1st Edition
The K-Wave On-Screen In Words and Objects
The K-Wave On-Screen provides an engaging and accessible exploration of the meaning of ‘K-’ through the lens of words and objects in K-dramas and K-films.
Once a small subculture known only to South Korea’s East Asian neighbours, the Korean Wave has exploded in popularity around the globe in the last decade. Its success has been fuelled by social media and the advanced technological capabilities of South Korea. With #KpopTwitter having amassed 7.8 billion tweets and with K-films receiving acclaim from major award ceremonies, the K-wave is now a global cultural phenomenon. This book touches on globally popular productions, such as Parasite (2019), Squid Game (2021), Pachinko (2022), SKY Castle (2018), and Kim Ji-young: Born 1982 (2019) to highlight that K- has departed from the traditional meaning of ‘Korean-ness’ to become a new, globally-informed, and hybrid entity.
This book will be of interest to students in East Asian studies, and those engaged with Korean language learning. The book will also appeal to those interested in Korean culture and media.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Prelims
Chapter 1. Defining K-
De-Westernised and de-colonised discourses
Agency of K-fandom
A birds-eye view of the K-Wave
The stats
Why the K-Wave on screen through words and objects?
Chapter 2. Squid Game
Training Suit
Mask
Korean neighbourhood
Dalgona
Ddakji
Hibiscus flower
Loan-shark's ontract
Side dishes
Spoon
"We are kkanbu"
"I ate steak already with my stepdad"
Oppa, hyeong, sajangnim
Chapter 3. Parasite
Banjiha
Neighbourhood
‘Temple of excrement’ and sleeping mat
Window
From low to high – from poor to rich
Entrance
Neighbourhood
Entrance
House with a garden
Bath, bed, and art
Staircase
A housewife’s hanbok
Ramdon
Fruit
University certificate
Scholar’s Rock
Chapter 4. SKY Castle
University exam
English
Parental capitol
College coordinator
Chapter 5. Mr Sunshine
Suits, kimono, or hanbok?
Jangot, palanquins, and neo-Confucian womanhood
Hair
Newspapers
Jemulpo harbor
Candy
Chapter 6. Pachinko
Colonisation
Scar
Pachinko machine
White
White rice
White hanbok
Suit, kimono, or hanbok?
Television
VHS was all we had!
Then streaming opened everything up!
Landscape
The sea
The fish market
Eomma’s house
Chapter 7. Kim Ji-young: Born 1982
Contemporary Korean womanhood and K-
#MeToo
Female voices
Women should work without rest except when eating
Apron
Peeling fruit
Chapter 8. Kingdom
Opening scene
Dragon
Glutenous rice in the mouth
Three ties
Gat
Feather
Hairpins and hairpieces
Beef pancakes
Clown
Sources
Index
Biography
Jieun Kiaer is the Young Bin Min-Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Linguistics at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and Senior Research Fellow and Dean of Degrees at Hertford College, University of Oxford.
Emily Lord, MSt., is a Faculty Research Specialist at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, University of Maryland.
Loli Kim is a Postdoctoral Researcher on the Leverhulme Haenyeo project at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford.
