korean society through the Internet, I felt I didn’t wanna give up being Korean. That’s why I stopped from becoming more than 50% Canadian. In a sense, it kind of stopped me becoming fully Canadian.

For Vivian, keeping the Korean side of her identity became increasingly important as she grew older and, in this process, Korean TV played an integral role.

Many interviewees had been exposed to Korean TV while growing up. Owing to their parents who viewed Korean TV via DVDs, streaming sites, or digital TV packages, Korean TV was considered by most of the interviewees as a kind of background music in their family home. By viewing K-dramas, the young people improved or kept up with their Korean speaking/listening skills and remained informed about contemporary Korea. By doing so, they maintained their sense of being connected to Korea. For example, Julia, a 21-year-old student who immigrated at the age of 6, watched both English language TV and Korean TV. She tried to consciously watch Korean TV as a method of maintaining her ethnic identity.

What I like about English-based TV programs is that I can understand 100% of what they are saying. But 85% of Korean TV. Yeah, there are sometimes things that I don’t understand [in Korean TV]. I tried to figure out what they are saying. (…) If I didn’t have a Korean media, I wouldn’t have a strong root to Korea. If I didn’t watch Korean shows or dramas, I wouldn’t improve my Korean. [When I began to watch Korean TV] I was like “This is something I am interested in” and I wanted it to be part of my culture. I took initiative. I learned Korean.

Many Korean Canadians interviewed for this book were able to understand Korean and thus had an advantage for enjoying the shows without fully relying on translations. For them, Korean TV was considered as a convenient means to learn more about their (ancestral) homeland. 22-year-old second generation Jim commented, “Actually I would say the main reason I’m so good at speaking and understanding Korean is because of all the Korean media that I have been watching.”

The diasporic youth’s familiarity with Korean language and culture, as well as childhood exposure to Korean TV in the home, may not necessarily lead to their continued viewing of Korean TV. In fact, several interviewees who used to access Korean media became less interested in it as their social circumstances changed. For example, Jeremy used to access a wide range of Korean TV content and Korean Internet portal sites such as Naver. However, after he entered the workforce, where he did not collaborate with Korean colleagues, the frequency of his Korean TV viewing and overall time-spent significantly decreased. In comparison with Jeremy, most of the interviewees continued watching Korean TV and navigating different TV content between English and Korean language programs. Overall, Korean TV was appealing cultural content and watching Korean TV was a common cultural practice among the young Korean Canadian interviewees. Korean dramas and entertainment shows were popular materials for them to maintain and enhance their ethnic identification and feeling at home.

Uniquely Korean

Many interviewees appreciated the unique attributes of Korean TV content. In particular, they found Korean TV accessible and relevant. According to 19-year-old Jeremy, who immigrated at the age of 4 and lived in Toronto, Korean TV was “more dynamic” compared to Canadian TV.

I think Korean TV programs are more dynamic and there is more happening and more dramatic than Canadian programming. Whether dramas or shows, Canadian programs are more toned down, whereas in Korean ones there’s a lot going on constantly.

According to several interviewees, when compared with Western TV, Korean TV is not only dynamic, but also relatable. They identified with Korean TV—its characters, stories, language, and culture. For example, 22-year-old second generation Jim in Vancouver preferred K-dramas to American dramas: “there’s something different about Korean dramas than the American dramas.” He supposed the creators might be “so good at portraying how the people are feeling and that makes the audience feel that it’s very relatable. Even though I’m not born and raised in Korea.” The feeling of relevance further reinforces the viewers’ ethnic identification. Grace, a university student in Vancouver, liked Korean TV’s ordinary and comfortable content and themes.

I like Korean shows a bit more than Western shows, because they are more PG [Parental Guidance suggested; i.e., not explicitly adult-oriented materials]. So you can watch the shows with all sorts of people, like seniors or children. They don’t swear on TV, right. So it’s very interesting. And the celebrities seem like everyday people, so it’s easier to relate to them, and it’s nice to hear about how they interact with their family, interact with their friends, interact with fans.

Grace’s account illustrates cultural proximity between diasporic youth and their homeland media. In fact, K-dramas have appealed to a range of audience members by their facilitation of “transnational affective intimacies,” which is identified as an appealing factor (M. J. Lee 2019, p. 41).

For those regularly watching Korean TV, K-dramas and entertainment shows offered a sense of belonging and local affects that they may not frequently feel in their current homeland of Canada. Emma, who immigrated at the age of 2, appreciated her constant access to Korean TV, which she had enjoyed for a long time. She found Korean content more relevant and interesting than its Western counterpart. Emma distinguished Korean TV from Western shows in terms of feelings of intimate affection (jeong).

Korean TV is more personal. Korean talk shows more about people’s everyday life. They are a lot more open about it but Canadian or American shows are more like outer topic, a little less of their personal life. Korean ones are more like about stories full of jeong [i.e., deep, intimate affection].

In comparison with Emma who left Korea at a very early age without any memory about the country, several 1.5 generation interviewees who had relatively concrete memories of their homeland of Korea engaged with Korean TV to fulfill their nostalgic desire and sense of ethnic identity. For example, 22-year-old Torontonian Kevin stated:

Watching Korean TV brings me memories about Korea. Definitely watching those shows help. It’s funny. Even though I am more comfortable with Canadian culture, I still wanna be informed or exposed to Korean culture too. I am a dedicated watcher. It’s my routine.

