'Are you Koreans?' - 'No, weare Kalmyks!': The development of k-pop cover dance among Kalmykia's youth revisited

Abstract

Introduction. The article deals with the k-pop cover dance direction as one of the movements globalizing the youth environment. Nowadays, the K-pop youth subculture has reached a significant number of teenage schoolchildren with its popularity. Currently, belonging to the K-pop subculture and its dance practices are becoming integral to creating new global identities for young people. Goals. The study aims to examine the richness of K-pop components through dance culture, especially popular among school-age teenagers. Materials. The work primarily analyzes the author's field materials with the aid of the structural/functional method, that of included observation, as well as interviews (narrative, semi-structured) with respondents. Results and Conclusions. The paper concludes that Kalmyk K-pop fans form a bi-ethnic identity in which a combination of features of both - their own and other ethnic cultures - is equally manifested. At the same time, K-pop cover dance proves the most accessible way to get socialized and develop imagination (i.e., a leisure-time activity) in present-day youth culture.