Korean Popular Culture Reader

Kyung Hyun Kim is Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures and Director of the Critical Theory Emphasis at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of Virtual Hallyu: Korean Cinema of the Global Era and The Remasculinization of Korean Cinema, both also published by Duke University Press.Youngmin Choe is Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California.

"A must-read for scholars, students, and fans alike, this path-breaking volume explores the vitality and diversity of Korean popular culture. Through an international collection of experts, we discover the importance of both local contexts of production and the global reach of Korean film, TV, dance, music, and more. It's a stunning work that will stand as the cornerstone of an emerging field."-Ian Condry, author of The Soul of Anime: Collaborative Creativity and Japan's Media Success Story "This volume is a pleasurable and intellectually stimulating excursion across the many genres of Korean popular culture. Bringing essays originally written in English together with well-chosen and beautifully translated Korean-language essays, The Korean Popular Culture Reader is a vibrant contribution to the field. This who's who of Korean cultural studies will certainly enjoy a wide readership."-Nancy Abelmann, author of The Intimate University: Korean American Students and the Problems of Segregation “There is plenty of interesting material for those interested in Korea. . . . The book doesn’t lack for intriguing topics, which also include challenges facing the country’s drive to market Korean food abroad, media portrayals of female Korean athletes and the country’s unique gaming culture. . . . Korea’s standing on the international stage and the challenges of explaining sudden cultural phenomena such as the ‘Gangnam Style’ craze seem to necessitate the need for better contextualization of hallyu. The Korean Popular Culture Reader is welcome in this respect."- Kim Young-jin (Korea Times) “Lively and informative. . . . One of the most comprehensive looks at hallyu, phenomena past and present.” - Bill Drucker (Korean Quarterly) "It is exciting to observe the emergence of an academic field in relation to a new historical situation. The move to establish a field of Korean popular culture studies resembles the formation of British cultural studies in the 1960s through research on the politics of postwar mass culture. This past year sadly witnessed the passing of Stuart hall, but the publication of The Korean Popular Culture Reader is a substantial tribute to hall’s far-reaching legacy."   - John R. Eperjesi (Amerasia Journal) "Telling as much about Korea, its society and history, as about popular culture, The Korean Popular Culture Reader should satisfy the intellectual thirst of scholars and students in Korean studies, cultural studies, and Asian studies." - Youjeong Oh (Journal of Asian Studies) “[T]his volume nurtures the readers with a generous abundance of information on Korean popular culture. It is well designed and thoughtfully presented and makes a convincing contribution to a growing body of literature on Korean studies, media studies, and anthropology. It is a must-read book for those who desire a common introduction to the diverse local cultural landscape and those interested in popular culture in tandem with Korean society and culture.” - Dal Yong Jin (Pacific Affairs) “The Korean Popular Culture Reader is a rich interdisciplinary cultural studies text. . . . The breadth of the volume is refreshing. . . . [It] fills a void in Korean cultural studies in English, and should reach a wide audience. I am hopeful that it will be read not only by Korean Studies scholars and used in Korean Studies classes, but that its general high quality and thoughtful presentation will allow it to reach those working on other areas of East Asia, and to be used in broader East Asian Studies university courses.” - Bonnie Tilland (Acta Koreana)

• Preface / Youngmin Choe viiIntroduction. Indexing Korean Popular Culture / Kyung Hyun Kim 1Part 1. Click and Scroll 151. The World in a Love Letter / Boduerae Kwon 192. Fisticuffs, High Kicks, and Colonial Histories: The Ambivalence of Modern Korean Identity in Narrative Comics / Kyu Hyun Kim 343. It All Started with a Bang: The Role of PC Bangs in South Korea's Cybercultures / Inkyu Kang 554. As Seen on the Internet: The Recap as Translation in English-Language K-Drama Fandoms / Regina Yung Lee 76Part 2. Lights, Camera, Action! 995. Regimes within Regimes: Film and Fashion Cultures in the Korean 1950s / Steven Chung 1036. The Quasi Patriarch: Kim Sûng-ho and South Korean Postwar Movies / Kelly Jeong 1267. The Partisan, the Worker, and the Hidden Hero: Popular Icons in North Korean Film / Travis Workman 1458. Face Value: The Star as Genre in Bong Joon-ho's Mother / Michelle Cho 168Part 3. Gold, Silver, and Bronze 1959. Bend It Like a Man of Chosun: Sports Nationalism and Colonial Modernity of 1936 / Jung Hwan Cheon 19910. "She Became Our Strength": Female Athletes and (Trans)national Desires / Rachael Miyung Joo 228Part 4. Strut, Move, and Shake 24911. Young Musical Love of the 1930s / Min-Jung Son 25512. Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Group Sound Rock / Hyunjoon Shin and Pil Ho Kim 27513. The Popularity of Individualism: The Seo Taiji Phenomenon in the 1990s / Roald Maliangkay 29614. Girls' Generation? Gender, (Dis)Empowerment, and K-pop / Stephen Epstein and James Turnbull 314Part 5. Food and Travel 33715. South Korean Advertising as Popular Culture / Olga Fedorenko 34116. The Global Hansik Campaign and Commodification of Korean Cuisine / Katarzyna J. Cwiertka 36317. Back Seung Woo's Blow Up (2005–2007): Touristic Fantasy, Photographic Desire, and Catastrophic North Korea / Sohl Lee 385Bibliography 407Contributors 431Index 435