In this manner, for the 1.5 generation youth who were “not Whitewashed” (their own term), watching Korean TV was often incorporated into their daily home routines.

Interestingly, a few interviewees noted that they enjoyed watching Korean TV, but its plots (especially dramas) and storytelling techniques were somewhat “predictable” and “cheesy.” Many interviewees pointed to cliché in Korean TV. A few interviewees seemed to lose their interest in K-drama due to the cliché, whereas many others still enjoyed the cliché. Slow-burn, soft-touch, romantic dramas were noted by the interviewees as a signature K-drama convention. Such conventions were described by some as clichés and as unique attributes by others. Regarding his favorite K-dramas, 19-year-old Noah described Korean romantic drama conventions as follows: “The romance scenes [in Korean TV] are a lot different [from Western TV shows]. They are really suspended in a way where, it’s like, nothing really happens and if they happen to kiss it’s such a big deal. It’s K-drama style. As to Western shows, if it’s just a kiss, it’s just a kiss, right?” Overall, the interviewees who regularly or frequently watched Korean TV agreed that K-drama involves slow-burn, drawn-out romance and clichés, yet is interesting enough, especially compared to mainstream American TV. The use of clichés may reduce viewers’ interest; however, as H. Lee’s (2018) study suggested, K-drama fans tended to appreciate the clichés if the K-drama clichés are deployed strategically and creatively. Moreover, H. Lee (2018) also showed that the fans find predictability is “part of the charm” of K-drama. Similarly, for the diasporic young people in this book, K-drama cliché was considered as an interesting genre convention. The explicit clichés, however, seemed to distinguish K-drama from American counterparts and thus ironically contributed to the diasporic youth’s appreciation of Korean TV’s uniqueness.

Speaking about uniquely Korean aspects of Korean TV, several interviewees also pointed out some negative aspects in Hallyu media. That is, while certain values represented in Korean TV were highly regarded, such as respect for elders and family-oriented norms, other aspects were considered backward and unacceptable, such as an overemphasis on people’s appearances and patriarchal norms. The aforementioned Grace, a fan of Hallyu media, was particularly critical of the lookism and misogynist discourses that she noticed in some Korean TV shows.

I especially hate it when a lot of women are picked on for their looks. Some comedians always get picked on for their appearance. And then the comedians in such shows as Gag Concert [a Korean comedy show that aired between 1999 and 2020] and Happy Together [a Korean talk show that aired between 2001 and 2020] usually just have to laugh it off. I find that it’s not acceptable that they do it. (…) I stopped watching Happy Together once the female cast [who was often picked on for her appearance] left. Because then I felt like it wasn’t very fair for them anymore for the women in the Korean entertainment industry. So I stopped watching it.

For many female interviewees, the beauty standards shown in Korean TV and Korean media industries were highly problematic. 16-year-old Kimberly was critical: “I don’t think I like the beauty standard that they have, such as the lighter skins. You have to have a certain body weight and a certain height, and train yourself to look like that.” The heavy emphasis on unrealistic beauty standards, which do not reflect ordinary Koreans at all (e.g., the emphasis on extremely white skin), was criticized by most of the interviewees and by critics as well (Park and Hong 2021).

There are ongoing debates about the conventions of narrative Hallyu media and their ideological implications. Whereas Korean TV has been recognized for its innovative format and storytelling (Chung 2019), its cliché-filled conventions and conservative and escapist content include misogynic, patriarchal, and/or racist representation (An 2022). Equipped with linguistic and cultural literacy that allows for accessing English and Korean cultural texts, diasporic Korean youth decode Hallyu in relation to other cultural materials available to them, such as Anglophone TV dramas and mainstream Hollywood movies (D. C. Oh 2015). Thus, through these bicultural navigations and lens, they do not always and wholeheartedly celebrate transnational Korean media. For example, they are critical of certain aspects of Hallyu, such as Korean entertainment shows’ misogynistic jokes and the K-pop industry’s emphasis on idols’ appearances. In this regard, Yoon (2020) has defined young Korean Canadians as a particularly selective and critical audience group of Hallyu, especially in comparison with older first generation immigrants who habitually and/or nostalgically consume Korean media.

Intimate and Cool

Korean TV offers a window through which diasporic youth can virtually immerse themselves in the distant (ancestral) homeland and make transnational connections with their ethnic roots. Through Korean TV, diasporic Korean youth fantasize about and engage with their ancestral home not only as a place of ethnic roots but also as a metropolitan, urban location of playful and cutting-edge popular culture. By engaging with Korean TV, the young people associated Korea with several images including highly urbanized (yet still intimate) city life, K-pop merchandise shops, intimate traditional markets, and food trucks that sell various street foods. In particular, K-dramas and entertainment shows sometimes offer the diasporic viewers the fantasy of a highly advanced pop cultural metropolis (Y. Oh 2018). Paige, a 21-year-old second generation in Vancouver, noted that K-dramas make her and her peers desire to go to Korea: “Korean TV is always promoting Korea. Even in dramas they have such a beautiful scenery. So they’re always portraying a good image of Korea. Because when you see something on TV you want to go there. And I definitely get that from Korean media.”

