Palgrave Series in Contemporary Korean Studies – serie

This book encloses an interdisciplinary examination of Korean music’s evolution, contextual interactions, and global positioning from historical, sociocultural, and aesthetic perspectives. It brings together various scholarly contributions to analyse Korean music’s transformations, innovations, and cultural suggestions, with a focus on its historical roots and contemporary manifestations. This book captures the multifaceted dynamics in Korean music, showcasing its adaptability and global importance while addressing cultural identity, tradition, and innovation.

This volume offers an in-depth examination of Hallyu (the Korean Wave), foregrounding its significance as a critical site for cultural, theoretical, and decolonial inquiry. With the emergence of globally recognized phenomena such as BTS and Squid Game, Hallyu has transitioned from a fan-based subculture in Asia to a global cultural phenomenon. This transformation necessitates a reevaluation of the phenomenon and its significance.The volume is divided into three main parts—historicizing, theorizing, and decolonizing—each offering distinct yet interconnected approaches to interpreting Hallyu. By bringing together historical analysis, theoretical innovation, and decolonial critique, this volume demonstrates that Hallyu is a dynamic framework for understanding the shifting dynamics of global culture in the twenty-first century.

This edited volume explores the evolution of Korean political economy from a comparative and historical perspective. Exploring what the Korean model of its political economic evolution means in the context of theoretical debate on the political-economic development, this book compares characteristics of Korean political economy model not only from the Western models but more importantly from other East-Asian countries including Japan and Taiwan. Our project examines not only the recent performance of Korean political economy in terms of its technology strategies in the firm-level  and Korean chaebols’ transformation and adaptation but also traces historically the evolution of Korean political, social and economic system. This study will offer thought provoking insights to scholars of Korean society.

This volume project explores how evolving values and identities in contemporary Korean society are interpreted, particularly through the lens of religion, positioning it as a window into Korea’s dynamic cultural and social landscape. As Korea grapples with rapid modernization, shifting religious beliefs and expressions reflect new aspects of the Korean people’s values and identity, in both personal and communal dimensions. We believe that this dynamic backdrop creates a complex web of tensions as Koreans negotiate between established norms and newly infused or internally emerging global ideas, inspiring and provoking efforts to navigate and advocate for future directions both within and beyond the country.