Vol. 3 (2) Dec. 2021

Article ID. JHSSR-1122-2021

Analysis of Malaysian Youths’ Cognizance about K-pop from a Philosophical Viewpoint

Muhammad Nadzif Ramlan, Muhammad Akmal Harris Shafrial, Muhamad Firdaus Hakim Rozwira, Luqman Baihaqi Muhamad Dzohir, and Ahmad Zakwan Zakaria

Abstract:

Hallyu or the Korean wave has reverberated around the globe since the turn of the millennium in 2000, yet the emergence of Korean pop (K-pop) has been around even before that, ever since 1992. With such attention upon the K-pop idols, the impact they have – whether good or otherwise – upon youths is inevitable. Most researchers tend to study these effects based on economic instruments and psychological factors, thus this research would shed a different light on this issue using philosophy as the social apparatus. Methodology implemented was via questionnaires containing eight items related to K-pop disseminated to 100 undergraduates at National University of Malaysia (UKM). The findings from the eight items would be covered under the four sub disciplines – axiology (3), epistemology (1), logic (1) and metaphysics (3) and elucidated with these themes respectively: social identity, aesthetics, ethics, theory of knowledge (TOK), logical fallacy, determinism, nihilism and possibility-necessity. This study is significant because it gives insight on this social phenomenon with rather abstract yet fundamental concepts in philosophy that lay the foundation for K-pop becoming what it is now, the perception of ongoing idol-fandom interaction, and how the industry will propel in the future.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37534/bp.jhssr.2021.v3.n2.id1122.p77