Especially for those unable to make trips to Korea, K-dramas and entertainment shows offer a window to contemporary Korean society. 21-year-old Rebecca was largely influenced by K-dramas to make a trip to Korea.

The people you see on TV are just a small tiny percentage of the actual population. I went there. Not everyone looked like they were beautiful [like in K-dramas]. And they didn’t dress like they were on the runway. Everyone was just kind of the same in semi-formal and you see girls wearing blouses and skirts. And really really simple. Everyone had the same color hair. It was different because I thought that there would be so much more color and diversity.

What she saw on the screen was different from what she experienced and observed during her pilgrimage to Korea. Not unlike any other pop culture pilgrimage, until her recent trip to Seoul, she fantasized about Korea, to some extent. The diasporic youth’s imagination of Korea is of course different from some non-Korean Hallyu fans’ fetishization of the country as purely a fantasy land. As noted by Rebecca above, young Korean Canadians sooner or later realized what was behind this mediated Korea as an intimate and cool location, through experiences of physically being there or triangulating different sources (e.g., communication with Korean Canadian peers or family members).

Intimate imagination of a (physically distant, ancestral) homeland is often enabled through particular conventions and formats, wherein cool, youthful K-pop stars appear on Korean TV and tell their stories. It is common for K-pop idols to appear as guests in Korean entertainment shows or other genres (Jin 2019; J. O. Kim 2019).Footnote 6 K-pop idols’ appearances in other genres attract K-pop fans to Korean TV to explore their favorite idols’ personal aspects beyond their singing and dancing onstage. Korean entertainment —variety shows, called yeneung—plays a pivotal role in the transmedia storytelling of Hallyu, as they allow celebrities to intimately speak about themselves and their performance in other genres, such as K-pop and K-drama. Julia, a 21-year-old student in Toronto who immigrated at the age of 6, described the appeal of yeneung.

Well, right now I watch yeneung. In Korean yeneung, you bring the celebrities on but here (in Canadian TV) it’s not so much. It’s regular people come on go jump around like mazes. I don’t know what is Canadian counterpart to yeneung. It’s just funny and it has people that I recognize - celebrities that I like in Korean TV. Korean ones are more involved with celebrities and more involved with showcasing them, whereas American and Canadian reality shows are more about just common people.

The entertainment show genre has been a unique component of Hallyu media. As Julia pointed out, its diversity and experimentation have been so stimulating that many shows’ formats have been exported to Asian and Western countries. Idols often appear on the shows to promote their new songs; however, they participate in various activities rather than simply talking. They take part in sports/game competitions and/or present personal skills/talents (gaeingi). The appearance of K-pop idols across different Hallyu genres has been reinforced and driven by Hallyu entertainment companies’ one-source, multiuse strategies (Seo 2012). For example, Running Man, an action game show set in urban landmarks in Korea, has been particularly popular among Asian youth partly due to the frequent appearance of popular idol guests and the completion of missions through collaboration and competition with the host and other guest members. As shown by K-pop idols’ presence across different TV genres, Korean TV’s transmedia storytelling facilitates diasporic young people’s reception of Hallyu media across different genres, including K-pop, and reinforces their involvement in the universe of Hallyu media. Overall, the young Korean Canadians tended to easily identify with cultural components that characterize Korea—such as respect for elders and intimate sociality (jeong)—through Korean TV. For the diasporic youth, Korean TV was comprised of intimate and cool yet easily identifiable cultural components that allowed them to engage with Korea “there” from “here” in Canada.

Communal and Participatory Viewing

Diasporic viewing of Korean TV often involves communal and participatory viewing practices. According to the interviewees, K-dramas and entertainment shows were often viewed in a communal setting, in which diasporic sociality is reinforced. The communal viewing means not only physical togetherness but also virtual (or emotional) togetherness through the sharing of individual viewer responses to a show with others (often through online communications).

Nicole, a 26-year-old nurse, recalled her childhood in Vancouver: “Back then the Internet wasn’t really developed. So my mom would rent Korean drama DVDs and we would watch it. So she did enjoy them a lot. My mom and I would sit together and watch the whole series. I remember that it was fun times.” Such communal, family viewing experiences appeared to continue in the later high-speed, wireless Internet period through streaming sites (and sometimes projected on TV sets in the living room). 16-year-old Samuel, who is a dedicated viewer of K-drama, described his viewing patterns.

My mom loves K-drama. And when she’s watching it, I like to watch it with her because she would have it playing when she’s sitting down and just come over. And when it looks fun, I just watch it. She tells me what the title of the drama so I can watch it later. There’s also a great selection of K-drama on Netflix. So I just like when I’m bored, I just click on random drama and just start watching it. My mom watched The Descendants of the Sun when it was popular. She watched it first and she fell in love with the actor. After she watched it, I decided to watch it. And it was really fun. And we both watched it and then we discussed it, like how this came so popular and how, and what the next story is going to be.

In this manner, viewing together was a popular practice among Korean Canadian youth in this book. They were commonly introduced to Korean TV dramas in family or peer group contexts. Compared to K-pop, which the young people were introduced to via social media, K-drama was relatively a family-oriented genre that family members often viewed together. Moreover, for many interviewees, Korean TV was an important topic for small talk between Korean Canadian youth in school. 22-year-old Jim recalled his school days when he enjoyed speaking about Korean entertainment shows from the previous night, often exclusively with other Korean Canadian peers.

