Hallyu: The Korean Wave Through K-Pop and K-Dramas

Undergraduate

This class explores the Hallyu (한류 or 韓流) or The Korean Wave, primarily with respect to K-Pop and K-Dramas. No knowledge of Korea, K-Pop, or K-Dramas is required, but some familiarity with K-Dramas and/or K-Pop is helpful. Korea has been extraordinarily successful in exporting these cultural products and in doing so, it has exposed the friction in cultural understandings of national origin, race, gender, and sexuality. In addition to the readings, you are expected to watch some K-Dramas and K-Pop. Specifically, each student is part of a team that watches one entire short K-Drama (usually 8 episodes) or half of a typical length K-Drama (16 episodes) during the first part of the class. Once we turn to K-Pop, there are weekly YouTube playlists of music videos for you to watch. You also read and comment on two episodes of 2 Korean webtoons. Preference is given to juniors and seniors in Sociology and/or ER&M. SO M 1:30pm-3:25pm