Affective Infrastructures of Hallyu: Platformized Intimacy, Emotional Universalism, and the Recomposition of Collective Life

This session examines how digital platforms shape contemporary forms of collective life through the case of Hallyu (the Korean Wave). Existing scholarship on digital publics is divided between two dominant perspectives. One emphasizes neo-tribal and grievance-driven online communities, while the other highlights cosmopolitan forms of solidarity and participation. Both approaches struggle to explain why some platform-mediated communities become fragmented and exclusionary, whereas others generate durable transnational bonds, civic engagement, and cultures of care.
The session proposes Hallyu fandom as a productive site for addressing this question. Drawing on research in digital sociology, the sociology of emotions, youth studies, media studies, and cultural sociology, participants will explore how platform architectures facilitate the formation of affective ties that connect individuals across national, linguistic, and cultural boundaries. Particular attention will be given to concepts such as affective infrastructures, mediated social capital, platformized intimacy, civic participation, digital resilience, and female universalism.
The session invites theoretical, empirical, and comparative papers that investigate the relationship between digital media, emotions, and collective action. Topics may include transnational fan communities, platform governance, online solidarity, youth participation, emotional mobilization, gendered forms of civic engagement, and comparative analyses of digital publics across cultural contexts.
By bringing together scholars from multiple disciplines and regions, the session aims to advance a broader sociological understanding of how digital affect is transformed into social connection, collective agency, and new forms of transnational belonging.