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McGill Faculty of Arts East

Introduction to East Asian Culture: EAST 213 – 3 credits Fall 2020, Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8:35 to 9:25 am Online Course

Instructor

Dr. Cheolki Yoon ([email protected])

Office Hours (meetings on Zoom):

Monday and Wednesday, 9:00 to 10:00 am (email the instructor to request an appointment)

Teaching Assistants

Course Description

This is an introductory course designed for undergraduate students who are not familiar with Korean culture and society. It will cover diverse sociocultural issues essential to understand Korean society. In order to motivate students and facilitate their approach to sociocultural phenomena, various cultural products, such as movies and television dramas, will be used. It should be noted, however, that this is not a film studies course; the focus will be put on understanding sociocultural phenomena through these materials. Even though the course is a survey course, it will not be a comprehensive review of the cultural life of the Korean people, but aims to explore selected topics from a critical perspective within the sociopolitical context of Modern Korea.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, students are expected to gain:

• Knowledge and understanding of 1) basic concepts related to cultural studies and 2) key sociocultural issues in Korean society; • Skills to 1) analyze cultural products from a critical point of view, based on a sociocultural approach and 2) develop academic writing.

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Instructional Method and Technological Requirement for Remote Learning

In the COVID-19 context, the course will be taught by remote delivery. Students are expected to watch videos uploaded to MyCourses or accessible online, attend synchronous Zoom class meetings and read required texts. Students need to be familiar with using MyCourses, watching or reading materials accessible on websites or YouTube. To attend Zoom class meetings, students must use their real name (first name or first name with last name). All Zoom class meetings except Zoom conferences (group discussions) will be recorded and uploaded at MyCourses and made available to students who cannot attend the synchronous Zoom classes due to time zone difference or other issues. If students don’t want to be shown in these videos, they can participate in the meetings with the camera off, or post questions in advance in the Discussion Forum in MyCourses. The URL for Zoom meetings will be posted in MyCourses.

▪ Lecture video: Around 20 minutes of pre-recorded lecture videos will be uploaded to MyCourses before 8:35 am, as indicated in the course schedule. ▪ Interview video: On specific dates, around 15 minutes of recorded interview video, conducted with experts or practitioners, will be uploaded to MyCourses before 8:35 am, as indicated in the course schedule. ▪ Zoom class meetings: 12 synchronous Zoom class meetings will be held from 8:35 to 9:05 am on the indicated dates. Except the first and the last meetings, the main objective of these synchronous Zoom class meetings is to review the previous week’s learning (lecture and reading) and provide answers to questions posted in Discussion Forum in MyCourses (posted by two days before the particular Zoom class meeting) or asked at the meeting, as well as to clarify guidelines posted in MyCourses. No penalty will be applied for not attending these class meetings, and each meeting will be recorded and uploaded to My Courses. ▪ Zoom conferences (discussion groups): Two rounds of 8 conferences will be organized. For each round, 8 options for meeting times will be proposed, and each student must sign up in advance in MyCourses for one of the 8 conferences which will take 30 minutes. In order to facilitate interaction, the maximum number of student participants for each conference is limited to 25. The main objective of the conferences is to identify students’ interests in the course topics and any obstacle they encounter during the course and provide suggestions and guidelines. The first round of conferences will be chaired by the instructor, and the second, by the two teaching assistants. The second conferences will particularly focus on the guidelines for the film review. All students must attend one conference in each round (in total two conferences during the semester). The conferences will not be recorded. It is recommended to turn on the video during the conferences, even though it is not an obligation. ▪ Text reading and video watching: Students must read the texts and watch the videos assigned for each class in the course schedule. Only some parts of these materials will be explained in the lecture, and it is the students’ responsibility to read or watch all the materials. If students have difficulty in understanding any part of the materials, they can pose questions on the Discussion Forum in MyCourses or at the regular Zoom class meeting.

