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 considers the popularity of the Wave and the backlash against it both in East Asia and globally. It raises 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 equips students with analytical tools to critically think about and understand popular culture.