In March 2022, Yoon Suk-Yeol became the 8th President of South Korea, with a 1% victory margin over his competitor. This result has become known as the most closely contested presidential election...Show moreIn March 2022, Yoon Suk-Yeol became the 8th President of South Korea, with a 1% victory margin over his competitor. This result has become known as the most closely contested presidential election outcome in South Korea. Then-candidate Yoon announced arbitrarily in January 2022 on his Facebook account the abolishment of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as a campaign pledge. This case study has sought to illuminate motives behind this policy move and explain why this particular case highlights complex social issues central to gender equality in Korean society. A framework of analysis is offered for the reasons behind the high political and social upheaval in Korea concerning gender. Outcomes of the analysis point to a reorganization of the Ministry due to its contested position and a required renewed approach on gender equality.Show less
Although an under-researched subject, South Korea is one of only two countries able to make the most advanced chips fundamental for high-tech and innovation. Against a backdrop of the US-China...Show moreAlthough an under-researched subject, South Korea is one of only two countries able to make the most advanced chips fundamental for high-tech and innovation. Against a backdrop of the US-China trade war and the globality of the industry, South Korea has been forced to consider its partnerships. The country’s largest export industry faces challenges from China and is under growing pressure from the United States. Still, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, its two major semiconductor manufacturers, have invested substantially in the United States to take advantage of the country's protectionist subsidizing policies. As a result, South Korea has also implemented policies to boost the competitiveness of its domestic industry, such as the K-Semiconductor Strategy. Finding itself between its defence guarantor and largest trading partner, South Korea has slightly drifted towards the US. Nonetheless, this is not without risk and South Korean semiconductors remain under pressure.Show less
In preparation for the 2022 Philippine presidential election, K-pop fans nationwide united to campaign for presidential candidate Leni Robredo. The most crucial organisation that set this in motion...Show moreIn preparation for the 2022 Philippine presidential election, K-pop fans nationwide united to campaign for presidential candidate Leni Robredo. The most crucial organisation that set this in motion, K-pop Stans 4 Leni, created a community to talk politics, campaign for Robredo, and spread truthful information concerning the election. Through interviewing a member of this organisation and circulating a survey, this research aims to research how and why Filipino K-pop fans used K-pop as a tool for their political expression and activism during the 2022 Philippine presidential election and, therefore, how K-pop can be political. Results show that the participants in the organisation are politically active in character. The organisation became a political force using K-pop mechanisms to mobilise many fans swiftly. This research concludes that the organisation used K-pop since it effectively mobilises a large demographic who support their goals. Furthermore, this thesis concludes that K-pop fandom can be political, as shown by KS4GG. However, it cannot be concluded that all aspects of K-pop are political due to a lack of political participation. As this research primarily analyses participants involved with the organisation K-pop Stans 4 Leni, this should be noted as a limitation and allows for further research to be done.Show less
This thesis explores the influence of the portrayal of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the K-drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo on public perception and attitudes toward ASD in South Korean society...Show moreThis thesis explores the influence of the portrayal of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the K-drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo on public perception and attitudes toward ASD in South Korean society. The study begins by examining the ASD portrayal in Extraordinary Attorney Woo, aiming to comprehend its positioning and characteristics in relation to general criticisms of ASD portrayals. Subsequently, interview videos featuring Korean individuals with ASD are analyzed to identify similarities and differences between their lived experiences and the drama's portrayal. An online survey is then conducted among South Koreans to investigate the impact of the ASD portrayal in Extraordinary Attorney Woo on public perceptions and attitudes toward individuals with ASD. The findings reveal that the drama presents an authentic character with ASD, fostering understanding and awareness of ASD as a spectrum disorder. However, certain aspects of the portrayal, such as romantic relationships and savant skills, do not accurately reflect the realities of individuals with ASD. Nonetheless, the portrayal of ASD in Extraordinary Attorney Woo positively influences public perception and promotes improved understanding and knowledge of ASD in South Korean society.Show less
After South Korea announced the decision to place a US THAAD system in response to North Korean nuclear tests, China reacted with informal economic sanctions. Despite South Korea’s careful...Show moreAfter South Korea announced the decision to place a US THAAD system in response to North Korean nuclear tests, China reacted with informal economic sanctions. Despite South Korea’s careful balancing of the relations with the US and China, also called “hedging”, this strategy reached its limits with regards to the THAAD situation, as they inevitably had to choose between the US and China. Since the lack of research on what hedging state can do when receiving outside pressure, this thesis aims to fill that gap. I apply a theoretical framework with three hypotheses to the results of analyzing the political and economic situation between South Korea and China after THAAD. Although the Chinese economic sanctions damaged the bilateral relation with regard to politics and economics temporarily, South Korea continued their hedging strategy, ultimately resulting in the improvement of Sino-ROK relations.Show less
Hallyu still charges forward as a new and evolved version of itself, dubbed Hallyu 2.0. Adapting to the digital world and expanding online, it is still increasing the spread of South Korean culture...Show moreHallyu still charges forward as a new and evolved version of itself, dubbed Hallyu 2.0. Adapting to the digital world and expanding online, it is still increasing the spread of South Korean culture and the Soft Power of South Korea. One often overlooked sector of this phenomenon is the gaming sector. Despite being by far the most profitable sector, it falls behind music, dramas, movies and other categories when it comes to spread and impact, especially in Europe. This thesis aims to research this discrepancy in financial success and longevity in order to find out why Korean games are relatively unknown in Europe. Discoveries include bad reputation, lack of recognizable attributes, looked down upon mechanics in Korean games and the preferences of European players not being met. This work aims to open the door to future research about the topic.Show less
