Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 6-28-2018 2:30 PM Cultural Hybridity in the Contemporary Korean Popular Culture through the Practice of Genre Transformation Kyunghee Kim The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Blackmore, Tim The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Kyunghee Kim 2018 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Kim, Kyunghee, "Cultural Hybridity in the Contemporary Korean Popular Culture through the Practice of Genre Transformation" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5472. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5472 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Abstract The focus of this dissertation is to show how the media of contemporary Korean popular culture, specifically films, are transformed into “hybrid cultural forms” through the practice of genre transformation. Since the early 21st century, South Korean popular culture has been increasingly spreading across the globe. Despite its growing attention and popularity, Korean pop culture has been criticized for its explicit copying of Western culture with no unique cultural identity. Others view the success of Korean media, both its creative mimicry and its critique of the West, as a new hybrid form that offers the opportunity for reassertion of local identity as well as challenging the global hegemony of the West.