ABSTRACT
Over the past few decades, East Asian pop culture has drawn a tremendous amount of attention from not only regional producers and audiences but also academia: many scholars from Asia and the West have contributed to the ongoing debates and discussions on this topic. It is particularly noteworthy that Asian cultural studies scholars have been conducting their research in the cities in which they live, based on their own experiences and those of their neighbors. The volume and diversity of these experiences and discussions suggest that it is an opportune time to conduct broader and more theoretical research on East Asian pop culture. As Chen Kuan-Hsing and Chua Beng Huat suggest, we need to “work longer, further and deeper” (2007, 5) in order to better understand East Asian pop culture and its significance as one of the major inter-Asian trends.
