Korean Studies Commons^™

Bringing The Japanese Occupation Of Korea To High School Classrooms, Bree Rosenberger

Honors Projects

Bringing the Japanese Occupation of Korea to High School Classrooms is a set of three units on the occupation, designed using the Inquiry Design Model from the C3 Teachers. Each unit corresponds to a major time period in the occupation; unit one covers 1876-1919, unit two 1919-1931, and unit three 1931-1945. This project aimed to provide a way to teach the occupation in a manner friendly to high school students and presents an opportunity to align content more fully with the philosophy of social studies education. Finally, it presents a way to teach East Asian history actually from an East …

Morkovcha [Korean Carrot Salad], Lidiya A. Kan

Theses and Dissertations

Morkovcha, Korean Carrot Salad is a short documentary that tells a story of ethnic Koreans from Russia and the post-Soviet territories making their new home in New York City. The history of the diaspora is told through conversations with my mother, personal stories, fragmented memories, and my family photo archive. This very personal film is my attempt to revisit the 160-year history of the Russian Korean diaspora and to record and preserve our unique fusion of cultures in the melting pot that is the United States. Its purpose is to help to process and accept the tragic past of my …

The Gwangju Uprising In Films: Politics Of Memory And Narrative, Nontaporn Srisantisuk

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The Gwangju Uprising is one of the remarkable democratic movements in the contemporary South Korean society as it depicted the brutality of the military government. Thus, the incident had influenced the later democratic movement. Though more than 40 years had passed, the memory of the incident still made it present in Korean society. The narrative of the incident had been repeatedly told not only to commemorate the sacrificial of the people but it was also a part of memory politics of remembering and forgetting. The memory of the uprising was depicted through several medias including films to integrate its own …

A Fat Imposter: The Embodied Intersection Between Race, Body Type And Fatness In Margaret Cho’S Comedy, Julia Cox

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Margaret Cho is a comedic goddess who, in her mockery, serves flaming hot social commentary about race, body image, and fatness. Within this thesis, I used critical discourse analysis to understand how Margaret Cho embodies Asianness, whiteness, and the body types and images prescribed respectively. While working on data analysis, I came across a common media trope of fat women: the use of indexically Southern (United States), Appalachian, and Working class indexicals in speech and lexical items. I connected the ideologies surrounding Southern and Appalachian language to the inequalities that fat women face. This voicing had not previously been written …

Factors Affecting The Achievement Of Eps Test Of Proficiency In Korean Of Thai Workers : Focusing On Korean Language Schools In Udon Thani, Puttarak Kamsing

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research investigated the important factors affecting the achievement of EPS Test of Proficiency in Korean of Thai workers. The objectives of this research were 1) to explore Thai workers’ problems in Korean language learning, and 2) to investigate the factors affecting the achievement of EPS Test of Proficiency in Korean of Thai workers. The samples consisted of 214 Thai workers studying in 3 Korean language schools in Udon Thani, Thai workers who are working in South Korea, and 4 teachers who taught the Korean language to Thai workers in 3 Korean language schools in Udon Thani. This research employed …

North Korea: How Fear Is Used To Control A Nation, Ashley Clisby

Capstone Showcase

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, more commonly known as North Korea, is most commonly known for its possession and testing of nuclear weapons and threatening to use these weapons of mass destruction. Less commonly talked about are the human rights violations that are being experienced by the citizens of North Korea. Most, if not all, of the information regarding North Korean human rights that have been reported on comes from individuals who have escaped the Kim regime. There is very limited information traveling in and out of North Korea that is not heavily monitored by the government. These individuals …

Imagining An Asian American Superhero Of North Korean Origin: A Design Fiction, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

My talk, a thought-experimental blend of literary criticism and speculative "design fiction," will introduce you to an Asian American superhero of North Korean origin. In this science-fictional superhero, whom I have tentatively named "구름"/"☁️"/"Ku-reum," Korea's elusive realities coalesce into legible form. More specifically, they become available for narrative experience and relatable to us as an anthropomorphic character, a person with whom we might identify, come face-to-face, sympathize, interact dynamically, and have a conversation. Ku-reum is designed to reflect Korea's complex past and hopes for the future. Existing beyond division systems, Ku-reum uses the non-binary pronouns "one"/"they." Neither "South" nor "North," …

Remembering The Experience Of War: A Sensory Study Of The Vietnam War And Collective Memory, Jacob Randolph

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

The Vietnam War is remembered in a variety of ways. It is remembered as a war against communism, yet one that was also against American ideals of freedom. It is remembered as a war of patriotism, yet one that was also against the numerous military members who fought in it. It is remembered as a war for integration and unity among black and white, yet many African-Americans remember the time period as a war being fought abroad and at home. Memory of the war is obviously contradicting, but then again the 1960s and 1970s oftentimes were.