I would say Korean TV gives you something to talk about. Because you couldn’t go up to a White guy and say “Oh did you watch Kang Ho Dong [a Korean TV celebrity] screw up this week?” No you can’t do that. They would be like “Who the hell is he?” (laughs) but fellow Korean Canadians all had been exposed to Korean TV. So it’s something to talk about and to relate to.

For a few interviewees, K-drama’s content itself was not necessarily far more interesting than that of American programs they also watched. However, they still kept watching Korean TV along with their family members or Korean Canadian friends because small talk about Korean TV constituted a component that facilitated their diasporic social networks. However, as they grew older, some interviewees no longer regularly watched Korean TV as their pattern of socializing changed. Rosie, for example, used to watch Korean TV with her sister and/or parents but was no longer very interested in K-dramas because she found American shows far more interesting. She recalled that Korean TV viewing was a family practice: “When I watched Korean TV a lot, it had a lot to do with my family (whose members often watched Korean TV).” She also added that her Korean friends in her school in Vancouver were also an influential factor: “And it was also affected by the types of friends. Because you would gradually come to school and then talk about what you watched and then you’d make small talks and then you would gradually just connect more with Korean people.” According to Rosie, who was a university student at the time of the interview, her media consumption became more individualized when speaking about particular TV content was no longer crucial for socializing.

Now most of my friends are people I’ve known for a while and so we don’t need to really talk about that [particular TV content]. Even if we watch completely different things we can still be friends (laughs). But I feel like initially it will affect what people spend time with.

Rosie’s accounts confirm that K-drama (and probably K-pop) would enable or restrict Korean Canadians’ participation in particular peer networks.

In addition to communal viewing, another practice of diasporic viewing of Korean TV involves participatory viewing. That is, a few young people interviewed for this book, who were relatively dedicated to Hallyu media and willing to promote the content widely, provided their labor to create paratexts about Korean TV. Despite being small in number among the entire sample of interview participants, these young people translated Korean texts to English, made comments on fan forums or social media platforms, and generated reaction videos or accessed others’ reaction videos. Indeed, since the rise of Hallyu in North America, bilingual 1.5 generation Korean Canadians (and Korean Americans) are known for their contribution to fansubbing communities (Dwyer 2017; Hu 2010). While most of the young people interviewed for this book were dedicated audiences of Hallyu media, a limited number of interviewees actively contributed to paratext production, such as fansubbing or vlogging. Grace was one of the most active fan audience members among the interviewees. As an undergraduate student interested in writing and literature, she often contributed to translating Korean media content into English. As an enthusiast of Hallyu media, she considered herself a promoter of Hallyu to international audiences.

Every week or every day I would try to translate something and work on it for an hour and submit. And for Produce 101 [K-pop audition program that aired every Friday night in Korea in 2016], because it was a weekly show. Every Saturday [in the Canadian time zone], the show came up. And then Sundays and Mondays, I would try to finish everything. Not the whole show but 10 minutes of it, 20 minutes of it and then write that script and then whoever is in charge of putting the subtitles on, they do their task. And then we try to get it out of the week.

Participatory consumption such as fansubbing is a way in which Korean Canadians apply their “second generation advantages” (Kasinitz et al. 2008) as bilingual speakers and translators. In the emerging youth culture of Hallyu, their bicultural literacy, which otherwise would remain invisible, can potentially obtain cultural currency and thus be registered as a form of cultural capital. Global fan audiences of Hallyu have been known for their enthusiastic production of paratexts and various reactions to the original texts (e.g., reaction videos) (Jin et al. 2021). Among the audience groups, diasporic Koreans equipped with bilingual and bicultural knowledge are in a unique position as cultural translators who can mediate “there” and “here.” Indeed, as addressed earlier in this chapter, some streaming platforms (Viki in particular) have benefited from diasporic Koreans’ contributions to their rapid growth.

Overall, the young Korean Canadians tended to be exposed to Korean TV through communal and participatory viewing experiences, and kept watching so that they could have small talk with others. Transnational Korean media contributes to constructing diasporic sociality. It is true that Korean media has been available in Canada through legal or illegal routes for decades, and thus, the interviewees’ parents frequently accessed Korean TV. However, the recent rise of Hallyu and its extensive exploitation of digital technology substantially changed the what and how of diasporic media—the quality and quantity of Korean media available in Canada (and globally) are now unprecedented with the emergence of digitally-driven Hallyu (also referred to as Hallyu 2.0) since the 2010s (Jin 2016). Digital Hallyu allowed diasporic youth to omnivorously navigate different media content, across different genres, regardless of its nationality. They can opt in and opt out of the universe of Hallyu, without being exclusively committed or immersed in Korean TV. In this period of digitally-driven Hallyu, diasporic youth may explore ethnic and cultural options in their cultural consumption. In so doing, they may articulate their diasporic lens through which both return to ethnic culture and compliance with the White-dominant cultural frame may be challenged and juggled. Through Korean TV, the diasporic youth “feel at home” and explore new senses of “home,” as they encounter new modes of representation beyond the White-dominant Western mediascape.

