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The New Face of Korea

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Mixed-Race Politics and Neoliberal Multiculturalism in South Korean Media

Part of the book series: East Asian Popular Culture ((EAPC))

Abstract

This chapter maps out the discursive practice of imagining contemporary Korea as it shifts from a monoracial society and insular economy to a multiethnic global neoliberal state. It describes how race and nation are articulated together in the media to provide a sociohistorical context for the formation of neoliberal multiculturalism. In particular, the chapter describes the social production of mixed-race subjectivities such as Amerasian and the children of multicultural families as changes in these subjectivities indicate a broader shift in how the Korean state governs racial others and determines who is included and excluded in the nation. The chapter strategically reads governmental policy on the mixed-race population alongside media/cultural policy in a historical context to underscore how mass media and popular culture shaped particular images of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA, USA

    Ji-Hyun Ahn

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Ahn, JH. (2018). The New Face of Korea. In: Mixed-Race Politics and Neoliberal Multiculturalism in South Korean Media. East Asian Popular Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65774-5_2

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