Navigating Digital ‘Alter Egos’: Interpassive Politics in K-Pop and Contemporary Capitalist Society

Abstract

This thesis delves into the anti-capitalist discourse within capitalist K-Pop. Considering the socio-political context of South Korea, such as the strict controls of the K-Pop industry and the high level of state influence, I explain Agust D’s creation, the alter ego of BTS member SUGA. This serves as a basis for my multi-media analysis of “Haegeum”, the title track of the artist’s album D-Day(2023). My primary theoretical concepts are: first, Marxist theories of the proletariat versus the bourgeoisie, as well as exploitation, accumulation and alienation; and second, Pfaller’s theory of Interpassivity. Threading through these theories and beyond, I intend to show how through three layers of distancing mechanisms, Agust D projects anti-capitalist commentary into the hypercapitalist K-Pop genre: his musical persona as distinct to his group identity, the fictionality of this character and its related visual narrative, and addressing a universal audience instead of a specifically South Korean one.