Skip to content
1981
Queering the Korean Wave
  • ISSN: 2051-7084
  • E-ISSN: 2051-7092

Abstract

Given its accessibility in the last decade, K-pop has become one of the strong cultural forces in Philippine youth media that has heavily influenced the consumption practices of local fans. From collecting photo cards to organizing cupsleeve events, Filipino K-pop fans have embraced and adapted different fan practices, some of which are intimately queer. One such queer fan practice is ‘K-pop shipping’ where fans imagine their favourite idols engaging in romantic, and sometimes sexual, relationships within and outside of their groups. Beyond embracing queer literacies such as boys love, local K-pop shipping has grown intimately queer as Filipino fans developed stories that brought their idols closer to home through a phenomenon termed ‘Filo AU’ (Filipino alternative universe). These Filo AUs are short-form fan narratives on social media that reimagine their favourite K-pop idols as locals who have Filipino backgrounds, live very Filipino experiences and values while finding queer romance. In this article, I examine queer K-pop Filo AU as a result of affective transnational queer literacies that inspire hope, connection and aspiration for queer utopias among Filipinos.

© 2024 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/eapc_00140_1
2024-12-26
2026-04-14

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. 00zmisfits (2022), ‘I-shoot mo, bobo!’ (‘Just shoot it, idiot’), Twitter, 15 January, https://twitter.com/00zmisfits/status/1482309249795751937. Accessed 15 August 2023.
  2. Abad, Ysa (2022), ‘“Leni Sunbaenim ending all fan wars”: Filipino K-pop Stans unite to support Robredo’, Rappler, 14 February, https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/arts-culture/filipino-k-pop-stans-unite-support-leni-robredo-rally-february-2022/. Accessed 12 July 2023.
  3. Abanes, Mariel (2020), ‘Curious about Thai BL? Here’s why you should tune in!’, Metro.Style, 30 April, https://metro.style/culture/film-tv/5-thai-bl-shows-to-check-out-now/24777. Accessed 29 August 2022.
  4. ABS-CBN News (2013), ‘“Four Sisters and a Wedding” earns P60M in 4 days’, https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/06/30/13/four-sisters-and-wedding-earns-p60m-4-days. Accessed 10 July 2023.
  5. Anon. (2021), One True Pair the Movie, Philippines: Jollibee Studios, 1 December, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXg3uWqcAp8. Accessed 17 August 2023.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Aoyama, Tomoko (1994), ‘The love that poisons: Japanese parody and the new literacy’, Japan Forum, 6:1, pp. 35–46, https://doi.org/10.1080/09555809408721499.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Aoyama, Tomoko (1998), ‘Male homosexuality as treated by Japanese women writers’, in G. McCormack and Y. Sugimoto (eds), Modernization and Beyond: The Japanese Trajectory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 186–204.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Aoyama, Tomoko (2012), ‘BL (boys’ love) literacy: Subversion, resuscitation, and transformation of the (father’s) text’, U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal, 43:1, pp. 63–84.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. bacsiloq (2020), ‘CoupJeong Loveteam Filo AU’, 3 March, https://web.archive.org/web/20211118200452/https://twitter.com/bacsiloq/status/1234592961687519233. Accessed 12 December 2022.
  10. Baudinette, Thomas (2020), ‘Creative misreadings of “Thai BL” by a Filipino fan community: Dislocating knowledge production in transnational queer fandoms through aspirational consumption’, Mechademia: Second Arc, 13:1, pp. 101–18.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Baudinette, Thomas (2022), ‘Japanese queer popular culture and the production of sexual knowledge in the Philippines’, in S. Tang and H. Y. Wijaya (eds), Queer Southeast Asia, London: Routledge, pp. 47–62.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Baudinette, Thomas (2023), ‘Idol shipping culture’, in S. Kim (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to K-Pop, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 249–64, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108938075.020.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Benedicto, Bobby (2014), Under Bright Lights: Gay Manila and the Global Scene, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Bernardo, Jaehwa (2021), ‘Filipino K-pop fans set up community pantries’, ABS-CBN News, 20 April, https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/20/21/filipino-k-pop-fans-set-up-community-pantries. Accessed 20 June 2023.
  15. Casabal, Norberto (2008), ‘Gay language: Defying the structural limits of English language in the Philippines’, Kritika Kultura, 11, pp. 74–101, https://doi.org/10.3860/kk.v0i11.754.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Ckjeons (2021), ‘D Ko Nagets Ung Lesson Sir’ (‘I do not understand the lesson sir’), TikTok, 15 September, https://www.tiktok.com/@ckjeons/video/7008043043114732827?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1. Accessed 12 April 2023.