New Territories of Korean TV

Diasporic young Koreans affirm their ethnic connections through their transnational consumption of Korean narrative media, including dramas, entertainment shows, and films, all of which are made in Korea and are increasingly available online. While these media forms are comprehensively referred to as “Korean TV” in this chapter, the Korean narrative media enjoyed by the diasporic youth was not limited to made-in-Korea content. There are other forms of narrative media that can still be categorized as Korean TV. The Korean narrative media genres of Hallyu have been hybridized in several different forms. For example, North American remakes of original Korean entertainment shows, such as King of Mask Singer, can be considered part of Hallyu-influenced media (Jin et al. 2021). In this regard, this section examines two examples of new forms of Korean TV: (a) Western media texts incorporating explicitly Korean themes and/or developed by (diasporic) Korean talents and (b) lifestyle vlogs by ordinary Koreans, which are not produced by conventional media industries. These new genre forms of narrative media appear to increasingly appeal to diasporic youth as they explore ethnic identification and new modes of representation through their bicultural lens and navigations of these new genres. Moreover, these genres contribute to expanding the scope of Hallyu, which may no longer be defined simply by its physical location of origin but rather involves diverse routes and multi-layered textuality.

TV of Diasporic Koreans: Kim’s Convenience

The young Korean Canadians interviewed for this book frequently accessed Korean TV, although they do not necessarily remain dedicated to it. Interestingly, compared to transnational media from Korea, the young people’s interest in locally produced ethnic Korean media, such as Korean language newspapers or TV programs produced locally, was almost absent. The absence of ethnic media in diasporic youth’s media consumption may be due to the weak infrastructure of ethnic Korean TV production in Canada.Footnote 7 Locally-grown ethnic media without solid revenue structures tend to rely on local sponsors and are under the pressure of commodification (Jin and Kim 2011). In particular, Korean ethnic media produced in Canada have extremely limited resources for producing its content (Jin and Kim 2011; Yu 2018). Given the lack of original and locally relevant content in ethnic media run by Korean Canadian communities, Canadian network TV’s introduction of Korean themes in its programming may provide an option for diasporic Korean audiences to engage with their stories on their screens. In this regard, the recent production and popularity of the mainstream Canadian TV show, Kim’s Convenience (2016–2021), which may not be explicitly categorized as Korean TV or Hallyu media , reveals how the stories and storytelling of Korean diasporas are incorporated into their “host” countries’ popular media and public imagination.

As briefly mentioned in earlier chapters, media representation of Koreans or East Asians has been extremely rare in the Canadian mediascape. It was only in the mid-2010s when Canadian network TV aired its first East Asian-led sitcom, Kim’s Convenience. A few interviewees pointed out the CBC’s hit comedy Kim’s Convenience as a rare (if not the only) example of the portrayal of Korean communities and their culture in Canada. Kim’s Convenience is a popular Canadian sitcom about a Korean Canadian family running a convenience store in Toronto. Based on the stage play by Korean Canadian playwright Ins Choi, who participated in its TV version as a co-creator, this TV sitcom has been reviewed positively by Canadian audiences and released in many other countries including Korea. The show has been so acclaimed by Canadian critics that it won several TV awards, including main star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s 2017 and 2018 wins at the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy. Lee’s 2018 award acceptance speech has attracted media attention and went viral. In the speech, he noted, “Representation matters because when communities and people see themselves reflected up on the screens, it is an inspiring and very powerful moment for them.” The show has been acclaimed for its representation of Korean and Asian Canadian communities as emphasized in Lee’s speech.

Interestingly, while Kim’s Convenience, not unlike many other Canadian shows, was not particularly popular among those interviewed, some interviewees watched more than several episodes of the show and there were mixed responses. Some viewers evaluated this show favorably as a long-awaited, welcome addition with which they can identify as it portrays Korean Canadians who are almost absent in Canadian media. For example, 22-year-old Meghan enjoyed the show as she was pleasantly surprised by the portrayal of Korean Canadians: “Growing up, I didn’t think there was any Korean portrayal in Canadian TV. It was really weird for me when Korean things did start to pop up in Western media, like ‘Gangnam Style.’ But now it feels more normal to me. Kim’s Convenience was popular and I loved it.” More specifically, 16-year-old Sherry who watched the entire first season of the show appreciated the way in which the show humorously and vividly portrayed Korean immigrants in Canada.

(Interviewer: Do you watch Canadian TV programs?) I think I have only watched one Canadian TV show, Kim’s Convenience by CBC. Everything else is always staged in America. (Interviewer: How was Kim’s Convenience?) I definitely liked the show because they kind of reminded me a lot of my family (laughs) and it was like the whole plot of an immigrant family from Korea in Canada. So, yeah, I was really enjoying to watch it.

In comparison, a few other viewers had mixed feelings about the show because they thought the show’s Korean characters were stereotypical. 24-year-old Stella, who was born and grew up with Korean immigrant parents running a small business, critically noted:

Yes, it’s cool that they’re trying to make the immigration life into TV, but at the same time as I was watching it, I thought they were highlighting all the Asian stereotypes... so, I didn’t really like. They were trying to be funny (…) but, for us it’s not really funny, because I know the hardships and all the stuff behind immigrant families.