This thesis examines how …

Does South Korea's Melon Chart Ranking Influence K-Pop Artists' Youtube Views?, Farsai Tipsotikul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Although K-pop has been diffused throughout the world by YouTube and become globalized, artist’s success is still evaluated by their reputation within the domestic market. Amidst the intense competition in the South Korean music industry, it’s inevitable that artists would hope their songs perform well on the domestic chart as it’s a way to gain public attention. Thus, it leads to the question; “Are some artists putting too much stress on the domestic performances when the global market is also an opportunity?”. To answer the question, this study analyzes the data by quantitative approach to examine whether Melon chart ranking, …

A Comparison Between Integrative And Instrumental Motivation Of Thai-Korean Language Learners, Koravan Teeramatvanit

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objective of this study is to examine the types of motivation of Thai­-Korean language learners and to find which type of motivation is dominant for Thai people learning Korean language. An online survey conducted between October and November 2021 collected 155 Thai-Korean language learners from two Korean language institutes certified by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, namely Chiang Mai King Sejong Institute, and King Sejong Institute in Bangkok. For detailed analysis, the responses of 60 students and 95 non­students were further examined, mainly by comparing the mode of their responses. The results reveal that student and non-student …

The Changing Of South Korea's International Economic Policy: A Geopolitical Economy Perspective, Sahatas Chindakul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Since the success of rapid economic growth, South Korea, as a foreign-traded dependent economy, has initiated several policies to liberalize its outward direct investment (ODI) in order to maintain its competitiveness and drive its economic growth. The liberalization process of South Korean ODI helps promote South Korean capital abroad to various areas serving its needs of lowering production costs and securing natural resources and raw materials. As the world entered the 21st century with the acceleration of globalization, the global geopolitical situation has changed over time, especially in Asia, the rise of China has become real and threatens the hegemonic …

To Teach, Delight, And Inspire. Experiences With Kim Sowol’S Jindallaekkot (Azaleas) As A Printed Facsimile, Printed Scholarly Edition, Web-Based Reading Text, And Virtual Reality Experience, Wayne De Fremery

Barowsky School of Business | Faculty Scholarship

Here we document how college students responded to a canonical book of Korean poems, Kim Sowol’s 1925 Jindallaekkot (Azaleas), presented in a variety of formats: as part of a 2014 printed facsimile, a 2007 printed scholarly edition, a reading text articulated as a web page on a tablet, and a radical refiguration as a virtual reality forest. We asked students to describe if they enjoyed and felt inspired by their encounters with Kim Sowol’s poetry in these different formats. We also asked if they felt their experiences were educational and if they engendered a desire to share Kim Sowol’s poetry …

Hopes And Struggles: Cross-Generational Metamorphosis Of Educational Beliefs And Practices Between Two-Generations Of Korean-American Parents, Haewan Rho

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

Although Korean-Americans are ubiquitous in contemporary American society, it was only after the enactment of the Immigration Nationality Act of 1965, when a sizable number of Koreans found their way to the U.S. During the two decades of the 1970s and 1980s, about a half-million Koreans immigrated to the U.S.