  17. Cruz, Marinel (2021), ‘Pinoy boys’ love: A rising phenomenon in time of COVID-19 explained’, INQUIRER.net, 9 December, https://entertainment.inquirer.net/429257/pinoy-boys-love-a-rising-phenomenon-in-time-of-covid-19-explained. Accessed 28 February 2022.
  18. Fujimoto, Yukari (2015), ‘The evolution of BL as “playing with gender”’, in M. McLelland, K. Nagaike, K. Suganuma and J. Welker (eds), Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan, Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, pp. 76–92.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Gabinete, Jojo (2019), ‘Coco Martin finally breaks silence amid controversies’, PEP.ph, 21 April, https://www.pep.ph/news/142681/coco-martin-finally-breaks-silence-amid-controversies-a734-20190421. Accessed 15 July 2023.
  20. Galbraith, Patrick W. (2009), ‘Moe and the potential of fantasy in post-millennial Japan’, Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, 9:3, 31 October, http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html. Accessed 14 November 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Garcia, J. Neil C. (2009), Philippine Gay Culture: Binabae to Bakla, Silahis to MSM, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Garcia-Molina, Cathy (2013), Four Sisters and a Wedding, Philippines: Star Cinema.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Gonzalez, Victoria M. (2016), ‘Swan queen, shipping, and boundary regulation in fandom’, Transformative Works and Cultures, 22:0, 15 September, http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/669. Accessed 18 February 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Guevarra, Alona U. (2014), ‘Creating a safe space for queer teens?: Some initial findings on queer teens in K-pop cover groups and fan community’, in Ateneo Korean Studies Conference Proceedings, vol. 1, Manila: Ateneo de Manila University, pp. 102–19.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Guno, Niña V. (2018), ‘Darren Espanto, JK Labajo Feud over “gayness”’, INQUIRER.net, 22 October, https://entertainment.inquirer.net/300282/p2fb-darren-espanto-jk-labajo-feud-over-gayness. Accessed 15 July 2023.
  26. Guzman, Chad De (2023), ‘Why the Philippines struggles to pass a law against LGBT discrimination’, Time, 30 June, https://time.com/6290762/philippines-pride-lgbt-discrimination-sogie-equality-bill/. Accessed 14 July 2023.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Halperin, David (1995), Saint Foucault: Towards a Gay Hagiography, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Hartal, Gilly, Pascar, Lital and David, Yossi (2018), ‘Queering safety? An introduction’, Borderlands, 17:1, pp. 1–11.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Inton, Mikee N. (2018), ‘Exploring the Dolphy Bakla: Queerness in Philippine cinema’, in A. H. J. Magnan-Park, G. Marchetti and S. K. Tan (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 583–605.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. IzziePark1 (2021), ‘Lumalayang Ang Anghet’ (‘Anghet is sailing’), Twitter, 11 November, https://twitter.com/IzziePark1/status/1461951259393413123. Accessed 12 April 2023.
  31. Jaynelle (2021), ‘Yung Mas May Kinikilg Pa Yung Clasmate Mo Kesa Sayo’ (‘When your classmates are more excited than you’), TikTok, 24 August, https://www.tiktok.com/@jayne_lle/video/6999657545111588123. Accessed 12 April 2023.
  32. jinniefics (2018), ‘Filo SVT Four Sisters and a Wedding AU’, Twitter, 3 November, https://twitter.com/jinniefics/status/1058568161199480832. Accessed 12 April 2023.
  33. Jung, Sun (2010), Korean Masculinities and Transcultural Consumption: Yonsama, Rain, Oldboy, K-Pop Idols, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Kaneda, Junko and Miura, Shion (2007), ‘“Seme X uke” no mekuru meku sekai: Dansei shintai no miryoku o motomete’ (‘The world surrounding “seme x uke”: Searching for the attractiveness of male bodies’), Yurīka (Eureka), 39, pp. 8–29.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Kiriaki, Hiroshi and Katsuyama, Genko (eds) (2015), Hajimete no hito no tame no BL gaido (‘BL guide for beginners’), Tokyo: Genkōsha.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Knobel, Michele and Lankshear, Colin (2014), ‘Studying new literacies’, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58:2, pp. 97–101.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Kwon, Jungmin (2015), ‘Queering stars: Fan play and capital appropriation in the age of digital media’, The Journal of Fandom Studies, 3:1, pp. 95–108, https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs.3.1.95_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Kwon, Jungmin (2019), Straight Korean Female Fans and Their Gay Fantasies, Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Kwon, Jungmin (2022), ‘Theorizing the Korean Wave| K(q)ueer-pop for another world: Toward a theorization of gender and sexuality in K-pop’, International Journal of Communication, 17:0, pp. 52–71.