Given the overall positive reviews for the show in mainstream Canadian media, Stella’s response was somewhat unique. She seemed to receive this show emotionally because it reminded her of her family’s struggles with settling in Canada. As Stella pointed out, the characters in Kim’s Convenience are comically portrayed and can be seen as stereotypical.

There have been questions about the representation of Korean and Asian immigrants on Kim’s Convenience. In response to criticism that the show may reproduce a stereotypical portrayal of Korean Canadian families to some extent, the showrunner and cast, along with many viewers and critics, argued that the show’s Asian representation does not draw on stereotypes but rather on archetypes that are often adopted for the effective delivery of stories and characters in the 20-min-per-episode sitcom format. Indeed, reportedly, the show is based on Ins Choi’s experiences as a second generation Korean who grew up in an immigrant family in Toronto (Westerman 2019).Footnote 8

Moreover, a few interviewees considered the show to be neither a Korean nor a Western sitcom. They distinguished the show from Korean TV (made in Korea) and Hallyu media. For 16-year-old 1.5 generation Samuel, Kim’s Convenience was an “American style show” about Korean immigrants.

I feel like it was more American style than Korean style. And that, like, the dialog and storyline was kind of more similar to other American shows that I’ve watched. So I’m like, I don’t really want to watch it because it’s more American stuff. I kind of want to watch more Korean style.

Although Samuel did not elaborate, for him the show seemed more “American” (or Western) than Korean. That is, unlike Hallyu media content, this show about Korean Canadian lives did not sufficiently address contemporary Korean culture and popular culture. However, the show was considered not fully Western as well. The show did not follow trendy, fast-paced sitcom styles, with which young Canadian viewers might be familiar. As Hsu (2019, para 2) noted, the show offers a feeling of “watching an alternate time line” as “there is nothing edgy about the show.” For this reason, Kim’s Convenience may not be fully appealing to the young Korean Canadians in this book, and several initially enthusiastic viewers of the show discontinued watching. They enjoyed earlier seasons that portrayed Korean Canadians and tried to share diasporic stories. However, they felt the stories were no longer refreshing as the show continued throughout several seasons. 18-year-old Mia enjoyed the first two seasons of the show, but no longer watched the show.

It was really popular when it came out and I think it’s still popular. I’m not sure, though, because I stopped watching it, but I had a very positive response. I would watch it with my family occasionally. And I think kids at my school also enjoyed it a lot, too. Overall, there were positive reactions from the community. (Interviewer: Can I ask you what made you stop watching the show?) It’s because I just found other shows that I was more interested in. Also, I think there was a small period of time where they stopped airing the show for a little bit to make more of a show. I began to watch other shows that were kind of more my style.Footnote 9

As noted by Mia, some interviewees switched to other (primarily American or Korean) shows, which were “kind of more my style,” as their interest in Kim’s Convenience decreased. The show also did not seem to experiment with cutting-edge styles and themes, at least for some of the diasporic youth.

Overall, as a rare mainstream TV program portraying a Korean immigrant family, Kim’s Convenience has been largely welcomed and acclaimed by both critics and audiences. As shown in its fan forum on Reddit, the fans of the show (who named themselves “Kimbits”) were enthusiastic about the show’s vivid diasporic storytelling and urged the reconsideration of its abrupt cancelation in 2021. However, as the Asian Canadian main cast members’ interviews reveal, the production of the show had recurring problems with representing cultural diversity (C. Wang 2021). It is important that despite its half-success as the first Canadian sitcom portraying Korean diaspora it opened a door for further development of diasporic media. Hopefully, young Korean Canadian talents and audiences will engage with mainstream media industries to develop and popularize new shows about diasporic Korean experiences.

Personal Broadcasting or Vlogging

With the flood of user-generated content on digital platforms and social media, ordinary people’s daily video diaries (referred to as vlogs) have integrated into the cultural flows of Hallyu. Although Hallyu has been primarily known by its content designed and made by major entertainment corporations, an increasing number of ordinary digital users have contributed to expanding the cultural repertoire of Hallyu. In comparison with the dominant, industry-led cultural wave, this new territory of Hallyu is led by ordinary people who, without now being able to engage with digital technology, would have remained somewhat invisible in the receiving end of transnational cultural flows. Some end-users have redefined themselves as creators by taking part in the emerging digital wave of Hallyu and in so doing are adding a new layer of user-driven Hallyu that moves beyond the cultural circulation of industry-designed, ready-made products (Jin et al. 2021). The rapid increase in personal broadcasting or vlogging activities via YouTube and other streaming platforms has been a recent development in digitally-driven participatory culture—especially among Hallyu audiences. In particular, vlogging practices have become exponentially widespread in Korea’s mediascape and are now an integral part of the digital phase of Hallyu.

The young Korean Canadians in this book viewed Korean vlogs for several reasons. Most of all, they were curious about the daily lives of contemporary Koreans. 16-year-old Samuel, who left Korea at the age of 6, followed several Korean YouTubers to get a sense of what was going on in Korea.

I follow some Korean vloggers on YouTube. I like watching them. I wanted to watch the Korean vlogs because I was kind of really curious on what Korea looks like right now. So I watch those YouTube [channels] and their contents were actually sometimes really good and were kind of interesting. So I kind of got the experience of how Koreans live right now in this day and age. So I can kind of get a better understanding.

