IDOL: IDEAL DISPLAY, OUTRIGHT LOSS | Pratt Institute School of Design

The K-idol industry adopts the concept of 'idol' and uses marketing along with idolization and commodification in a highly sophisticated way with new media. Therefore, K-idol exists in the tension of desire between 'Wanna Be' as a role model to follow, and 'Wanna Own' as a product. This thesis critically analyzes the mechanism behind the K-idol industry’s structure to suggest a new perspective to potential human resources who are willing to be converted into an image, calculated as capital, and evaluated by the public, and to the industries that are going to use that image.

K-Pop Machine

Imagine we live in a world of the machine cluster. Each machine works its own role, makes a profit, and leads cultural trends. This project depicts one of the machines, the “K-Pop Industry.” How are K-Pop stars made in this industry? What is counted for success?

Beloved, but Manipulated

Each box has different stories about the K-idol. They look spectacular, have lavish movements, beloved by their fans. But also they are being the object to imitate, suppressed, wrapped, manipulated, and replaced. By putting those together, this poster depicts the K-idol between the tension of “Wannabe” and “Wanna own.”

In this project, "Ideal Idol," by tracking the possible coexistence of all the components demanded toward an ideal idol, we can see how the idol industry and human commodification influence our society and how commodified humans will remain in the final ideal form.

The More I Seek You, The More I Rule You

This project is an interactive game project that shows an ironic relationship between fan and idol. The more fans want to see their idol on various platforms, the more their idol has to react to those desires. So, popularity can be both a good thing and a bad thing.

Look at me, Listen to me

“Look at me, Listen to me” is an exploration of the visual typology of K-Pop spectacle. By collecting all K-idol-related images, and stitch on top of the image to reveal something behind it, we can see what’s commonly coming up from the K-Pop spectacle.

By making a visual typology above, we can see what spectacle wants to show us and hide from us. “Look at me” is the voice of the spectacle, what they want to reveal, and “Listen to me” is the personal idol's voice that is usually concealed by the spectacle.

K-Pop Kaleidoscope

Shown above is a kaleidoscope made of idols’ eyes. The screen is filled with eyes, creating a creepy feeling, but at the same time, it is beautiful and makes it hard for the viewers to take their eyes off the image.

Also, choreography is a well-known characteristic of K-Pop. We can see the whole formation, synchronization, glowing sets, and catchy outfits in one performance showcase. We can see what is composing the whole showcase by recapturing the image as a pattern of the kaleidoscope.

These simple GIFs show how many people including trainees step into a path of K-Idol and how these outcomes look like. This correlation which implies competition, evaluation, and filtering makes the K-Idol's image more valuable.