Mediatization And Culture: Korean Wave And Malaysia'S Gen Z Fan In The Global Pandemic Covid-19

Korean Wave is a global phenomenon that has made social media a major platform for promoting cultural products. Having fans from all over the world demonstrates its suitability to be a subject of study in the process of how the development of media technology has transformed people's lives. This article aims to explore the process of mediatization in society. This study seeks to explore how media technology plays a role in changing the culture of every day. Looking at the Korean wave, the researcher sought to understand the relationship between fans among gen Z and the phenomenon. This study is a qualitative research, using nethnography as a data collection technique. Samples were selected based on predefined criteria and then used Nvivo12 software to analyse the findings. The researcher further refined this study by focusing on the duration of movement control order only. This study seeks to understand how the entertainment industry survived and the relationship between the Korean wave phenomenon and fans in the face of a pandemic. The study found that despite the global pandemic, with a high level of digitalization among gen Z, the consumption of Korean cultural products among fans is still ongoing. Fan experience such as attending concerts and sharing information can still be done using the applications via media communication devices such as mobile phones, computers and tablets. The development of media communication technologies, change the way people communicate and the culture of every day.