For those who identify with their ethnic roots and desire to maintain their transnational connection with Korea, it seems important to keep up with ordinary people’s stories. In comparison, Emily, a 25-year-old second generation, wanted to explore cultural differences between the two cultures by watching Korean YouTubers’ challenges in experiencing North American culture.

There are a few YouTube channels where Koreans try out North America things or talk about their thoughts about other countries. I thought that was kind of an interesting series. I think it would give North Americans a better idea of what Korean people more like.

In this manner, in addition to mainstream Hallyu media, such as K-pop, K-drama, and Korean entertainment shows, the digital storytelling of ordinary people through vlogging appeared to be a popular genre for the diasporic youth to engage with their ethnic roots on the one hand and to address their cultural tastes that are not fulfilled by mainstream Western TV or Korean TV on the other.

According to the interviewees, Korean vlogs were appealing primarily because of their unique content, which was distinguished from that of Canadian or American vlogs. Several young women interviewees, who followed Korean lifestyle vloggers, found that the Korean YouTubers offer more relevant tips for fashion, makeup, and home design. For example, given their skin tones and physical attributes, these young people preferred Korean vlogs to White creators’ vlogs. The interviewees considered the YouTubers as “regular people” and thus easily identified with them. Vlogs appeared to offer the young people a window into a more intimate and ordinary life of their distant ethnic homeland. Moreover, vlogs are available more casually and easily accessible without any subscription or contextual knowledge.

Among various types of vlogs, live streaming eating shows, known as meokbang in Korea, were commonly viewed content and a popular pastime for some interviewees. Meokbang, a Korean portmanteau of “eating” and “broadcasting,” has been particularly popular among young audiences in Korea’s media environments. This genre has emerged as an exceptionally popular type of live streaming content among young people in Korea and increasingly in other countries. Many young broadcasters on YouTube, Twitch, or AfreecaTV (Korean streaming platform) have become micro-celebrities by exhibiting how they eat—often in extreme ways (e.g., eating an extremely large amount of food or extremely spicy foods).Footnote 10 24-year-old Lucas frequently viewed a wide range of YouTube clips, many of which are Korean vlogs—from Army training reality shows to meokbang. When asked why he watched meokbang and why this genre may be popular, he commented, “They eat so much, so it’s like impossible, it seems impossible, but they do it. So just being mesmerized by beating the unbeatable, OK?” For Lucas, watching Korean meokbang seemed to satisfy his interest in ordinary Koreans’ daily lives and enabled him to visually enjoy the Korean foods he wanted to eat. As Hong and Park (2016) claimed, meokbang is popular in highly individualized Korea as it offers a feeling of filling up young generations’ emotional hunger and provides the viewer with a vicarious pleasure of eating a lot without any concern about dietary disciplines and norms.

Some young people interviewed for this book accessed vlogs through different digital platforms without being limited to YouTube. 19-year-old Cody, who is a 1.5 generation in the workforce, often watched livestream broadcasting through AfreecaTV—the Korean platform that specializes in live streaming and personal broadcasting of gaming and meokbang. As a popular vlog genre in Korea, meokbang has been particularly popular on Korea-based streaming platforms like AfreecaTV. While YouTube was the most preferred platform for viewing vlogs, AfreecaTV was also used for those who are familiar with Korean language and Korean culture. The increasing number of overseas users of AfreecaTV may signal that Hallyu is not simply the flows of texts and content, but also involves distribution of Korean media platforms to overseas users. In the transcultural flows of platforms, diasporic youth who are relatively familiar with the language and culture with which the Korean platforms operate may easily navigate by using their “second generation advantages” (Kasinitz et al. 2008) between different platforms (e.g., between YouTube and AfreecaTV). Given that “the shaping of digital stories is subject to mediation” (Lundby 2008, p. 12), the platform that is used and the elements of storytelling that are emphasized in a particular platform may influence how Korean personal broadcasting is transnationally consumed by diasporic youth. For example, an increasing number of YouTubers—especially those who are referred to as “influencers”—seem to make an effort to strategically create catchy content while branding their life as a commodity form (Khamis et al. 2017). In so doing, they seek to redefine themselves as micro-celebrities who are admired by their digital followers. For more systematic management, some YouTubers are affiliated with cultural intermediaries such as entertainment agencies or promoters to increase their audience bases and increase their power as influencers (Duffy 2017).

Viewing small screens that are streaming various “ordinary” people’s lives, the diasporic youth may indirectly experience the highly competitive, fast-paced rhythms of the everyday lives of Seoulites. However, their motivation for engaging with the digital nirvana of personal broadcasting in the surge of Hallyu may be different from that of young Koreans. Cultural critics have argued that flourishing personal broadcasting practices in Korea has generated a unique youth culture drawn from the highly individualized lifestyles of the post-millennial generation, who cynically call themselves “ingyeo” or “human surplus/waste” (Hong and Park 2016; Song 2018). The culture of personal broadcasting also involves real-time interaction between vloggers and their viewers; AfreecaTV is a platform that exploits viewers’ direct donation and contribution of digital currency (known as “byeolpungsun” that literally means star balloons) to their favorite vloggers (Choi 2019; Song 2018). That is, the personal broadcasting facilitates interactive and participatory communications, while reflecting the emotional landscape of a frustrated young generation under neoliberal competition.

