Examining the Construction of Identity by the Immigrant Brides of South Korea in Relation to Their Consumption of South Korean TV Dramas

• In Event: Women and Girls Respond to Media: Using and Interpreting Media Texts and Spaces

Abstract

Although marriage migration through marriage brokering agencies has become increasingly common globally over the last several decades, the impact of local media consumption on these diasporic women in their new homeland is rarely studied. Given that watching South Korean TV dramas is a major entertainment for immigrant brides in South Korea (hereafter Korea) (Yoon, Kim, & Eom, 2011), this research will delve into the everyday consumption of Korean primetime TV content by immigrant brides married to Korean working-class men. The goal of this study is to provide insight into the role mass media plays in the ongoing process of self-identification by immigrant brides. In our contemporary media saturated society, mass media play a significant role in the creation of cultural discourse. Cultural discourse, in turn, provides an outlet within which individuals can pursue their own reflexive projects, i.e, create their identities (Giddens, 1991, p. 53). Korean TV dramas, typically targeting female audiences, center on discourses about family matters and romance. In doing so, these dramas influence the audiences’ identities as they intersect with gender, class, and race/ethnicity. This research will specifically investigate the role Korean TV dramas play in the development of immigrant brides’ understanding of themselves and their place in Korean society.

Author

• HaeLim Suh, Temple U