Abstract
This chapter seeks to uncover some of the complex ways in which we might reconsider prevalent conceptions about one of the most misunderstood and most stigmatized demographic group in contemporary Korea: the ajumma (아줌마), which roughly translates to a middle-aged, married woman. It seeks to debunk problematic stereotypes about such women particularly by recasting them as new media users and paying attention to their redefined role in Korean culture. It examines how ajummas in Seoul have become ‘smart ajummas’, embracing smartphones in their daily lives to communicate with each other in today’s so-called ‘smart world’. This chapter particularly sheds light on how these women share mobile intimacies in KakaoTalk group chat rooms similar to the relationships built in the wash place (ppal-let-ter, 빨래터) in the 1960s. By going beyond the usual focus on Korean youth as new media ‘digital natives’, it seeks to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of gendered new media practices in what is often described as a media innovative country.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
According to Kim (1994), ‘Jeong is more than kindness or liking another. Jeong brings about the “special” feelings in relationships: togetherness, sharing, bonding. Jeong is what makes us say “we’“rather than “I”, “ours” rather than “mine”’ (cited in Kim et al. 2006, p.152).
References
Choi, S. C., Kim, J. Y., & Kim, K. (1999). Social representation and power of Ajumma in Korea. Korean Journal of Psychology: Women, 4(1), 56–67.
Chung, C. K., & Cho, S. J. (2006). Conceptualization of Jeong and dynamics of Hwabyung. Psychiatry Investigation, 3(1), 46–54.
Frizzo-Barker, J., & Chow-White, P. A. (2012). ‘There’s an app for that’: Mediating mobile moms and connected careerists through smartphones and networked individualism. Feminist Media Studies, 12(4), 580–589. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2012.741876.
Ganito, C. (2010). Women on the move: The mobile phone as a gender technology. Comunicação & Cultura, 9, 77–88.
Ghosh, P. (2013). Kim, Park and Lee: Why do Koreans have so few surnames? International Business Times. http://www.ibtimes.com/kim-park-lee-why-do-koreans-have-so-few-surnames-1472324. Accessed 20 Feb 2018.
Giddens, A. (1990). The consequences of modernity. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Goggin, G. (2011). Ubiquitous apps: Politics of openness in global mobile cultures. Digital Creativity, 22(3), 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2011.603733.
Hjorth, L. (2009). CU: The presents of co-presence. Centre for Contemporary Photography. http://www.larissahjorth.net/storage/LarissaHjorth_CUcatalogue.pdf. Accessed 13 Jan 2018.
Hjorth, L., & Lim, S. S. (2012). Mobile intimacy in an age of affective mobile media. Feminist Media Studies, 12(4), 477–484. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2012.741860.
Ito, M., Okabe, D., & Matsuda, M. (2005). Personal, portable, pedestrian: Mobile phones in Japanese life. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Kang, S., & Jung, J. (2014). Mobile communication for human needs: A comparison of smartphone use between the US and Korea. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 376–387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.024.
Katz, J. E., & Aakhus, M. (2002). Perpetual contact: Mobile communication, private talk, public performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Keum, H. J., & Cho, J. H. (2010). Smartphone communication gap and political participation: The moderating role of smartphone use in the effects of social media on participation. Korea Journal of Journalism and Communication Studies, 54(5), 348–371.
Kim, J. Y. (2010). The significance of talk in women’s everyday life: An ethnographic study about middle-aged women’s talk at a bathhouse. Seoul: Seoul National University.
Kim, M.J. (2018). KakaoTalk, the country’s most popular mobile messenger. Platum. https://platum.kr/archives/102366. Accessed 30 July 2018.
Kim, Y. J., Jung, J. M., & Lee, E. J. (2011). What drives the adoption and usage of smartphone applications? Factors affecting degree of use, continuous use, and recommendation. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies, 55(6), 227–252.
Kim, I., Kim, L., & Kelly, J. G. (2006). Developing cultural competence in working with Korean immigrant families. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(2), 149–165. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20093.
Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2009). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research. Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/Singapore/Washington, DC: Sage.
Lee, D. H. (2005). Women’s creation of camera phone culture. Fibreculture Journal, 6, 1–11.
Lemish, D., & Cohen, A. A. (2005). On the gendered nature of mobile phone culture in Israel. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 52(7–8), 511–521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-3717-7.
Licoppe, C. (2004). ‘Connected’ presence: The emergence of a new repertoire for managing social relationships in a changing communication technoscape. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 22(1), 135–156.
Lister, M., Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Grant, I., & Kelly, K. (2003). New media: A critical introduction. London/New York: Routledge.
Meyrowitz, J. (1985). No sense of place: The impact of electronic media on social behavior. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ok, H. (2011). New media practices in Korea. International Journal of Communication, 5(1), 320–348.
Park, H. M. (2005). 100 stories of Korean society: Women. Korea JoongAng Daily. http://article.joins.com/news/article/article.asp?total_id=1657996&cloc=. Accessed 25 June 2018.
Park, I. K., & Shin, D. H. (2010). Using the uses and gratifications theory to understand the usage and the gratification of smartphones. Journal of Communication Science, 10(4), 192–225.
Rakow, L., & Navarro, V. (1993). Remote mothering and the parallel shift: Women meet the cellular telephone. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 10(2), 144–157.
Sohn, S. H., Choi, Y. J., & Hwang, H. S. (2011). Understanding acceptance of smartphone among early adopters using extended technology acceptance model. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies, 55(2), 227–251.
Williams, R. (1974). Television: Technology and cultural form. Hanover: Wesleyan University Press.
Womennews. (2009). Opened ‘a wash place of the mind’ for women. Womennews.http://www.womennews.co.kr/news/39522. Accessed 25 July 2018.
Yang, I. Y., & Lee, S. Y. (2011). Exploring smartphone early adopters categories on the basis of motivations. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies, 55(1), 109–139.
Yoon, S. Y. (2009). Development of leisure activity model by life cycle. Seoul: Korea Tourism Organization.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the ajummas who participated in my study. I would also like to thank Dr. Victoria Duckett for early feedback for my work. The editors of the book, Dr. Jason Vincent A. Cabañes and Dr. Cecilia S. Uy-Tioco, were extremely helpful and generous with advice and direction.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Moon, J.Y. (2020). The Digital Wash Place: Mobile Messaging Apps as New Communal Spaces for Korean ‘Smart Ajummas’. In: Cabañes, J.V.A., Uy-Tioco, C.S. (eds) Mobile Media and Social Intimacies in Asia. Mobile Communication in Asia: Local Insights, Global Implications. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1790-6_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1790-6_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1789-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1790-6
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)