It is unclear how much of the diasporic youth’s engagement with Korean vlogs resonates with the precarious social atmosphere of highly neoliberalized Korea. However, diasporic young people’s transnational viewing of vlogs reveals how national and transnational viewers are making diasporic connections and seeking answers to their own challenges in their transition to adulthood. For Korean Canadians, the viewing of and interacting with Korea-based, young vloggers may contribute to their cultural practices such as ethnic identification, looking for a refuge from the White-dominant cultural frame, and seeking new representations not referring to the White gaze.

Conclusion

Growing up as people of color in “multicultural” Canada, the Korean Canadians interviewed for this book rarely encountered media representation of diasporic Asians and their cultures. The Canadian mediascape has insufficiently engaged with non-White groups by firmly drawing on the White-dominant cultural frame. For the diasporic Korean Canadian youth, Hallyu media appeared to offer them more relevant cultural resources, with which they could navigate different cultural content and modes of storytelling and engage with the question of identity in between different cultures. Through their viewing practices of Korean TV, diasporic youth engage with “there” (Korea) from “here” (Canada). In doing so, they further explore who they are and what is missing in the White-dominant Canadian mediascape.

For most of the young Korean Canadians in this book, Korean TV was considered to be more relevant compared to American and Canadian TV. Although they were more familiar with English than Korean and were accustomed to Canadian social contexts, they sought ethno-racial identification through the Hallyu media and looked for what they felt was missing in Canadian and Western media—values such as intimate feelings of jeong or respect for elders. In so doing, the young people appeared to negotiate their uncertain feelings about their national identity and sense of belonging and to explore a bicultural lens through which different modes of storytelling co-exist and are even hybridized as cultural resources for their lives in between two cultures.

The diasporic viewing of Korean TV by the interviewees reveals the ways in which Hallyu is integrated into young Korean Canadians’ everyday contexts. In the midst of White-dominant media representation, the increasing global availability and popularity of Korean TV may provide the diasporic youth with meaningful momentum for exploring who they are and how they can critically navigate between different cultural texts and contexts. It should be noted that although Hallyu media has been described as relevant, relatable, participatory, and cutting-edge, it is not inherently progressive or counter-hegemonic. As the interviewees sometimes pointed out, Korean TV reveals its regressive ideological positions (e.g., misogynic themes in some Korean entertainment or comedy shows). Some women interviewees were particularly critical of the lack of gender sensitivity in Korean TV. Moreover, while the diasporic youth can identify with the stories and characters of Korean TV, the diasporic consumption of Hallyu media does not always enhance cultural space for the diasporic young people’s stories and experiences. Of course, Hallyu media exploits digital media platforms that allow for extensive audience participation as evidenced in the interface of the Viki streaming site and vlogging on AfreecaTV. For example, watching a K-drama episode on Viki, a Korean Canadian viewer may share their thoughts with other anonymous viewers; a Korean Canadian viewer may send messages to meokbang influencers on AfreecaTV or YouTube to share their feelings. However, these participatory methods of consumption may not guarantee self-representation through which they tell about who they are.

Then, how can Korean Canadians tell and share their stories without consciously explaining who they are to others and the White-dominant society? As illustrated in Steven Yeun’s interview at the beginning of the chapter, it is important for diasporic youth to exercise telling about who they are without self-monitoring and feelings of marginalization. Echoing Yeun’s statement, the young people interviewed for this book appeared to explore opportunities and resources for their identity work through engaging with Hallyu media. By viewing Korean TV, Korean Canadians may become gradually aware that they do not have to explain who they are any more. Furthermore, through viewing Korean TV (and navigating between different narrative media from Korea, Canada, and elsewhere), the diasporic youth may feel at home where they are. Compared to the first generation who consume far more Korean media than Canadian media, diasporic young Koreans who are equipped with bilingual and bicultural literacy may actively navigate different media forms across “here” and “there.” Moreover, diasporic media productions that contribute to representations of Korean identities may expand the scope of the Korean Wave. Canadian media’s endeavor to introduce diasporic Korean stories in Kim’s Convenience is an important attempt, as it provided the diasporic viewers with the possibility of their stories being projected on the national mediascape. However, the show’s abrupt cancelation revealed that such experiments of diasporic storytelling are not an easy task given the existing dominant media structure.

Narrative media genres in Hallyu, such as K-drama, entertainment shows, films, and vlogs, have played a pivotal role in intra-Asian and global circulation of content from the once-peripheral Korean cultural industry. While K-pop has gained significant media attention owing to the megahits of a few K-pop idol groups, Hallyu is not limited to a genre but rather involves a wide range of storytelling (Jin et al. 2021). Certainly, digital media contributes to marginalized populations’ self-representation and storytelling (Lundby 2008). However, only a limited number of young people interviewed for this book actually tried to do their own digital storytelling via YouTube and other platforms.Footnote 11 It is important to explore Korean Canadian voices in the Canadian mediascape and to examine further how diasporic individuals obtain and maintain the power to tell their stories through digital media and how such self-representation and storytelling can contribute to enhancing Korean Canadians’ public engagement.