This paper examines how South Korean popular music (K-pop) promotes neoliberal feminism by a
discourse of resilience. In a therapeutic narrative of overcoming obstacles and achieving goals, K-pop videos
deliver a hegemonic message that individuals have to be responsible for their success and well-being rather
than blaming external, institutional conditions. While ostensibly promoting female empowerment, the videos
update and reinforce patriarchal gender norms and expectations. To substantiate this point, I analyze music
videos of the most successful K-pop group, Girls’ Generation’s “Into the New World” (2007) and “All Night”
(2017) to investigate how they promote resilience discourse along with neoliberal positive psychology as a
hegemonic ideal of female subjectivity.
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Sun, Qingyue, Dacia Paje’ & Hyunmin Lee
2023. “Female empowerment is being commercialized”: online reception of girl crush trend among feminist K-pop fans. Feminist Media Studies 23:8 ► pp. 4156 ff.
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2020. Neoliberal Feminism, Postfeminism and Professional Identities in the Media. In Professional Discourses, Gender and Identity in Women's Media, ► pp. 27 ff.
Kim, Gooyong
2019. From Hybridity of Cultural Production to Hyperreality of Post-feminism in K-pop: A Theoretical Reconsideration for Critical Approaches to Cultural Assemblages in Neoliberal Culture Industry. European Journal of Korean Studies► pp. 125 ff.
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