The Korean Internet Freak Community and Its Cultural Politics, 2002–2011

The Korean Internet Freak Community and Its Cultural Politics, 2002–2011 by Sunyoung Yang A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright by Sunyoung Yang Year of 2015 The Korean Internet Freak Community and Its Cultural Politics, 2002–2011 Sunyoung Yang Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2015 Abstract In this dissertation I will shed light on the interwoven process between Internet development and neoliberalization in South Korea, and I will also examine the formation of new subjectivities of Internet users who are also becoming neoliberal subjects. In particular, I examine the culture of the South Korean Internet freak community of DCinside.com and the phenomenon I have dubbed “loser aesthetics.” Throughout the dissertation, I elaborate on the meaning-making process of self-reflexive mockery including the labels “Internet freak” and “surplus (human)” and gender politics based on sexuality focusing on gender ambiguous characters, called Nunhwa, as a means of collective identity-making, and I explore the exploitation of unpaid immaterial labor through a collective project making a review book of a TV drama Painter of the Wind. The youth of South Korea emerge as the backbone of these creative endeavors as they try to find their place in a precarious labor market that has changed so rapidly since the 1990s that only the very best succeed, leaving a large group of disenfranchised and disillusioned youth. I go on to explore the impact of late industrialization and the Asian financial crisis, and the nationalistic desire not be left behind in the age of informatization, but to be ahead of the curve. I argue that DCinside users are ambivalent subjects who try to become a desirable and successful neoliberal subject but, at the same time, are aware of their subordinated status in which they can easily become a ii failure and fall into a position of social loser. The culture “anything goes” of DCinside enables its users to speak out their voice and belie the consequences of neoliberalization, which makes up the politics of loser aesthetics in DCinside. As DCinside users challenged the protocols of their predecessors the netizens, so now a more extremist group has evolved to challenge the current status quo. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank most of all the users of DCinside who have created such a unique space of humor and satire pertaining to our tough lives as well as a space of warmly abrupt reciprocal support. In particular, I would like to thank my interviewees, who welcomed me to their online communities and shared their experiences and insights about the culture of DCinside. You guided me to the world of Internet freaks and taught me how to enjoy the zest of its culture. Your stories culminated into my dissertation, in which I tried to faithfully translate your voices into its fullness. I am deeply indebted to your generous help. I would like to sincerely thank my supervisor Jesook Song for her insights and support during the whole of my PhD period. You have always been generous with your time for and patient with my progress. Even when I gave up on myself, you didn’t, but encouraged me to keep going. I’m grateful for your faith in your students, including myself. I would also like to thank my committee members, Bonnie McElhinny and Joshua Barker, for their valuable insights and comments over different versions of my dissertation. I would not have been able to elaborate my thoughts to the extent that I have without your help. Thank you for inspiring me in many ways. I would like to thank Francis Cody and Katie Kilroy-Marac for being members of my examining committee. The questions Francis asked me in my defense helped me to refine my thoughts on the politics of loser aesthetics. I would like to sincerely thank my external examiner, Gabriella Lukacs. I really appreciate your insightful comments and suggestions. You’ve given me a lot to think about and they will be a big help in turning my dissertation into a book manuscript. The Department of Anthropology offered me crucial resources and an inspiring intellectual context within which to think through my dissertation. Gavin Smith’s and Tania Li’s courses iv offered valuable insights pertaining to anthropology during my coursework period. I attended the department’s dissertation writing workshop in the year 2010-11. I thank Girish Daswani and the other members of this workshop for their input and feedback. I also thank the members of Jesook’s and Joshua’s graduate student writing groups for fruitful conversations over the years. Among many of my department colleagues, I especially thank Jessica Taylor and her partner Anna Wilson for their valuable input on fandom studies, Eugenia Tsao for her insights on issues relating to neoliberalism and mental illness, Jeffrey Stark for his ongoing support, and Sandy Oh and Melinda Vandenbeld Giles for their enthusiastic feedback on my work as well as life. Many thanks must go to my dear friend, colleague, and editor, Kris Meen. Your comments and insights enabled me to delve deeper into my questions and challenge my own thinking. Thank you so much for all you have done for me as well as for accompanying my long journey while reading and editing my dissertation hundreds of times. I would also like to thank the administrative staff for their help and support: Natalia Krencil, Sophia Cottrell, Diane Yeager, Josie Alaimo, Annette Chan, and Kristy Bard in the Department of Anthropology as well as Norma Escobar at the Department of East Asian Studies. I also have other mentors to extend my gratitude to from outside of my department. I would like to thank Haejoang Chohan, Kilnam Chon, and Dongjin Seo for their valuable insights on my work, from my master’s thesis to my PhD dissertation. I would like to thank Yullim and Sabong for their endless love and inspiration. I am grateful to Andre Schmid for inspiring conversations on my work and warm support over the years. I also thank Michelle Szabo and Sungjo Kim, who were my writing partners as well as inspiring discussants and supporters. I am thankful to Claudia Urlic for her thorough copy editing. I am indebted to Ju Hui Judy Han, Jennifer Jihye Chun, and Hae Yeon Choo at the Center for the v Study of Korea at the University of Toronto as well as the other participants, especially Minjeong Kim for their helpful comments on one of my dissertation chapters at the workshop “Gender and Politics in Contemporary Korea” held in 2013. I would also like to thank the advisors of the SSRC Korean studies dissertation workshop held in 2010, Nancy Abelmann, Seungsook Moon, Sun Joo Kim, and Jun Yoo, the other graduate student participants, especially Kathy Lee, June Hee Kwon, and Seo Young Park, and the director, Nicole Levit for their helpful comments and encouragement. This research was supported by a Connaught Scholarship from the University of Toronto, a Doctoral Completion Award from the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto, a travel grant from the Center for the Study of Korea at the University of Toronto, and trainee grants from Jesook Song. Last but not least, I would like to thank my friends as well as family in both South Korea and Toronto: Namu, Grace, Dubu, Crystal, P’ungdaeng-i, hiiocks, Scholar, Hwal, Q-Ho, Pengdo, Hato, Sanha, P’obi, Sun Jung, Jong-ok, Jong-seok, Jangmoon, Kyuyeon, Jiwon, Soheon, Haeyoung, Woojin nuna, Kodong, Park-kkwang, Youngsam hyong, Woojin oppa, Namilttang, Parkgun, Im Hye-Young sonsaengnim, Gracie, Alvaro, Chantal, Maryjane, Sandy, Zak, Karma, Marley family, Joa, Haebong, Youna, Sena, Bora, Sunja, Sunny, Sunmi, and Sunkyung. I would like to dedicate this humble result of my long journey to my mother, Chunji Park, and to the memory of my father, Jongmoon Yang. vi Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. x Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1 DCinside.com, Field Site .................................................................................................... 5 2 Translating Internet Freak ................................................................................................. 13 3 Subjects, Technologies, and Politics: Theoretical Considerations ................................... 16 3.1 Becoming Neoliberal Subjects ................................................................................................. 17 3.2 The Medium is the Message: What is the Message of the Internet and the Internet Freak? 20 3.3 Politics of Aesthetics in Carnivalesque Online Space .............................................................. 24 4 Methodologies ................................................................................................................... 27 5 Outline of the Dissertation ...............................................................................................

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