What is K-Fashion? Understanding Thematic Components of the Idea of K-Fashion

Abstract

With the rising global popularity of Hallyu or the Korean wave, various K-cultures, one of them being K-Fashion, are fascinating the world. This research aimed to examine what are some perceptions that form and complete the idea of K-Fashion. By analyzing the open-coded data from the in-depth group interviews based on the grounded theory with 46 participants from 16 countries excluding Korea, by breaking down the raw data of the interview transcripts, 10 superordinate themes and 38 subordinate themes were found under the 2 categories. The first category consisting of 3 superordinate themes was named ‘dynamic and diverse’, reflecting the dynamically evolving and diverse nature of K-Fashion, and the second category with 7 superordinate themes was identified as ‘double-sided and ambiguous’. The study outlines the thematic components that forms the idea of K-Fashion, which has been a neglected research subject despite its importance in the fast-evolving and growing world of Hallyu.