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Evaluation

Assignments Due Date Marks Participation 10% Saturday, Oct. 17, 6 pm Take-Home Exam I 30% (The Questions will be posted on October 14.) Thursday, Nov. 12, 6 pm Take-Home Exam II 30% (The Questions will be posted on November 9.) Film Review Friday, Dec. 4, before midnight 30%

▪ Participation: Attending two conferences will comprise 6% of the final grade. In addition, each student must post on the Discussion Forum of MyCourses at least one question related to the content of the course AND one answer to classmates’ question posted on the Discussion Forum (4%). ▪ Take-Home Exams: For each take-home exam, the questions will be uploaded to MyCourses three days before the due date, and students have to submit their answers to MyCourses. The exam questions are based on the videos (lecture, interview, Zoom class meeting videos uploaded to MyCourses and required videos on the internet) and the required course readings. One video for each exam will be uploaded to MyCourses, approximately two weeks before the exam, to give detailed guidelines, including sample questions. ▪ Film Review: Students must submit one film review, analyzing one Korean movie in relation to one specific topic learned in this course. The list of the movies will be uploaded to MyCourses, before September 21. The review text (between 700 and 1000 words) should be uploaded to MyCourses no later than the due date. A detailed guideline video will be uploaded on November 13. Students can discuss with the TAs about this assignment in the second conference. ❖ Late assignment policy: Late assignments (exams and film review) are subject to a penalty of 2% per day. Students, who cannot avoid delay due to extraordinary circumstances (such as illness or emergent family responsibility), must contact the instructor as soon as possible.

Course Materials

Students do not need to buy any textbook to follow this course. Required readings for each week will be uploaded to MyCourses or accessible at the McGill library website or other websites. In addition to lecture videos, students must watch interview videos, which will be uploaded to MyCourses, and suggested short videos, accessible online. In order to read or watch proper materials required to complete the course, it is therefore essential to follow the course schedule carefully.

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McGill University Policy Statements:

- Language of Submission

In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded.

- Academic Integrity

McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures” (see McGill’s guide to academic honesty for more information).

- Disability Accommodation

As the instructor of this course I endeavour to provide an inclusive learning environment. However, if you experience barriers to learning in this course, do not hesitate to discuss them with me and the Office for Students with Disabilities, 514-398-6009.

Course Schedule

I. INTRODUCTION

September 4 (F)

➢ Course Introduction: Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am

September 7 (M)

➢ Labour Day

September 9 (W)

➢ Overview of the Geography of Korea (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading: KWON, Sangcheol, KIM, Jonghyuk, LEE, Eui-Han & JUNG, Chi-Young (2016). Geographical Position and Area; Special Characteristics of Korea’s Climate; Regional Distribution of the Population; Cities: Concentrated Metropolitan Regions with More Apartment Complexes. In Geography of Korea (pp. 14-18, 45, 87-90 & 110-113, trans. by Daniel KANE). Seoul, Korea: Academy of Press, 275 p. (accessible in MyCourses)

September 11 (F)

➢ Overview of the of Korea (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading

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ROBINSON, Michael E. (2007). Introduction: Korea’s Turbulent Twentieth Century. In Korea’s Twentieth-Century Odyssey (pp.1-7). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’s Press. (eBook Accessible at McGill Library) SONG, Ho-jung et al. (2019). Introduction. In A (pp.10-12, trans. by Daniel KANE, Jong-Chol AN & Keith SEIDEL). Seoul, Korea: Academy of Korea Studies Press, 286 p. (Accessible in MyCourses)

II. KOREAN WAVE AND MASS CULTURE

September 14 (M)

➢ Gangnam Style and Cultural Industry (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion

September 16 (W)

➢ Cultural Industry: Producing Cultural Products (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading JIN, Dal Yong (2016). The Rise of the New Korean Wave. In Transnational Cultural Power in the Age of Social Media (pp.3-19). Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 232 p. (Accessible in MyCourses) ➢ Watch online: CNA Insider (2019). How to Become a K-Pop Idol: Life as a Foreign Trainee (6 m 34 s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G66uRJ6pAfI

September 18 (F)

➢ Cultural Industry: Consuming Cultural Products (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading PEASE, Rowan (2009). Korean Pop Music in : Nationalism, Authenticity, and Gender. In Chris BERRY, Nicola LISCUTIN & Jonathan D. MACKINTOSH (eds.). Cultural Studies and Cultural Industries in : What a Difference a Region Makes (pp. 151-168). : Hong Kong University Press. (eBook accessible at McGill Library)

