Korean society has made great strides forward in gender representation in the last decade, yet mainstream media often encourages stereotypes and binary gender roles. However, the genre conventions...Show moreKorean society has made great strides forward in gender representation in the last decade, yet mainstream media often encourages stereotypes and binary gender roles. However, the genre conventions of historical fusion and fantasy combine elements of imagination and otherness that can engage in discussion on gender and represent gender in an alternative, more open, way. It addresses a contemporary issue yet is not bounded by the restrictions of today’s society. To analyze the potential positive representation of the genres, this thesis analyzes the Korean historical fantasy fusion drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (hereafter Moon Lovers) (2016). In order to study the alternative representations within mainstream media, this thesis looks at how the series’ representation of gender is in line with gender normativity. The leading research question is: Does Moon Lovers break gender normativity? The study was conducted through film analysis and guided by gender theory. In conclusion, Moon Lovers does not break with gender normativity. However, the potential of the genres to represent gender in an alternative way still require further study.Show less
Aan de hand van twee casestudies wordt gekeken naar identiteitsvorming en activisme bij leden van studentenverenigingen in Zuid-Korea die behoren tot een seksuele minderheid. Enerzijds ligt de...Show moreAan de hand van twee casestudies wordt gekeken naar identiteitsvorming en activisme bij leden van studentenverenigingen in Zuid-Korea die behoren tot een seksuele minderheid. Enerzijds ligt de focus op identiteitsvorming: Wat is het verband tussen LGBTQ+ netwerken en identiteitsvorming? De eerste casestudy is gericht op Dancing Queers, de LGBTQ+ studentenvereniging bij Sŏgang Universiteit. Aan de hand van diepte-interviews met clubleden wordt gekeken naar de verschillende functies en doelen van de vereniging. Anderzijds wordt er gekeken naar activisme bij de clubleden: Wat is het verband tussen LGBTQ+ netwerken en activisme? De tweede casestudy werpt een blik op de politieke functie van netwerken, en focust zich op de ‘Arrest Me Too’ beweging die werd geïnstigeerd door een lid van Dancing Queers. Dit naar aanleiding van artikel 92-6 uit het Militaire Wetboek, die stelt dat homoseksuele geslachtsgemeenschap tijdens legerdienst strafbaar is.Show less
This thesis examines traditional Korean elements and their use in the growing trend of K-pop. While the genre has grown into a worldwide phenomenon partly because of its easily identifiable musical...Show moreThis thesis examines traditional Korean elements and their use in the growing trend of K-pop. While the genre has grown into a worldwide phenomenon partly because of its easily identifiable musical elements, fashion and English lyrics, some K-pop artists have recently chosen to incorporate elements that do not fit the so-called "K-pop formula". By looking at two case studies that have strayed from the proven formula, this thesis aims to answer the question of what the purpose is in the use of traditional elements such as specific clothing and Folk music.Show less
This thesis compares the gender dynamics of romantic comedies in both North and South Korean cinema. The genre is a relatively recent development in both countries and as is the general tendency,...Show moreThis thesis compares the gender dynamics of romantic comedies in both North and South Korean cinema. The genre is a relatively recent development in both countries and as is the general tendency, also in the Korean case(s) confirms the existing social hierarchies and gender biases. This thesis finds that both North and South Korean cinema uphold patriarchal hegemony, despite the very different socio-political context within which these films are created.Show less
To better understand how minjung artists visualized oppression within their artworks, this thesis examines how forces of oppression are represented in artworks created by minjung artists in the...Show moreTo better understand how minjung artists visualized oppression within their artworks, this thesis examines how forces of oppression are represented in artworks created by minjung artists in the 1980’s and early 1990’s.Show less
In this thesis, I have taken a look at military conscription in South-Korea and how the system intersects with and is influenced by gender and citizenship. To do so, I have used the Korean military...Show moreIn this thesis, I have taken a look at military conscription in South-Korea and how the system intersects with and is influenced by gender and citizenship. To do so, I have used the Korean military variety show 'Real men' as a case study, analyzing this show and the way in which it portrays both masculinity and gender roles. I argue that military conscription in Korea is a system deeply shaped by concepts of hyper masculinity and socially constructed gender in relation to citizenship. At the same time, conscription amplifies these concepts and processes of gender creation, and thus works as an intermediary and magnifier of hyper masculinity and gendered citizenship within Korean society.Show less
