Engaging with Korean dramas: discourses of gender, media, and class formation in Taiwan

Yang, Fang

doi:10.1080/01292980701823773

Cited by 18 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Kim 2007;Y. Kim 2007;Mori 2008;Yang 2008), Korean dramas presented a new approach to representations of humanity and life issues, and Asian audiences enjoyed Korean dramas focusing on characters' private and public relationships in multiple human networks. On the other hand, our study participants articulated the attractions of Korean dramas in the stories' relevance for them and their romanticized view about East Asia and East Asians.…”

Section: Assurance Of Pan-ethnic Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Korean Wave and Asian Americans: the ethnic meanings of transnational Korean pop culture in the USA

Lee

2015

Continuum

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Assurance Of Pan-ethnic Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Korean Wave and Asian Americans: the ethnic meanings of transnational Korean pop culture in the USA

Lee

2015

Continuum

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…They all presented themselves as heterosexual, although I never explicitly asked about sexual orientation. While studies such as Baldacchino (2008), Yang (2008b),…”

Section: Concluding Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vietnamese Reception Of Soft Masculinities In Korean Television Dramas: Desires, Identifications, And Gender

Gammon¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This doctoral thesis explores Vietnamese audience reception of soft masculinities, defined by the aestheticisation and romantic idealisation of male characters, in South Korean television dramas (K-dramas). Based on interview data collected in 2019, the thesis focuses on patterns of gendered desire, identification, and negotiation in viewers in their 20s and 30s. It highlights the popularity of K-dramas in Vietnam, which have established an enduring presence there since the late 1990s, overlapping with ongoing changes in gender relations following the introduction of the 1986 Đổi Mới (reform) policy, marked by Vietnam’s transition to a market economy and gradual integration into global trade. The thesis demonstrates how the spread of this “Korean Wave” is correlated with a changing local mediascape, the rise of a consumer culture, and a growing interest in exploring the self. In this thesis, I adopt the Free Association Narrative Interview (FANI) method, which draws on the solicitation of free talk and storytelling and psychosocial attention to case studies in order to connect interview participants’ biographical details with their viewing experiences. The study is influenced by Judith Butler’s theoretical work on gender and performativity, as well as related material by scholars such as Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu. I highlight how a nuanced understanding of the viewing experience treats it as a complex process linked to an individual’s biographical details and explore how this process intertwines with larger sociocultural contexts, including local norms, Confucian values, feminism, Western gender images, notions of modernity, and globalised aesthetic ideals. The study reveals that although gendered desires and identifications are shaped by norms, they can also subvert them, and thus provides empirical evidence for Butler’s theories from a Vietnamese context. It also shows that desires and identifications that result from engagement with fantasy on screen may follow viewers’ personalised logics and open up multiple avenues for interpretations. Prominent themes of viewing experiences in relation to soft masculinities analysed in this thesis include escapism, parasocial interactions with characters, romantic imaginations, melancholic identification with romantic relationships on screen, desires for upward mobility, queer pleasures, ambivalence, and disidentification. The thesis thus contributes to contemporary Vietnamese studies, gender studies, psychosocial studies, media audience studies, and research on the Korean Wave.

show abstract

‘Isn’t It a Bit Rough?’ – Vietnamese Audience Reception of Wrist-grabbing in Korean Television Dramas, Feminist Consciousness, and Fantasy

Gammon

2023

Sexuality & Culture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the past two decades, Korean television drama (K-drama), which stands at the forefront of the Korean Wave, the popularisation of South Korean pop culture worldwide, has raised controversy over male characters’ sexist and patriarchal behaviours. At the centre of such controversy is the trope of wrist-grabbing, characterised by a man’s attempt to grasp a woman’s wrist to drag her to another place and force a conversation. Previous studies about international fans have revealed strong disapproving reactions, especially from feminist-identified viewers. This article on Vietnamese audience reception showed variations: some enjoyed wrist-grabbing, some condemned the act, while others exhibited ambivalence. These varied responses expose many influencing factors: Confucian-inflected patriarchal values, feminist discourses, lived experiences, and suspension of disbelief in media consumption. This analysis of the audience readings of fiction reveals some truth about gender politics in Vietnam, including a certain level of patriarchal celebration and weak feminist consciousness. The article contributes to contemporary Vietnamese studies, gender studies, research of the Korean Wave, and media audience research.

show abstract

Engaging with Korean dramas: discourses of gender, media, and class formation in Taiwan

Cited by 18 publications

References 12 publications

The Korean Wave and Asian Americans: the ethnic meanings of transnational Korean pop culture in the USA

The Korean Wave and Asian Americans: the ethnic meanings of transnational Korean pop culture in the USA

Vietnamese Reception Of Soft Masculinities In Korean Television Dramas: Desires, Identifications, And Gender

‘Isn’t It a Bit Rough?’ – Vietnamese Audience Reception of Wrist-grabbing in Korean Television Dramas, Feminist Consciousness, and Fantasy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About