Son, S.A. orcid.org/0000-0002-3045-7939 and Schwak, J. (2022) K-drama narrates the national: Korean identities in Crash Landing on You. Asian Perspective, 46 (3). pp. 501-521. ISSN 0258-9184
Abstract
This article considers how a very popular South Korean TV drama, Crash Landing on You, both interprets and produces Korean identity through its imagining of the 'national'. We draw on constructivist literature that explores the biographical parameters of national identity narratives and their significance in global politics to examine changing representations of North Korea on South Korean screens. We analyze Crash Landing as a set of representations that mirror South Korea's construction of Korean national identit(ies), with real-world, sociopolitical consequences. We argue that nostalgic depictions of North Korea on screen situate it as the receptacle of a Korean past characterized by ruralness and intimate community life. In contrast, capitalist (post-)modernity is South Korea's inescapable present, signifying its material victory over the North by virtue of its developmental successes. Finally, reunification is the future-oriented project that unites the divided biographical trajectories of both Koreas but remains materially elusive.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Kyungnam University. This is an author-produced version of a paper accepted for publication in Asian Perspective. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | North Korea; South Korea; popular culture; international relations; national identity; conflict; reunification |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of East Asian Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 23 Nov 2022 15:51 |
Last Modified: | 15 Dec 2022 17:11 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Johns Hopkins University Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1353/apr.2022.0020 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:193652 |