South Korea-China bilateral relations deteriorated in the wake of the THAAD announcement in July of 2016. China considers the anti-ballistic missile defense system currently situated on South...Show moreSouth Korea-China bilateral relations deteriorated in the wake of the THAAD announcement in July of 2016. China considers the anti-ballistic missile defense system currently situated on South Korean soil a gross violation of their national security. Subsequently, Chinese public opinion of South Korea regressed swiftly due to negative representation of South Korea’s security policies throughout Chinese state media. In response, South Korea employed public and traditional diplomatic approaches to restore bilateral favorability. Through a mixed method exploratory study, which considers quantitative and qualitative data, the effectiveness of public diplomacy in the given context was clearly deduced . This approach is seldom employed in the field of diplomacy research and thus resulted in a more innovative understanding. The findings demonstrate the insignificant impact that public diplomacy had on Chinese public opinion subsequent to the THAAD incident. Influential Chinese state media, effective traditional diplomatic alternatives, and insufficient coordination represent the key roadblocks for public diplomacy’s efficiency in targeting the Chinese population. Anticipating these variables can facilitate further development of public diplomacy strategies by South Korean policy makers.Show less
In the last decade, the popularity and consumption of Korean TV series have increased rapidly, thereby also increasing the need for quality subtitle translations for these shows. In 2021, a large...Show moreIn the last decade, the popularity and consumption of Korean TV series have increased rapidly, thereby also increasing the need for quality subtitle translations for these shows. In 2021, a large debate was held online regarding the subtitle translation of the K-drama Squid Game, as consumers of the show and scholars alike found the subtitles to be of low quality. A key issue mentioned was the translation of so-called Korean address terms, which pose a translation problem as they are specific to the Korean culture. In this thesis, a classification of translation strategies for translating these address terms is proposed, to help translators translate these culture-specific terms. Furthermore, the ability of these translation strategies to convey the relationship between the on-screen characters, as signified by the Korean address terms, through subtitle translation is researched.Show less
Since Audience Studies research that encompassed K-dramas primarily focused on early 2000s romance dramas and Asian or American audiences, this research aims to contribute to the research gap in...Show moreSince Audience Studies research that encompassed K-dramas primarily focused on early 2000s romance dramas and Asian or American audiences, this research aims to contribute to the research gap in western audiences and contemporary K-dramas by analyzing the impact of the Netflix K-drama Squid Game on Dutch younger audiences. By using mixed methods in the form of a survey and semi-structured interviews with Dutch participants, this study concludes that Squid Game effectively changed audiences’ previous ideas about South Korean citizens' social and financial well-being. Furthermore, the in-depth analysis reveals that the respondents recognized and interpreted criticism on current socio-economic issues in the series, regardless of their age, gender, education, or previous exposure to K-dramas.Show less
In light of creating more mutual understanding between South Korea and the Netherlands, this thesis studies and compares the general organizational cultures of South Korean and Dutch businesses by...Show moreIn light of creating more mutual understanding between South Korea and the Netherlands, this thesis studies and compares the general organizational cultures of South Korean and Dutch businesses by focusing on the view of a sample population of employees from each country. Consequently, the question this thesis attempts to answer is: ‘How do the organizational cultures of South Korean and Dutch businesses compare, as viewed through the eyes of the general employee?’ This thesis consideres every organization that employs people as a business. Furthermore, this thesis defines organizational culture as ‘values, norms, behaviors and work practices of the members in an organization’. To test the hypothesis that the two current organizational cultures of businesses in South Korea and the Netherlands are similar to each other, despite the different ways in which the organizational cultures of the two countries have been shaped, this thesis made use of a survey method to research how employees viewed their organizational culture. The survey combined qualitative and quantitative approaches through close-ended answers and deeper delving, open-ended answers. Subsequently, the survey was distributed to employees from all different kinds of job positions and workplaces within both South Korea and the Netherlands. The results of this study show that there are many similarities between the organizational cultures of South Korean and Dutch businesses, such as an occasional need to work overtime, after-work gatherings initiated by colleagues, a feeling of being heard by their boss and colleagues and a generally decent job satisfaction. Differences between the countries include a difference in flexibility of working hours, different views on obedience towards people in higher positions and different views on the need for strong personal bonds with collegues. Overall, the organizational cultures of businesses in South Korea and the Netherlands were found to contain more similarities than differences.Show less
The Korean Wave is a cultural phenomenon that emerged in Northeast Asia during the late 20th century impacting the entire Asian region. The term was created to show the successful influence of...Show moreThe Korean Wave is a cultural phenomenon that emerged in Northeast Asia during the late 20th century impacting the entire Asian region. The term was created to show the successful influence of South Korean culture with the support of the South Korean government. For over 20 years, China and South Korea have had cultural communication and exchanges, further increasing both accessibility and popularity of South Korean culture and entertainment products in China. The success of the Korean Wave is associated with the spread of its products and the ability to influence the media environment and development of the cultural proximity. Korean drama (K-drama) and Korean Pop (K-pop) is strongly associated with soft masculinity, which has continued to inspire young Chinese males to exhibit their (inner) soft masculinity. The representation of soft masculinity as part of male gender, gives these young males a sense of belonging. The Chinese youth finds it easy to accept and emulate Korean idols and actors, for they feel empathy and cultural resemblances. However, the Chinese government is known for impeding the Korean Wave out of fear that the soft masculinity as portrayed through the Korean Wave will negatively influence Chinese teenagers and young adolescents.Show less
