Izvorni znanstveni članak
Multicultural Elements in Korean Cinema: Focus on the Film Wandeuki
Jong-myung Hong
; Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul
Sažetak
This study aims to examine the specific and mainstream viewpoints on immigrants in Korean society through a popular film focusing on the issue of multiculturalism, and identify the ways in which multicultural values and problem awareness are represented in the popular domain. To this end, the Korean film Wandeuki, which deals with the theme of multiculturalism and which resonated with the public, will be used as the subject of analysis and medium for discussion. Korea’s multicultural society represented in the film possesses three main characteristics. First, members of Korea’s multicultural society still tend to be perceived as “peripheral beings.” They are perceived to be in the same category as existing social peripheral elements such as the poor, and even play a role in reinforcing the negative perception of the existing peripheral elements. Second, multicultural members are perceived as “objects of alienation and exclusion.” Wandeuk's mother, an immigrant woman, is represented as an alienated figure. By not appearing in the first half of the film, she is already portrayed as an isolated entity. She is symbolic of the ambiguous status and role of immigrants who exist in the private domain only, but are not officially recognized by society. Third, immigrants in Korean society are required to submit to the patriarchal Confucian social norm. They are recognized as being marginalized in Korean society, and yet they are also required to perform the traditional roles of the society. This dual role of immigrants appears more strongly in Korea's multicultural society where Confucian traditions are deeply entrenched.
Ključne riječi
multicultural society; immigrant; cultural hybridity; peripheral beings; tolerance
Hrčak ID:
278155
URI
Datum izdavanja:
27.5.2022.
Posjeta: 508 *