East Asian stars, public space, and star studiesdiscussion is that the cultural flows have created many transnational interest groups, who then
start to think post-nationally or non-nationally in contrast to the acknowledged nationalistic state.
For instance, Taiwanese stars are currently at a crossroads between different types of nation-
alisms, as represented by the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese Nationalist Party, and the
Democratic Progressive Party. They all have requested the stars—and hence the individuals—to
become ideal nationals in their own competition to shape the national identities of contem-
porary Taiwanese people. However, some of the Taiwanese fans of pop singer Chang Hui-mei
(who is ethnically aboriginal) had different opinions from both the Chinese and Taiwanese
nation-states regarding the Taiwanese political status, and ultimately the meaning imposed on
Chang’s involvement at the presidential inauguration of the Republic of China govern ment
in Taiwan in 2000 (Tsai 2007). Another example is how the Chinese-language female fans
of Korean star Song Seung-Heon, who evaded mandatory conscription in the early 2000s,
organized to negotiate with the Korean government. The government had requested Song
to immediately begin military service—the definition of a Korean star’s national loyalty (Tsai
2007). The overseas fans argued that Song’s contribution to Korean popular culture counts as his
patriotic service for his nation. Not surprisingly, the voices of these transnational social groups
were ignored by the nation-state authorities in the public domain. The groups were elusive and
powerless, when they turned to a politically defined cause, but they had different definitions of
national loyalty. Whether they could eventually influence the authorities depends on the pro-
gression of the public sphere in East Asia.
Summary and possible directions
This chapter introduces inter-Asian star studies for researchers who are interested in this com-
parative approach to the transnational star/society phenomena in East Asia. Inter-Asian star
studies are built upon the studies of media stars in Western film, media, and cultural academia.
It treats the production and consumption of media stars, which is the configuration of social
consensus over collective values and identities, as one of the main social mechanisms in con-
temporary society.
The nation-based and inter-Asian approaches to media stars and celebrities are useful for
different research questions. The theoretical tools of inter-Asian star studies pursue the specific
inter-Asian issues pertaining to East Asian stars, idols, and celebrities. One of these questions
in which the public figures are involved is the triangular relation between the stars’ image,
especially their inflected geopolitical ideological meanings, media exchange, and regional soft
power dynamism. The second is related to the emergence of transnational public space, which is
formed of nation-states, transnational fan groups, among others, and their contested negotiation
on the stars’ public subjectivity, such as forms of national loyalty.
Sensitivity on West–Asia dynamism remains important, partially because the contemporary
East Asian media culture is one outcome of the global West–East opposition. While Jackie Chan’s
Hollywood career served the global domination of American media, the experiences of white
thespians working in the Hong Kong film industry formed an interesting contrast to Chan’s
experience (Morris 2012). The performance of Chinese star Zhang Ziyi as a geisha—traditional
Japanese female entertainer—in the Hollywood film Memories of a Geisha (2005) was also treated
by some Chinese nationalists as a betrayal of her national loyalty (Kourelou 2010).
Regarding possible directions for future inter-Asian star studies, new inter-Asian media star
phenomena might include, initially, the emergence of cross-cultural celebrity couples; for exam-
ple, the Chinese film actress Tang Wei, who is married to Korean director Kim Tae-Yong, and
the marriage between Korean actress Chae Lim and Chinese actor Gao Zi Qi. Researchers