East Asian Studies 217 - KOR POP CLT:TRANSL TRAD

This course investigates and evaluates contemporary South Korean popular culture and the 21st century cultural phenomenon called hallyu (Korean Wave). It will consider the popularity of the Wave and the backlash against it both in East Asia and globally. It will raise the issue of how film, television, music, manhwa (comic books), sports and the Internet, participate in the transnational production and circulation of culture, identity, modernity, tradition, ideology, and politics. The course aims to equip students with analytical tools to critically think about and understand popular culture. (E)