HALLYU FANDOMS IN KAZAKHSTAN: WHAT THE RESEARCH TELLS US

Abstract

The global Korean Wave (Hallyu) has transcended regional boundaries and reached Central Asia, where Kazakhstan represents one of its most dynamic reception spaces. While scholarly discussions of Hallyu have been abundant in East and Southeast Asia, the phenomenon’s diffusion, localization, and fandom formation in the Kazakh context remain under-investigated. This article presents a qualitative systematic review of academic and semi-academic studies published between 2014 and 2025 (n=17) that examine the reception, fandom practices, and socio-cultural implications of Hallyu in Kazakhstan. The review synthesizes national and foreign-affiliated scholarship, classifies research by empirical versus secondary orientation, and identifies major thematic clusters such as soft power, identity formation, gender representations, and Q-pop glocalization. Findings reveal that most studies, especially by Kazakh researchers, rely on small-scale surveys or descriptive analyses, with limited methodological depth. Most narratives focus primarily on the emotional ambivalence of Hallyu’s influence on Kazakh youth and view fans as consumers of South Korean soft power. The paper concludes by outlining methodological weaknesses, highlighting the need for national-scale, longitudinal, digital-ethnographic, and comparative approaches, and situating Kazakhstan within global fandom scholarship.