This thesis uncovered the reasons behind Koryoin’s common experience of South Korean society seeing them as not “Korean enough.” After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the growing need of...Show moreThis thesis uncovered the reasons behind Koryoin’s common experience of South Korean society seeing them as not “Korean enough.” After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the growing need of foreign labor by the South Korean economy, co-ethnics were the most favored by South Korea, explaining the growing (re)settlement of the Koryoin in South Korea. Although being ethnic Korean, they’re commonly treated as foreigners and the Koryoin feel alienated, making it an anomaly if South Korea brands itself as the homeland of all Koreans. Through a descriptive literature review followed by the usage of academic articles, news articles, and documentaries, the problem can be pointed towards South Korea’s exclusive monoethnic nationalism whereby full Korean blood is the main tenant sustaining this ideology. Yet, factors like language, customs and habits, and looks seem to be of such an importance that the nonfulfillment of these ‘requirements’ results in the othering the Koryoin experience, regardless of having Korean ancestry. South Korea’s paradoxical monoethnic nationalism, termed tanilminjok-ism in this thesis, was created for social cohesion yet the academic discussion criticizes if that is still the case. The Koryoin voice out their hardships of being marginalized and wish to be included in South Korea’s growing multicultural society, warranting a bigger push for inclusivity.Show less
This study investigates the shifts in spiritual aura shamanistic objects experience when they transfer to a museum. Combining literature research and analysis of shaman paintings across three...Show moreThis study investigates the shifts in spiritual aura shamanistic objects experience when they transfer to a museum. Combining literature research and analysis of shaman paintings across three museums, this research explores how the display, objects, and other contributing factors create the shifts in spiritual aura. The literature research finds that shamanism has a deep spiritual connection with the objects used. When these objects are displayed in museums several factors may change this aura. The findings of the research, consisting of three museums in the Netherlands and South Korea, demonstrate that the shifting aura depends heavily on the museum’s purpose and how the exhibition is curated. Depending on how space, time, purpose, and context of the objects are dealt with spiritual aura alternates. By highlighting these factors, museums can better convey and honor culturally sensitive objects that hold deep spiritual meaning.Show less
Overconsumption of alcohol is detrimental to one's health, and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, Korea has the highest amount...Show moreOverconsumption of alcohol is detrimental to one's health, and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, Korea has the highest amount of alcohol consumption per capita in all of Asia, and has notably high rates of Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs). The neighbouring country of Japan is similar to Korea in numerous ways, but has significantly lower rates of consumption and AUDs. This poses the question in which ways Japan differs from Korea, and whether they tackle alcoholism in more effective ways. This thesis aims to find ways in which Korea could improve the current situation following the example of a similar country Therefore, both societies are compared by critically analysing secondary literature on factors that affect alcohol consumption: culture, age of onset, availability, affordability, mental health, religion, and restrictive measures. Results show that while both societies heavily emphasize alcohol consumption, Korea could learn from Japan's attention to mental health research and development, and wider variety of sobriety groups. However, any conclusive evidence is yet to be found. More extensive and longitudinal research on this subject is therefore necessary.Show less
In May 2019, the South Korean government has agreed to implement the new ‘gaming disorder’ classification, as instated in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health...Show moreIn May 2019, the South Korean government has agreed to implement the new ‘gaming disorder’ classification, as instated in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) by the World Health Organization (WHO), into their own Korean Standard Classification of Diseases (KCD) within the next few years. The classification will change how game addiction will be treated in South Korea, in both a medical and societal sense, and will have an especially big impact on how mental illness is perceived. This thesis therefore asks the following question: What are the possible effects of the implementation of the World Health Organization’s classification of ‘game disorder’ into the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases on the stigma on mental illness in South Korean society? Through critical analysis of the relevant parts of the ICD and KCD, exploration of South Korea’s history with the WHO and critical discourse analysis of scholars’ opinions on the subject, this thesis has determined that South Koreans are currently unlikely to get treatment for mental illness due to (perceived) stigma and that the classification of gaming disorder can play an important part in alleviating said stigma if the government uses the opportunity to development anti-stigma programs.Show less
This thesis explores the fields of gender, sexuality, and military studies to determine how military service and militarism contribute to the exponential growth in incidents of spy cameras and...Show moreThis thesis explores the fields of gender, sexuality, and military studies to determine how military service and militarism contribute to the exponential growth in incidents of spy cameras and revenge porn in South Korea. The focus is placed on the role of the military and mandatory military service in South Korean society and how conscription constitutes masculinity, diffuses ideas, beliefs, and values among young Korean men, and how this can have an influence on their behavior. Factors such as the instilment of military values, domination and control, the militarized culture of sexuality, and gender power structures within the military draft system are of particular importance. This paper shows that military conscription and militarism contribute to an intensification of the frictions between gender and sexuality within Korean society through the systematic promotion of hypermasculinity. In this regard, this thesis argues that Korean women have been continuously portrayed as the weaker and lesser ‘other’ by the military over the course of history, and that this othering has helped affirm masculinity and dominance over the ‘weaker’ other, which in turn legitimizes and contributes to sexual violence. Here, the internet provides a communal space for the extension of sexual violence, and with this the exercise of this dominance over and shaming of the ‘other’ with more ease and anonymity, which contributes to the growing spy camera and revenge porn epidemic in South Korea.Show less
