Pop Nostalgia, Pop Canonization and Korean Music Reality Shows

Supported by the Korea Foundation (2015), this project explores how Korean TV music reality programmes contribute to the revival of Korean popular music of the recent past through performance, mediation and mediatisation. Case studies include 'The Mystery Music Show' (MBC, since February 2015), 'Eternal Classics' (KBS, since June 2011) and 'I Am a Singer' (MBC, March 2011-April 2015). Conducted by Haekyung Um (IPM), the research examines how the resurgence of late twentieth century Korean pop repertoire is connected to nostalgia, and how this shapes the process of pop canonisation and the creation of popular music heritage in the 21st century. Chinese version of Korean music reality shows are also being examined, along with South Korean producers' involvement in Chinese production, in order to examine transcultural flows of Asian media culture and the translocal movement of cultural industry labour.