The Impact of K-Pop in Peace Building among Sri Lankan Youth

Abstract

Popularity of K-Pop culture and its participatory fan culture have expanded in the past decade in Sri Lanka. The number of K-pop events have greatly increased with fans organizing various events. Through in-depth interviews with fans, event organizers and sponsors, this research offers a quantitative and ethnographic study of K-pop fandom in Sri Lanka that takes into consideration local interactions between fans and perspectives on the genre, patterns of social integration and history. By exploring local scenarios of local and international pop reception and fan culture, the study demonstrates the rapidly growing fan base of K-pop among Sri Lankan youth and discusses the multidirectional understandings towards the K-pop music and its effectiveness of employing music in lifting awareness of cultural diversity, education, and cross culture relationships among Sri Lankan youth and how it helps to enhance the peace among multicultural society of Sri Lanka.