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General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
ASAM D041.
Course Title (CB02)
Introduction to Korean Popular Culture
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to contemporary Korean popular culture which explores modern Korean society across a wide range of themes such as identity, gender/sexuality, love/marriage, family and social value systems. It examines the multi-levels of the socio-construction of modern Korean society through TV drama (soap opera), film, and pop music. Also, it explores the unique patterns of Korean culture and Korean cultural issues related to contemporary Asian societies and global issues.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

As one of the Global Studies A.A. Degree and GE courses, this course illustrates how the cultural and social issues such as identity, gender/sexuality, and value systems are materialized in the contemporary Korean popular culture. Opportunities for learning and practicing how to connect dots for the historic, political, and social events and issues in the multicultural and interdisciplinary context will contribute our students to build the framework for the Global Studies. This course is cross-listed. The students will utilize modern Korean culture as the real-world text to understand and enrich the concept and methodology in the Humanities.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Formerly Statement
(ASAM D041. was formerly INTL D013.)

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GC2°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGC2CSU GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG3BIGETC Area 3B - HumanitiesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

(Not open to students with credit in the cross-listed course(s).)

(Also listed as HUMI D013.)

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids.

Discussion of assigned reading.

Homework and extended projects.

Assignments

  1. Viewing
    1. TV dramas such as "Winter Sonata", "Legend of Fall", "Stairway to Heaven", "Lawyers", "Yi Sun Shin", "Dae Jang Gum", "Phoenix", and "L.A Arirang", and etc.
    2. Films such as "JSA", "Taeguki", "Welcome to Dongmakgol", "A...Scarlet Letter", "The Singles", "Happy End", "Old Boy", "A Good Lawyer's Wife", "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring", "King and the Clown", "The Birth of a Family", "The Way Home", "3-Iron", "Deep Green Night", "A Corset", "Family", "Public Enemy 1", and etc.
    3. Music videos such as "Dark Angel", "It's Raining", "Prestige", "the Blues", and etc.
  2. Readings
    1. Required reading from the texts.
    2. Suggested supplemental readings.
  3. Writing
    1. College-level guided research paper which examines a significant contemporary issue or problem in Korean culture, as selected by the student or the instructor. The focus of the research paper will be written proper format and on the theoretical perspectives and/or empirical data germane to the explanation of issues introduced in the course.
    2. Weekly assignment: Short 1-2 page report to summarize and analyze the topics of each class.
  4. Oral small group collaborative learning participation and discussion.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Students write one essay which would illustrate their understanding of social, historical, political contexts on the Korean pop culture’s visual and musical expression.
  2. Groups of multiple students select each group's topic, present their research, and lead the discussions with entire class. The creativity of the presentation, validity of analogy, and participation are measured.
  3. Participation in small group discussion to analyze the Korean cultural concept of body and the various cultural dimension of Korean value system.
  4. Students analyze the given topics and illustrate their understanding and viewpoints in writing in the final exam.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
*Storey, John, "Cultural Studies and the Study of Popular Culture", 3rd edition, Edinburgh University Press, 2010.
Jung, Sun, "Korean Masculinities and Transcultural Consumption:Yonsama, Rain, Old Boy, K-Pop Idols", Hong Kong University Press, 2011.
Berger, Arthur Asa, "Media And Society: A Critical Perspective", 3rd edition, Rowman & Littlefield, 2012.
Strinati, Dominic, "An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture", 2nd edition, Routledge, 2004.
Kyung Hyun Kim,Youngmin Choe, "The Korean Popular Culture Reader", Duke University Press, 2014.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Nahm, Andrew C. and Koo, John H., "An Introduction to Korean Culture", Hollym International Corp., 1998.
Michael Fuhr, "Globalization and Popular Music in South Korea: Sounding Out K-Pop", Routledge, 2015.
Kim, Yol-Kyu, "Uncovering the Codes: Fifteen Keywords in Korean Culture", Jain Publishing Company, 2005.
Lee, H., "Contemporary Korean Cinema: Identity, Culture and Politics", Manchester University Press, 2000.
Colman, Craig, "American Images of Korea", Seoul: Hollym, 2001.
Korean Culture and Information Service Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, "The Korean Wave: A new pop culture phenomenon", 2011.
Gracyk, Theodore, "I Wanna Be Me: Rock Music and the Politics of Identity", Temple University Press, 2001.
Chua, Beng-Huat, Koichi, Iwabuchi, "East Asian Pop Culture: Analysing the Korean Wave", Hong Kong Univ Press, 2008.
Kim, Key-Hiuk, "Opening of Korea: A Confucian Response to the Western Impact", Seoul: Institute for Modern Korean Studies, 1998.
John Lie, "K-Pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea" University of California Press, 2014.
Leong, A., "Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong", Trafford Publishing, 2003.
Longhurst, Brian, "Popular Music and Society", Polity Press, 1995.
McGuigan, Jim, "Cultural Populism", Routledge, 1992.
Mulvey, Laura, "Visual and Other Pleasures", Indiana University Press, 1989.
Saccone, Richard, "Business of Korean Culture", Seoul: Hollym, 2001.
Sardar, Z., "Introducing Cultural Studies", New York: Totem Book, 1998.
Shin, Gi-Wook and Michael Robinson, "Colonial Modernity in Korea", Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 1999.
Hall, Stuart, "Representation: Cultural Representation and Signifying Practice", Sage Publications Ltd, 1997.
Steinberg, David I., ed., "Korea's Changing Roles in Southeast Asia: Expanding Influence and Relations", Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2010.
Lee, Hyangjin, "Contemporary Korean Cinema: Identity, Culture, and Politics", Manchester University Press, 2000.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Demonstrate a critical appreciation of visual and musical expressions through the study of Korean popular culture based on the disciplinary perspectives of cultural studies and the humanities.
  • Identify social, historical, and geographic contexts on creative expression in various media/formats as illustrated in the case of Korean popular culture.
  • Examine the historical, political and cultural aspects of Korean identity.
  • Analyze Korean cultural concepts of the body in terms of gender and sexuality.
  • Analyze the various cultural dimensions of Korean value systems in terms of the self, love/marriage, and family.
  • Evaluate the historical and contemporary relations of power between Western influences and Korean culture.
  • Analyze the circumstances and conditions of Korean diaspora and emergence of Korean American identity and culture.

