Korean Media

South Korea’s Evolving Immigration Policy and National Identity Reflection

By | April 15, 2015

Rapid demographic changes in South Korea have changed the cultural and ethnic makeup of the nation. While official government discourse is optimistic, a closer look at peoples’ actual opinions paints a different picture. Darcie Draudt translates.

South Korea as (Sub)Empire: Workers, Immigration, and Racialized Hierarchy

By | April 01, 2015

Survey data reported in a recent segment of “Exploration Plus” at JTBC show that most South Koreans are not exactly comfortable with all foreigners in the country. Steven Denney translates and analyzes.

(Not) Legislating Morality: #Shigak no. 20

By | March 28, 2015

This 20th issue of #Shigak highlights key stories and domestic political developments in South Korea between February and March, including a momentous Constitutional Court ruling that overturned a 60-year old adultery law.

Shin Dong-hyuk: Finally Poised For Effective Activism

By | March 23, 2015

Personal narratives are co-created by teller and receiver, and each is mutually responsible for the outcomes. According to Eric Foley, CEO of Voice of the Martyrs Korea, Shin Dong-hyuk’s extraordinary life story is like any co-created narrative, and only by taking a different stance toward it can we arrive at an honest accounting.

Recent Reproductions of South Korean “National Hero” Ahn Jung-geun

By | January 31, 2015

One can learn a lot about a nation by who is elevated to the status of “national hero.” Here, Steven Denney reviews two recent cultural products concerning independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun, juxtaposing them against Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper.”