In 2015 Russian director Vitaly Mansky’s documentary film Under the Sun was released. Under the Sun was supposed to be a ‘joint venture’ between the Russian director Vitaly Mansky and North Korea’s...Show moreIn 2015 Russian director Vitaly Mansky’s documentary film Under the Sun was released. Under the Sun was supposed to be a ‘joint venture’ between the Russian director Vitaly Mansky and North Korea’s Ministry of Culture represented by the DPRK’s Korea Film Export and Import Corporation, a production company that is credited in the beginning of the film. However, according to Mansky, the contract stated that “every single detail had to be approved by North Korea’s Ministry of Culture.” These details that needed to be approved ranged from decisions made about the script to the kind of cameras Mansky was allowed to use. Mansky, who was “used to having complete creative freedom”, seems to have had problems with this working relationship. Thus Mansky went around the North Korean authorities’ rules to create his documentary film. Mansky says he let the cameras roll all the time, and duplicated his video cards before they were given to the some unspecified North Koreans –Mansky says he did not know who they were- who reviewed Mansky’s footage and had to approve it. The film seems to have been disapproved by North Korea long before the finished product hit theatres. The contract between Mansky and North Korea’s Ministry of Culture was broken in 2014, when Mansky’s access to North Korea was shut down, as well as any communication from his ‘partners’ in North Korea. The film also brought up the topic of safety for those involved. The question was whether people would face repercussions for being linked to Under the Sun. In an interview with The Guardian Mansky says that the Russian Federation wanted to have its name removed from the film’s credits, claiming that they were scared because they “lied to our North Korean partners”, but also because they were afraid of what would happen to the North Koreans who are seen in the film. In that same interview Mansky said he excluded some footage that might have had negative repercussions for the family that is followed in the film. Mansky’s Under the Sun has strayed away from whatever form the initial project was meant to have. Instead of being a ‘joint venture’ Under the Sun is a production made by Vitaly Mansky and it is he who has created the story. In that way it is a Vitaly Mansky documentary film, and not a North Korean documentary film. Moreover, Under the Sun should not be read as a North Korean propaganda piece, but rather a visual document that explores North Korean propaganda. Under the Sun inherently concerns itself with the topic of propaganda; Mansky makes use of a contrast between what is ‘reality’ and what is ‘fabricated’. How does Mansky’s treatment of the topic of propaganda in Under the Sun portray North Korea? This thesis will argue that in Under the Sun Mansky tries to point out and dissolve North Korea’s visual propaganda to emphasize the misery of citizens in the North Korean system, as well as emphasize the cruelty of North Korea as a totalitarian state.Show less
In this thesis, a comparative analysis of the depiction of Kim Il Sung and the depiction of Kim Jong Il in North Korean thematic paintings (chujehwa) is conducted in order to determine how these...Show moreIn this thesis, a comparative analysis of the depiction of Kim Il Sung and the depiction of Kim Jong Il in North Korean thematic paintings (chujehwa) is conducted in order to determine how these paintings reflect the personality cults of the two leaders and whether there are any differences and similarities in the way the two leaders are depicted.Show less
This thesis examines how the Korean poet Yun Tong-ju (1917-1945) has been framed as a resistance poet in contemporary South Korean society through the process of collective memory and cultural...Show moreThis thesis examines how the Korean poet Yun Tong-ju (1917-1945) has been framed as a resistance poet in contemporary South Korean society through the process of collective memory and cultural production. What role does national memory and cultural production actually play in the framing of Yun Tong-ju’s image as a resistance poet in contemporary South Korean society? This thesis uses critical analysis, literature and genre analysis as research method on both Korean and English sources to examine these concepts in relation to the resistance image of Yun Tong-ju. Existing studies on Yun Tong-ju have mainly focused on the interpretations of his poetry, this thesis instead focusses on the process of memory construction and the reinforcement of it in its society. It seems that the image of Yun Tong-ju as a resistance poet can be traced back to the defensive creation of a national memory of the ‘Han minjok’ (the Korean nation). This memory was never questioned by the general public but only strengthened through the elaboration of cultural heritage and cultural productions in contemporary South Korean society.Show less
This thesis discussed the similarities and differences between the views of western academia and North Korean leadership on issues surrounding North Korean agriculture. Ideological, cultural and...Show moreThis thesis discussed the similarities and differences between the views of western academia and North Korean leadership on issues surrounding North Korean agriculture. Ideological, cultural and technological changes in the North Korean agricultural landscape were discussed through texts written by or attributed to Kim Jong-un himself.Show less
