Aspiration for Simplicity : A Case Study on the Kinfolk Culture in South Korea

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Abstract

This study aims to examine how the virtue of simplicity is expressed and pursed as an alternative lifestyle. For this purpose, I investigate the magazine Kinfolk and social discourses on the Kinfolk phenomenon by text and image analysis and the Kinfolk gatherings and Kinfolk people by conducting 15 interviews and participant observation. Below are the findings.
The Kinfolk culture, now globally dispersed, is also known as a ‘hipster’ culture. However, a substantial lack of cultural and economic capital of Korean young generation has impeded the growth of the ‘hipster’ culture in Korea. Instead, the Kinfolk culture has become relatively more popular for housewives and white-collar workers in the creative industries.
Simplicity is chosen to enhance one’s cultural identity and to keep distance from the masses. The culture of simplicity also derives not only from the process of aesthetic appreciation but also from the tiredness against the survivalism that has become a dominant culture in Korea.
The virtue of simplicity has come to be engaged with a large scale of consumer culture and consequently its practice has been marginalized. The spread of the Kinfolk culture engenders several movements, leading to critical reflections on social issues, in particular, on the hyper-competitive social dynamic. However, in the Kinfolk culture, the image of simplicity has been also aestheticized to maintain the survivalism in Korea, rather than to challenge it.

Author

• Joohyun Park, UC Berkeley