III. MODERNITY AND COLONIZATION

September 21 (M)

➢ Mr. Sunshine, Unsettling the Old Order and Colonizing the Korean Peninsula (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion

September 23 (W)

➢ Changes in the Late 19th Century and Beginning of the Colonization (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading

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SUH, Young-hee (2019). 9. The Modern World and the Korean Empire (Daehan Jeguk). In A History of Korea (pp. 192-215, trans. Jong-Chol AN). Seoul, Korea: Academy of Korea Studies Press, 286 p. (Accessible in MyCourses)

September 25 (F)

➢ Colonization Regime and Resistance (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading ROBINSON, Michael E. (2007). 2. Colonial State and Society. In Korea’s Twentieth- Century Odyssey (pp.36-55). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’s Press. (eBook accessible at McGill Library)

IV. DIVISION OF THE PENINSULA AND INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS

September 28 (M)

➢ Joint Security Area, between (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion

September 30 (W)

➢ Division, Conflict and Oppression (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading KANG, Man-gil (2005). 5.1. The Process of National Division & 5.2. The Korean War. In A History of Contemporary Korea (pp.178-197, translated by Global Oriental Ltd). Folkestone, UK: Global Oriental, 240 p. (Accessible in MyCourses)

October 2 (F)

➢ Road to Peace and Nuclear Crisis (lecture video) ➢ Guidelines for Take Home Exam 1 (video) ➢ Required Reading KIM, Jina (2020). The Dilemma of Nuclear Disarmament: The Case of . The International Spectator, 55 (1), 48-61. (Article accessible at the McGill Library)

V. STUDYING CULTURE

October 5 (M)

➢ What Is Culture? (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion ➢ Watch online MEF (1997). Representation and Media: Definition of Culture (interview with Stuart Hall, 9 m 9 s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGh64E_XiVM

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October 7 (W)

➢ What Is Cultural Studies? (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading DUTTON, Michael (2009). Asian Cultural Studies: Recapturing the Encounter with the Heterogeneous in Cultural Studies. In Chris BERRY, Nicola Liscutin & Jonathan D. Mackintosh (eds.). Cultural Studies and Cultural Industries in Northeast Asia: What a Difference a Region Makes (pp.37-50). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. (eBook Accessible at McGill Library)

October 9 (F)

➢ How to Study Culture? (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion ➢ Required Reading HALL, Stuart (1985). Signification, Representation, Ideology: Althusser and the Post- Structuralist Debates. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 2 (2), 91-114. (Article Accessible at McGill Library) ➢ Watch online: The Media Insider (2019). Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory Explained! Media Studies Revision (7 m): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJr0gO_-w_Q

October 12 (M)

➢ Thanksgiving Day

October 14 (W)

➢ Watch online: KIM, Jun-Ki (2011). Her Story (comfort woman's story, 10 m 54 s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CmWdrlv3fI ➢ Comfort Women (interview video) ➢ Take Home Exam I: Due Saturday, 17 October, 6 pm

October 16 (F)

➢ Special Issue: COVID-19 Crisis and Crisis Management in (lecture video)

VI. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND POLITICAL REGIME

October 19 (M)

➢ Gangnam 1970, Economic Development and Its Shade (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Conference I (with the instructor): groups 1, 2 and 3

October 21 (W)

➢ Economic Development (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading

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CHO, Hee-Yeon (2013). The Structure of the South Korean Developmental Regime and Its Transformation: An Analysis of the Developmental Regime of Statist Mobilization and Authoritarian Integration in the Anticommunist Regimentation. In Hee-Yeon CHO, Lawrence SURENDRA & Hyo-Je CHO (edit.). Contemporary South Korean Society. A Critical Perspective (pp.1-17). Abingdon, UK & New York, NY: Routledge. (eBook Accessible at McGill Library) ➢ Zoom Conference I (with the instructor): groups 4, 5 and 6

October 24 (F)

