K-Wave: Korean Popular Culture and Media
CEAS 219
Fall 2025
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01
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This course explores the vibrant and ever-evolving world of Korean popular culture and its global phenomenon known as the Korean Wave or Hallyu. Through a comprehensive analysis of scholarly approaches and diverse media texts, we will explore how Korean popular culture has emerged, transformed, and resonated on a global scale. Through historical and theoretical frameworks, we will investigate how media productions intersect with broader sociocultural issues such as modernity, class, economy, gender, sexuality, and political dynamics. Students will critically examine a wide array of media forms, including films, television, music, and webtoons, analyzing their content, aesthetic strategies, and cultural impact. From a brief introduction of the origin of the Korean Wave, we will move to analyze the specific features of popular culture industries and productions in South Korea and their reception around the world. By linking media texts to their historical and sociocultural significance, we will uncover how Korean popular culture both shapes and is shaped by global media trends. Readings for this course will be available in English or in English translation. No previous knowledge of Korean history or culture is required. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA CEAS |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
The Korean Popular Culture Reader, ed. Kyung Hyun Kim and Youngmin Choe (Durham Up, 2014)
The Soft Power of the Korean Wave: Parasite, BTS and Drama, ed. Youna Kim (London: Routledge, 2022)
Vincenzo Cicchelli and Sylvie Octobre, The Sociology of Hallyu Pop Culture: Surfing the Korean Wave (Springer International Publishing AG, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central)
Han Kang, and Deborah Smith. The Vegetarian in The Vegetarian: a Novel (London: Hogarth, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2016).
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite (2019)
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Examinations and Assignments:
Pop Quizzes, Midterm Exam, Final Project, Presentation |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Park,Jahyon Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 20 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 6 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 4 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 3 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 1 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 0 |
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