KOREAN 305

Korea through TV Drama and Film

Please note: this is archived course information from 2021 for KOREAN 305.

Description

With Bong Joon-ho's “Parasite” (2019) winning the Best Picture at the 2020 Oscars and Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes film festival, international audiences have refreshed their interest in Korean popular culture. However, a close look at the monumental success of “Parasite” confirms the ongoing contact between Korean media and overseas audiences since the early 1990s when Korean films, television dramas and pop music began to spread across neighbouring countries.
The course aims to investigate such encounter between national/local cultures and the globalised mediascape through Korean films and TV dramas as example.

The course will offer students the overview of the Korean wave, or Hallyu, a term that refers to the popularity of Korean media products in Asian markets and beyond. By closely reading the texts and contexts of the Korean wave students can understand the multi-faceted link between Korea’s historical, social, political and economic dimension and its media culture.

Each week the course will help students analyse exemplary Korean films or television dramas in close relation to Korea’s path to modernity and how South Korea transformed from a devastated war-stricken country to a developed, multicultural society that it is now.

Also, students can enhance the skills of close reading of media texts by learning relevant theories that will remain useful for their further study of society and culture. Ultimately, "Korea through TV Drama and Film" will guide students to develop critical thinking necessary to the understanding of a modern society through its culture.

No knowledge of Korean language is required.

Availability 2021

Semester 2

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s)  Hee Seung (Irene) Lee
Lecturer(s)  Hee Seung (Irene) Lee

Reading/Texts

Readings will be available on the comprehensive course website. All viewing materials with English subtitles will be available in the AV library.

Assessment

20% Text analysis

30% Research essay

20% Review Portfolio

30% Final test

Points

KOREAN 305: 15 points

Prerequisites

30 points at Stage II in Asian Studies, Chinese, Japanese or Korean or 30 points from Stage II in Media, Film and Television

Restrictions

ASIAN 202, KOREAN 205