This paper will examine how the North Korean people can participate in the possible process of obtaining justice for the crimes against humanity committed in the DPRK. In particular, it focuses on...Show moreThis paper will examine how the North Korean people can participate in the possible process of obtaining justice for the crimes against humanity committed in the DPRK. In particular, it focuses on how other countries have dealt with this issue in the past and what should be taken into account when talking about the unique case of North Korea. The goal of the study is to include the voice of North Koreans in the debate on victim participation in (transitional) justice.Show less
Scattered across the whole of southern Africa, impressive North Korean monuments celebrate the rise of young, independent African nations. In an extraordinary fashion, these constructions merge...Show moreScattered across the whole of southern Africa, impressive North Korean monuments celebrate the rise of young, independent African nations. In an extraordinary fashion, these constructions merge typical North Korean socialist realism with African nationalism. The research question of this thesis is why the regimes of Namibia and Zimbabwe use the services of the North Korean firm Mansudae Overseas Projects to construct their National Heroes’ Acres. This phenomenon can be explained through the historical connections that existed between the southern African liberation movements and the DPRK, that have been fostered since the 1960s. The DPRK funded southern African liberation movements during their struggle for independence and thereby strengthened their ideas on post-colonial history writing. It will be argued that the Heroes’ Acres can be understood as potent symbols of nationalist history, used to legitimize the rule of the former liberation movements and inspired by the example that the DPRK has set for their African allies.Show less
This thesis investigates how sociocultural factors influence Koreans’ preference for alternative services instead of professional biomedical mental health services for disorders such as depression...Show moreThis thesis investigates how sociocultural factors influence Koreans’ preference for alternative services instead of professional biomedical mental health services for disorders such as depression and anxiety in present-day South Korea. The starting point of enquiry is the claim that there are low biomedical mental health service utilization rates and the suggestion that people may prefer informal services over institutionalized, psychological care. This research investigates the possible conditions for this disparity, and the historical, socio-cultural reasons that may undergird such differential access. On the basis of a public discourse analysis, this thesis argues that a possible reason for this disparity could be that the access of professional services may be more stigmatized than alternative services. Due to a competitive landscape of possible alternatives, Koreans have a variety of options consisting of shamans, fortune tellers and pastors to choose from. Consequently, the following chapter shifts attention to the pull factors of shamanic ritual practices as a possible alternative for professional mental health care. This research suggests that as a result of a relatively more cultural sensitive approach, the flexibility of the shamanic ritual of kut furnishes feelings of reassurance, joy and unity for the client by providing means to individualize the ritual through language and materialization and a certain amount of playfulness.Show less
This paper tries to find an answer to the exceptionally high suicide rate among the young and the elderly in contemporary South Korea by identifying current social phenomena and trends in Korean...Show moreThis paper tries to find an answer to the exceptionally high suicide rate among the young and the elderly in contemporary South Korea by identifying current social phenomena and trends in Korean society. A cultural and sociological approach to suicide is used, and Durkheim's sociological theory of suicide is also mobilised in order to interpret and make sense of South Korea's suicide phenomenon. Ultimately, the identified phenomena of both social groups are analyzed, compared and contrasted in order to see if there is connection between the phenomena and the suicide rate of the South Korean youth and elders.Show less
“Can equivalent effect be reached in Korean to Dutch translation?” I want to examine this by analyzing Oh Jung-hee’s novel: ‘새’ (2009) and its Dutch translation: ‘Vogel’. I want to answer this...Show more“Can equivalent effect be reached in Korean to Dutch translation?” I want to examine this by analyzing Oh Jung-hee’s novel: ‘새’ (2009) and its Dutch translation: ‘Vogel’. I want to answer this question by searching for units that might pose a problem for translating 새 regarding communicative equivalence. I will discuss why it is problematic to reach an equivalent effect with the help of various translation strategies.Show less
This thesis examines in what way the modern South Korean National Identity is represented in contemporary Korean cinema that takes the colonial past as its subject. The Korean colonial past still...Show moreThis thesis examines in what way the modern South Korean National Identity is represented in contemporary Korean cinema that takes the colonial past as its subject. The Korean colonial past still is a sensitive and much discussed historical subject and modern film representations of this often present biased views. Cinema is taken to be a preeminent way of representing the past that not only tells us a lot about present-day views on a subject, but also influences these views. Firstly a theoretical framework is provided in which the importance of both modern-day national identity and the influence of cinema on this form of identity is discussed. In light of this framework six contemporary South Korean films are discussed with a division placed between male representations and female representations of national identity. Throughout this discussion it becomes clear that in an attempt to reshape the national identity and historical memory of Korea to a more positive one, these films place a heavy emphasis on the masculine spirit of the nation and often neglect to include female agency in the fight against Japan.Show less
