"Cultural Americanization in Postcolonial South Korea"
Abstract:
South Korean was roiled by economic, social, and political crisis throughout the post-Korean period (1953-1961). This talk explores the ways in which journalists, academics, filmmakers, politicians, and activists proposed cultural solutions to this crisis and, by extension, to the problem of how to build a strong and independent postcolonial nation. At the heart of the matter was the challenge of incorporating ideas, goods, practices, and institutions drawn from America, while maintaining – and updating – the core elements of national culture and society. The forms of cultural conservatism that they espoused dovetailed with the Cold War ideology of the South Korean state, as well as its U.S. patron.
Bio:
Charles Kim is a historian of 20th-century Korea who works on culture, ideas, and society in South Korea. His research and teaching interests include narratives, nation, gender, and media. He teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
