The paradox of consumption and creation: K-Pop fandom in Bangladesh

Abstract

This thesis examines the paradox of consumption and creation within K-pop fandom in Bangladesh, focusing on how fans negotiate between active cultural participation and passive consumption. Using a qualitative research design, the study draws on case studies, survey responses, interviews, and media and social media materials to analyze how Bangladeshi fans interact with K-pop as a cultural, social, and economic phenomenon. The research is guided by Marxist theory and Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model to understand fandom as a site of labor, consumption, and meaning-making within a Global South context. The findings show that active K-pop fandom in Bangladesh extends beyond entertainment into performance, skill development, community formation, and selective professionalization. The cases also reveal how global K-pop texts are locally interpreted and re-encoded through performance, negotiation, and embodiment. At the same time, the thesis highlights the central role of passive consumption in sustaining the K-pop industry. Survey and interview data from participants illustrate how listening, streaming, sharing content, purchasing merchandise, and consuming Korean-themed food contribute to commodity circulation and capitalist expansion without requiring creative participation or fan identity. Overall, the study argues that K-pop fandom in Bangladesh operates across a spectrum of engagement, where both active and passive practices play structurally important roles. By situating these practices within Marxist and Hall’s frameworks, the thesis demonstrates how fandom in Bangladesh enables identity formation, cultural translation, and selective mobility while remaining embedded within global capitalist and ideological structures.