➢ Authoritative Regime (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading MOON, Chung-in & JUN, Byung-joon (2011). Modernization Strategy: Ideas and Influences. In Byung-Kook KIM & Ezra F. VOGEL (eds.). The Park Chung Hee Era: The Transformation of South Korea (pp.115-139). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 744 p. (eBook Accessible at McGill Library) ➢ Zoom Conference I (with the instructor): groups 7 and 8

VII. DEMOCRATIZATION AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

October 26 (M)

➢ 1987, Democratization and Social Movements (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion

October 28 (W)

➢ Social Movements until 1987 (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading SHIN, Gi-Wook, CHANG Paul Y., LEE Jung-Eun & KIM Sookyung (2011). The Korean Democracy Movement: An Empirical Overview. In Gi-Wook SHIN & Paul Y. CHANG (eds.) South Korean Social Movements: From Democracy to Civil Society (pp.21- 40). Abingdon, UK & New York, NY: Routledge. (Accessible in MyCourses) ➢ Watch online: The May 18 Memorial Foundation (2020). The Promise of May (17 m 5 s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfFQfmB55Fk

October 30 (F)

➢ Social Movements after 1987 (lecture video) ➢ Guidelines for Take Home Exam II (video) ➢ Required Reading KANG, Shin-Goo (2019). Candlelight Demonstrations and the Presidential Impeachment in South Korea: An Evaluation of the 30 Years of Democracy. Asian Education and Development Studies, 8 (3), 256-267. (Article Accessible at McGill Library)

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VIII. LABOUR AND SOCIETY IN A NEOLIBERAL ERA

November 2 (M)

➢ Cart, Neoliberal Restructuring and Labour Relations (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion

November 4 (W)

➢ Neoliberal Restructuring of the Society (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading LEE, Byoung-Hoon (2013). Neoliberal Globalization and Labour Relations in Korea. In Hee-Yeon CHO, Lawrence SURENDRA & Hyo-Je CHO (eds.). Contemporary South Korean Society. A Critical Perspective (pp.183-196). Abingdon, UK & New York, NY: Routledge. (eBook Accessible at McGill Library)

November 6 (F)

➢ Labour Relations and Labour Movements (lecture video) ➢ Labour Union Movement (interview video) ➢ Required Reading LEE, Bokmin (2013). Job and Life Satisfaction of Nonstandard Workers in South Korea. Workplace Health & Safety, 61 (8), 355-363. (Article Accessible at McGill Library)

IX. TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY KOREA SOCIETY AND CULTURE 1: CLASS AND GENDER

November 9 (M)

➢ Parasite, Social Class and Social Mobility (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion ➢ Take Home Exam II: Due Thursday, November 12, 6 pm

November 11 (W)

➢ Social Class and Inequality (lecture video)

November 13 (F)

➢ Kim Ji-young, Born in 1982, Women and Gender Relations (lecture video) ➢ Guidelines for Film Review (video)

November 16 (M)

➢ Women and Gender Relations (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading CHOI, Hyaeweol (2009). “Wise Mother, Good Wife”: A Transcultural Discursive Construct in Modern Korea. The Journal of Korean Studies, 14 (1), 1-33. (Article Accessible at McGill Library) ➢ Zoom Conference II (with the TA): groups 1, 2, 3 and 4

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November 18 (W)

➢ Wandeukki, Immigration and Intercultural relations (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading KIM, Karen L. (2017). Korea and the Gender Construction of Female Marriage Immigrants. Pastoral Psychology, 66 (1), 13-25. (Article Accessible at McGill Library) ➢ Zoom Conference II (with the TA): groups 5, 6, 7 and 8

X. TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY KOREA SOCIETY AND CULTURE 2: DIASPORA, EDUCATION AND RELIGION

November 20 (F)

➢ Kim’s Convenience, Korean Diaspora (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading YOON, Hyejin (2016). Family Strategies in a Neoliberal World: Korean Immigrants in Winnipeg. GeoJournal, 81 (2), 243-256. (Article Accessible at McGill Library)

November 23 (M)

➢ Sky Castle, Education and the Youth (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion

November 25 (W)