Almost five decades since their arrival, 2^nd-generation Korean-American offspring are now parents raising their own school-aged children - 3^rd-generation Korean-Americans. 2^nd-generation Korean-Americans who have grown up in the U.S. are largely assimilated to mainstream U.S. society, and therefore their views and practices on various …

Before “Fire And Fury”: The Role Of Anger And Fear In U.S.–North Korea Relations, 1968–1994, Benjamin Young

Research & Publications

Since the beginning of the Korean War, the North Korean and U.S. governments have been involved in emotional warfare. From North Korea’s stated “eternal hatred” of the U.S. imperialists to Washington’s demonization of Pyongyang as an insidious Soviet pawn, emotions have been at the heart of this hostile bilateral relationship. Using three case studies (the 1968 Pueblo incident, the 1976 axe murder incident, and the 1994 nuclear crisis), I examine the ways in which the two sides have elicited emotional responses from their populations for their respective political goals. By portraying the U.S. as the source of all evilness in …

Cultural Diplomacy With North Korean Characteristics: Pyongyang’S Exportation Of The Mass Games To The Third World, 1972–1996, Benjamin Young

Research & Publications

During the 1970s and 1980s, the communist government in Pyongyang sent Mass Games instructors to the Third World in order to improve the image of North Korea abroad and promote its version of socialist modernity. The Mass Games, a huge choreographic gymnastics event of 100,000 performers, artistically exhibited the North Korean idea of "ilsim-dangyeol (single-minded unity).” In the era of decolonization, postcolonial leaders in the emerging Third World turned to East Asia for developmental inspirations and some leaders, notably Idi Amin of Uganda, admired the North Korean model of collectivism and discipline. The Mass Games, epitomized the communalistic values of …

Through The Lens Of Koreans: The Influence Of Media On Perceptions Of Feminism, Neha Cariappa

Master's Projects and Capstones

Regardless of country and culture, the media has the power to influence the opinions and perceptions of its viewers. This project evaluates specific Korean movies—and the reactions of South Koreans to gender representations in films that are considered “feminist”—along with the variety show genre, which also tends to reinforce gender stereotypes and imbalances. With these media representations as a framework, this research explores the impact of the internet in forwarding feminist views along with unearthing the reactions of Koreans. Given the anonymity of the internet and social media, these platforms allow for honest expression and counterpoints to sexist views and …

Pyeongchang V Pyongyang: The Endless Game Of Inter-Korean Sports, Jack Anderson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Since their division, North and South Korea have fluctuated between a peaceful and chaotic relationship. This project explores the role of athletics within inter-Korean relations, using a multidimensional conceptual framework. In particular, this research examines the significant role sports play within each country’s political affairs, how this phenomenon has evolved, and the impact of sports on how South Koreans view their neighbors and the idea of reunification. Through in-depth historical and quantitative analysis, we see that sports can be understood as a political tool that has matured over time. Initially emerging as a means to gauge the status of affiliation …

"Army, I'M Home!": Digital Community And Mediated Intimacy In K-Pop Fandom, Olivia George

Honors Theses

In this paper, I argue that we should turn our attention to the affective labor in the pop culture industry in South Korea. Using the House of BTS event as a case study of K- Pop fandom, I will address the affective labor practices and its impacts in K-Pop fandom. Idol group BTS (방탄소년단) and their company Big Hit Entertainment are a particularly apt study for this choice because they deliberately adopt mediated intimacy as a marketing tactic, creating content outside of music and across social networking platforms that cater to fans’ desire to “know” and adore BTS members. In …

North Korean Refugees Along The Route To Freedom: Challenges Of Geopolitics, Deborah Da Sol Jeong

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This Independent Study Project conducts an analysis of the North Korean Refugee Crisis by following the refugees along their escape route from the North Korean regime. By following a common escape route that includes China, Laos, Thailand, and finally, South Korea, this study unpacks the geopolitical factors and diplomatic relations that hinder and improve the progress of these refugees. Afterward, this study analyzes the resettlement process that North Korean refugees undergo in South Korea and the challenges that remain even after gaining South Korean citizenship. Finally, this project concludes by suggesting that the international community actively endeavor to establish a …

Daerim Dong As A Chinatown: Setbacks And Challenges, Wendy W. Tan

Publications and Research

While there is not a single Chinese paifang, or any establishment targeted for tourist attractions, Daerim Dong in Seoul, due to its high concentration of Chinese population and business activities, has been considered as an unofficial 2nd Korean Chinatown. However, at the same time, many indicators are also pointing to the discouraging fact that the path toward making this plan a reality is full of bumps. Why is this conflicting situation happening? To satisfy her own curiosity, the author did intensive literature research and also made a field trip to this district. This essay states some of her findings.