CSLOs

  • Identify the impact of social, historical, political contexts on visual and musical expression illustrated in the case of Korean popular culture.

  • Analyze the Korean cultural concept of body in terms of gender/ sexuality and the various cultural dimensions of Korean value system through self, love/marriage, and family.

  • Evaluate the historical and contemporary relations of power between Western influences and Korean/Asian culture and analyze the circumstances and conditions of the Korean diaspora/emergence of Korean American identity and culture.

Outline

  1. Demonstrate a critical appreciation of visual and musical expressions through the study of Korean popular culture based on the disciplinary perspectives of cultural studies and the humanities.
    1. Origins and evolution of the concept of culture in cultural studies.
    2. Social and aesthetic theories of culture including the domain of popular culture, such as John Storey, Dominic Strinati, Homi K. Bhabha, and Stuart Hall.
    3. Genres and forms in popular culture.
  2. Identify social, historical, and geographic contexts on creative expression in various media/formats as illustrated in the case of Korean popular culture.
    1. Geographic, political, economic, and social history of Korea.
    2. Pre-modern Korean history and philosophy: Chosun dynasty.
    3. Comparison of pre- and post- Korean war era's Korean society.
    4. Modern Korean socio-cultural phenomenon, such as extreme-individualism, uni-sex trend, networked individualism, and imitation of popular culture
  3. Examine the historical, political and cultural aspects of Korean identity.
    1. Cultural notions of ethnic homogeneity: View films such as "JSA", "Shiri", "Welcome to Dogmak-gol", and "Taeguki".
    2. Korean aesthetic sensibilities - Affection and sorrow: View films such as "Sepyonje", "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring", and "Strokes of Fire".
    3. Confucian ideas and conceptualizations of loyalty/devotion/courtesy: View TV dramas such as "Yi Sun Shin" and "Dae Jang Gum" and films such as "Mugoonghwa-Korean National Flower", "Anarchist", and "Friend".
  4. Analyze Korean cultural concepts of the body in terms of gender and sexuality.
    1. Confucianism and Korean sexuality/gender: View films such as "Woman Is the Future of Man", "Lies", "This Charming Girl", and "Driving with My Wife's Lover" and TV drama such as "Winter Sonata".
    2. Social and cultural contexts of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gender identities: View films such as "Road Movie", "A...Scarlet Letter", "King and the Clown", and "No Regret" and TV drama such as "Coffee Prince #1".
    3. Social standards of sexuality and gender through the stereo type of the self, such as self-image and self-esteem: View music videos such as "Dark Angel" and "It's Raining" and films such as "A Corset", "Oh! Sujung", "Take Care of My Cat", "200 Pounds Beauty", and "My Sassy Girl".
  5. Analyze the various cultural dimensions of Korean value systems in terms of the self, love/marriage, and family.
    1. Traditional concept of Korean Family: View films such as "The Way Home", "Family", "The Birth of a Family", "Cruel Winter Blues", and "Sun Flower".
    2. Contemporary Korean family issues - collapse of Korean family: View films such as "Happy End", "A Good Lawyer's Wife", "Public Enemy 1", and "3-Iron".
    3. Dual realms of Korean love/marriage: View films such as "The Singles", "Love in Magic", "Spring Time Is Ending", and "Turning Gate" and TV drama such as "Stairway to Heaven".
    4. Two worlds - family vs. career: View TV dramas such as "Lawyers", "Winter Sonata", "Phoenix", and "Legend of Fall".
  6. Evaluate the historical and contemporary relations of power between Western influences and Korean culture.
    1. Compare Korean national identity to Western notions of national identity.
    2. Contrast Euro-American and Korean concepts of gender/sexuality, love/marriage, and family.
    3. Compare Euro-American and Korean value systems.
  7. Analyze the circumstances and conditions of Korean diaspora and emergence of Korean American identity and culture.
    1. Living in two cultures: View TV drama such as "L.A. Arirang".
    2. Social theories of ethnic minority identity formation: Integration, assimilation, isolation, and marginality: View film such as "Deep Green Night".
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