➢ Education and the Youth (lecture video) ➢ High School Students’ Life (interview video) ➢ Required Reading KIM, Doo Hwan & CHOI, Yool (2015). The Irony of the Unchecked Growth of Higher Education in South Korea: Crystallization of Class Cleavages and Intensifying Status Competition. Development and Society, 44 (3), 435-463. (Article Accessible at McGill Library)

November 27 (F)

➢ Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits, Religions and the Religious (lecture video) ➢ Required Reading BAKER, Don (2010). A Slippery, Changing Concept: How Korean New Religions Define Religion. Journal of Korean Religions, 1 (1/2), 57-83. (Article Accessible at McGill Library)

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XI. TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY KOREA SOCIETY AND CULTURE 3: NORTH KOREA

November 30 (M)

➢ The Story of Our Home, Political Regime and People’s Lives in North Korea (lecture video) ➢ Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am: Review and Discussion

December 2 (W)

➢ Political Regime and People’s Lives in North Korea (lecture video) ➢ Watch online: The Sun (2018). North Korea Mass Games 2018 (3 m 4 s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-e3jTVooPw

December 3 (Th)

➢ Review of the Semester: Zoom Class Meeting at 8:35 am ➢ Film Review Due: December 4, before midnight (F)

Additional References for Further Understanding (optional)

Academy of Korean Studies (2010). Cultural Landscapes of Korea. Seoul, Korea: Academy of Korean Studies Press, 166 p.

ARMSTRONG, Charles K. et al. (2006). Korean Society: Civil Society, Democracy and the State. London, UK: Routledge, 224 p.

CHO, Grace M. (2008). Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame, Secrecy, and the Forgotten War. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 247 p.

CHOI, Youngjin (2010). The History of Confucianism in Korea. In Wonsuk CHANG & Lea KALMASON (eds.). Confucianism in Context: Classic Philosophy and Contemporary Issues, and Beyond (pp.33- 52, trans. By Wonsuk CHANG). New York, NY: State University of New York Press, 255 p.

CHOO, Hae Yeon (2016). Decentering Citizenship: Gender, Labor, and Migrant Rights in South Korea. Standford, CA: Stanford University Press, 200 p.

CHUBB, Danielle L. (2014). Contentious Activism and Inter-Korean Relations. New York, NY: Columbian University Press, 296 p.

FORD, Glyn (2018). Talking to North Korea: Ending the Nuclear Standoff. London, UK: Pluto Press, 320 p.

FREEMAN, Caren (2011). Making and Faking Kinship: Marriage and Labor Migration between China and South Korea. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 280 p.

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GRAY, Kevin (2008). Korean Workers and Neoliberal Globalization. London, UK & New York, NY: Routledge, 208 p.

HUAT, Chua Beng & IWABUCHI, Koichi (2008). East Asian Pop Culture: Analyzing the Korean Wave. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 320 p.

Institute for Unification Education (2017). Understanding North Korea. Seoul, Korea: Ministry of Unification Institute for Unification Education, 339 p.

JOHNSON, Richard (1986-1987). What Is Cultural Studies Anyway? Social Text, (16), 38-80.

KIM, Jong Il (1982). On the Juche Idea, 84 p.

KRAUS, Charles (2015). American Orientalism in Korea. The Journal of American-East Aisan Relations, 22 (2), 147-165.

KWON, Seung Ho & O’Donnell Michael (2001). The Cheabol and Labour in Korea. London, UK & New York, NY: Routledge, 240 p.

PILZER, Joshua D. (2012). Hearts of Pine: Songs in the Lives of Three Korean Survivors of Japanese “Comfort Women”. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 240 p.

RYANG, Sonia (2009). Diaspora without Homeland: Being Korean in . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 229 p.

SETH, Michael J. (2002). Education Fever: Society, Politics, and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai, 305 p.

TOUSSAINT, Eric (2008). South Korea: The Miracle Unmasked. In The World Bank. A Critical Primer (pp.105-125, trans. By Elizabeth ANNE, Vicki BRIAULT, Bertrand DECLERCQ, Sushovan DHAR & Judith HARRIS). London, UK & Ann Arbor, MI, Pluto Press, 336 p.