- P-ISSN0023-3900
- E-ISSN2733-9343
- A&HCI, SCOPUS, KCI
ISSN : 0023-3900
Vol.56 No.3
Abstract
Accounts of Hallyu (“Korean Wave”) exports in Southeast Asia often construct this phenomenon as a benevolent cultural force based upon a mutually beneficial arrangement designed to bring increased development and opportunity to the consumer. Such conclusions ignore the nature of Hallyu as soft power for Korean economic interests and also gloss over the complicated cultural differences that scholars understand have problematized its success in Southeast Asia. This article addresses the position of Hallyu in Laos, the poorest and least developed country in Southeast Asia and one of significant strategic importance to current Western and Eastern powers given its raw materials, geographical position, and current cultivation of overseas investment. While Hallyu in Laos may be constructed as part of a mutual exchange and beneficial arrangement, close analysis of the situation in Laos indicates a highly problematic situation in which Hallyu becomes part of a wider system of exploitation that is perhaps of little benefit to the ordinary Laotian consumer. Furthermore, close analysis of the few Korean cultural representations of Laos indicates that far from an equal partner, the nation is constructed as inferior, childlike, and in need of Korean assistance, in a discourse that is reminiscent of previous European-based Orientalism.
Abstract
Since the mid-1990s, a new breed of school dropout cases has appeared in South Korea. The number of students leaving school of their own volition has increased in defiance of the extremely competitive school culture that is uniformly focused on preparation for the college entrance examination. In general dropout youth are recognized as off-track individuals; these individuals, frequently labeled as troublemakers, are generally low academic achievers from low-class households. However, this new generation of dropout youth shows post-dropout learning and career trajectories that distinguish them from the earlier generation. Using a case study approach, this study aims to provide a foundation for better understanding of this new generation of dropout youth by examining their motivation to quit traditional school and their post-dropout life trajectories. In other words, this study examines what made these youth decide to quit traditional school, how they came to grips with the various structural and symbolic obstacles surrounding them, and what strategy they took for pioneering their path outside the system. By examining the positions of this new generation of dropout youth and the meaning they ascribe to choosing to drop out, this study provides possible implications for what direction school education should take in these changing times, not only in Korean society but also in other societies.
Abstract
At the peak of Korean cinema’s contemporary golden age in the mid-2000s, 1960s auteur director Lee Man-hee and his films were rediscovered and have since become appreciated in ways that Lee himself never experienced. In 2010, his classic Late Autumn was remade as a transnational co-production for a pan-Asian audience. Four decades after his death, Lee remains one of the most influential directors in Korea’s history. To understand his legacy and its sociohistorical conditions, the authors analyze how Lee’s provocative genre experimentation reinvigorated the Korean film industry in the 1960s under Park Chung-hee’s authoritarian regime, a spirit that remains alive today. Lee’s perseverance during this tumultuous period illustrates the complex relationship between the film industry and the state and some of the strategies filmmakers used to meet the challenges created by Park’s regime. Lee’s two best-known films, Marines Who Never Returned (1963) and Holiday (1968), are analyzed to show how creative impulses were sustained by developing a blend of social realism and modernist techniques to explore the human condition. This approach set his films apart from the propaganda and commercial productions of the time, bringing a fresh perspective to Korean cinema that continues to resonate with filmmakers and audiences today.
Abstract
The theory of cognition of Yi Ik was constructed in response to Kim Chang-hyeop, who separated cognition from morality by distinguishing between psychological energy and physical energy. Yi Ik reinterpreted Yi Hwang’s theory of mutual manifestation by making a distinction between psychological and physical energy, but developed a counterargument to Kim Chang-hyeop’s separation of cognition from morality. First, taking advantage of the Western medicine introduced by Adam Schall for connecting psychological and physical energy, Yi Ik insisted that the brain, which belonged to physical energy, could control the lower level cognitions like reflex action and sense perception. However, according to him, since mind, which was made of psychological energy, supervised all the processes of cognition by the principle of human nature, psychological energy and physical energy were interrelated. Second, in contrast with Kim Chang-hyeop, he reconnected cognition to wisdom as the source of moral consciousness and the intellectual virtue that could operate cognitive abilities. Although Yi Ik partially accepted the naturalism and psychologism of the Yulgok School, his theory can be considered a response of the Toegye School to Kim Chang-hyeop and a creative theory of cognition and morality integration.
Abstract
This work investigates the prosodic features of sijo with regard to parallelism and the cadence of its third line, as well as the modification of such features in English sijo. Contrary to the widely held belief that traditional sijo contain a specific syllabic or accentual metrical scheme, sijo prosody hinges on the parallelism of half lines. This parallel rhythm and the well-known cadence of the third line can be successfully adapted into English sijo. Such modifications of sijo prosody are possible because the sijo rhythm is either intuitively grasped by English sijo poets or specifically modified using the characteristics of English language and poetry. To revitalize sijo and realize its potential as an international literature, its prosody as well as its specific linguistic characteristics need to be understood. Grasping such aspects can help promote sijo as a meaningful global poetic genre that captures everyday thoughts and emotions in its colloquial rhythms.
Abstract
Bukchon, the historic district located between two palaces of Seoul, has become a major attraction of Korean tourism in the recent decade. As most tourists form first impressions of a site based on tourist literature, Bukchon’s public presentation has now become more important than ever. Due to its complicated record in the twentieth century, however, including its roots in colonial history and the residential conflict surrounding government-led preservation efforts, introducing Bukchon to visitors presents some unique challenges. By examining government-published or endorsed tourist representations of Bukchon, such as brochures, signage, and audiovisual exhibitions, this article attempts to investigate the desired image of Bukchon being projected towards the external audience and relate the issue to the discourse of heritage tourism and invented traditions. By paying close attention to the language and visual presentation of the subject of study, it illustrates how Koreans’ fundamental anxieties regarding certain aspects of modern history result in sanitizing and reimagining contemporary Bukchon.