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. LXC and Enjelicious (2017), He’s My Oppastar!, vol. 1, Manila: ABS-CBN Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Malik, Zunera and Haidar, Sham (2023), ‘Online community development through social interaction: K-pop Stan Twitter as a community of practice’, Interactive Learning Environments, 31:2, pp. 733–51, https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1805773.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Manalansan, Martin F. (2003), Global Divas: Filipino Gay Men in the Diaspora, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Martin, Isabel P. (2019), ‘Philippine English in retrospect and prospect’, World Englishes, 38:1–2, pp. 134–43.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. McAlister, Jodi, Parnell, Claire and Trinidad, Andrea Anne (2023), Publishing Romance Fiction in the Philippines, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. McLelland, Mark (2010), ‘The “beautiful boy” in Japanese girls’ manga’, in T. Johnson-Woods (ed.), Manga: An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives, New York: Continuum Books, pp. 77–92.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Muñoz, José Esteban (2009), Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity, New York: New York University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Nishimura, Mari (2002), Aniparo to yaoi (‘Anime parody and yaoi’), Tokyo: Ohta Shuppan.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Oh, Chuyun (2015), ‘Queering spectatorship in K-pop: The androgynous male dancing body and western female fandom’, The Journal of Fandom Studies, 3:1, pp. 59–78, https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs.3.1.59_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Pertierra, Raul (2016), ‘Anthropology and the AlDub nation entertainment as politics and politics as entertainment’, Philippine Studies: Historical & Ethnographic Viewpoints, 64:2, pp. 289–300.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Queer as Folk (2000–05, USA: Cowlip Productions, Tony Jonas Productions, Temple Street Productions and Showtime Networks).
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Sanchez, Louie Jon A. (2014), ‘Koreanovelas, Teleseryes, and the “Diasporization” of the Filipino/the Philippines’, Plaridel, 11:1, pp. 66–95.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Santos, Kristine Michelle (2019), ‘Disrupting centers of transcultural materialities: The transnationalization of Japan cool through Philippine fan works’, Mechademia, 12:1, pp. 96–117.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Santos, Kristine Michelle (2020), ‘Queer affective literacies: Examining “rotten” women’s literacies in Japan’, Critical Arts, 34:5, pp. 72–86.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. SGWANNABE (2014), She’s Dating the Gangster, Philippines: Summit Publishing Company Inc.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Shiino, Yoichi (2014), ‘Changes of the coupling notation in comic market catalog of the 1980s (boys love/yaoi)’, Manga Kenkyū (Manga Studies), 20, pp. 74–95.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Takemiya, Keiko (1979), ‘Mangaka Hōmon: Takemiya Keiko’ (‘Manga artist visit: Keiko Takemiya’), Pafu (Puff), July, pp. 160–61.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. The Roestone Collective (2014), ‘Safe space: Towards a reconceptualization’, Antipode, 46:5, pp. 1346–65, https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12089.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Twitter Korea (2022), ‘2021 K-POP paen-i gajang manh-eun gugga (#KpopTwitter 2021 countries with the most K-pop fans)’, Twitter, 26 January, https://twitter.com/XKorea/status/1486189816404332545. Accessed 14 July 2023.
  59. vmnskit (2021), ‘UST DLSU Vmin Filo Au’, Twitter, 12 August, https://twitter.com/vmnskit/status/1425733734683222020. Accessed 12 July 2023.
  60. Welker, James (2006), ‘Beautiful, borrowed, and bent: “Boys’ love” as girls’ love in shōjo manga’, Signs, 31:3, pp. 841–70.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. Welker, James (2015), ‘A brief history of shōnen’ai, yaoi, and boys love’, in M. McLelland, K. Nagaike and K. Suganuma (eds), Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan, Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, pp. 42–75.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Zinampan, Tristan (2021), ‘Jollibee Denies discriminating against BL talents in casting call’, Rappler, 19 May, https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/arts-culture/jollibee-statement-boys-love-talents-casting-call/. Accessed 18 September 2023.
/content/journals/10.1386/eapc_00140_1
Loading
Exploring Philippine queer possibilities through transformative K-pop imaginations online
East Asian Journal of Popular Culture 10, 187 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1386/eapc_00140_1
/content/journals/10.1386/eapc_00140_1
/content/journals/10.1386/eapc_00140_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): boys love; fandom; K-pop; Philippine fan cultures; queer studies; social media Philippine Studies

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test