Investing in “The Academic 1%”: Caring for South Korean Adolescence at the Junctures of Global Market Volatility, Obsolescence, and Play by Hyun Joo Sandy Oh A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright by Hyun Joo Sandy Oh, 2019 Investing in “The Academic 1%”: South Korean Adolescence at the Junctures of Global Market Volatility, Obsolescence, Care and Play Hyun Joo Sandy Oh Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2019 Abstract This dissertation analyses the production of South Korea’s aspirant “1%.” Focusing on affluent adolescents, their parents, and private educators, I show how my interlocutors understand the world to be inherently volatile and uncertain under the current conditions of global capitalism. Understanding their current position to be fundamentally precarious, my interlocutors seek to create new circumstances from which value can be accumulated, invested, appreciated and generated. These orientations towards futurity position adolescents as sites of speculation and investment in the production of human capital. Based on fieldwork undertaken at “IHE Prep,” a private academy (hagwŏn) specializing in American college exam and application preparatory lessons, in addition to international schools (Kukchehakkyo) in the Seoul metropolitan area, I analyse how the South Korean economy, education, and class conflict fuel my interlocutors’ aspirations to embed themselves in global markets. Notably, international schools are vested with special powers by the Ministry of Education to implement their own curriculums in full foreign language immersion. I will argue that these processes rest on social obligations of kinship, intergenerational exchanges of reciprocity, and aspirational classed identity. By tracking the process leading up to admissions into elite American universities, I argue that ii adolescents’ pursuits are not effects of rational, calculating individuals. Rather, their aspirations are wrought from their status as debtors to their parents’ enormous investments. Intently focused on American education, the valuation of adolescents is further grounded in English acquisition and university branding, as markers of future leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and innovators. Moreover, adolescents as financialized subjects, constituted through care and capital, are further valued for their physical, emotional, and social well-being. Throughout my examination, I show how processes of investment become a lived reality, contingent not only on the global economy, but forms of embodiment where one should cultivate a creative, playful disposition, compassionate heart, indexing their status as the newly aspirant “1%.” iii Acknowledgments First and foremost I would like to thank my family: my parents, Kwang Woon Oh and Jennifer Park; my aunt Grace, who has always treated me as her own; my brother, Henry, who often dealt with my last-minute requests for random things. This would not have been possible without their support to see me through and their patience with a marathon of writing that often left them bewildered. I am also indebted to faculty members at the University of Toronto and beyond for invaluable feedback. A very special thank-you to Professor Andrea Muehlebach, my supervisor who provided unwavering support and a wonderful woman who always brought a sense of humour to our interactions. I would also like to thank my committee members, Professors Ju Hui Judy Han and Dr. Sarah Hillewaert for being kind spirits. To my extended committee members, Professors Hae Yeon Choo and Christopher Krupa, thank you both for your generosity. To the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto. The Dissertation Writing Workshop under the guidance of Professor Amira Mittermaier was a space where many of my arguments were pulled together and cleaned up. Many thanks to you and to my colleagues who participated in this exchange of ideas: Shayne Dahl, Nick Feinig, Salvatore Giusto, William Hébert, Matthew Pettit, Johanna Pokorny, Sardar Sardi, Dr. Joey Youssef. Special shout-out to Mathew Gagne and Dr. Omri Grinberg for providing careful feedback via Skype over the span of a few of years. Thank you also to my MA supervisor Professor Jesook Song who in very many ways started me on this journey. Other faculty members who were crucially important to shaping my thoughts throughout my coursework and my master’s thesis include: Professors Joshua Barker, Frank Cody, Naisargi Dave, Michael Lambek, Tania Li, Hy V. Luong. Thank you to Professors Ivan Kalmar, Shawn Lehman, and Max Friesen for being great teaching mentors. Thank you to Professor Hye Young Im from the East Asian Studies Department. My sincerest gratitude to Sophia Cottrell, Natalia Krencil, and Meghan Sbrocchi for their patience. To the Academy of Korean Studies, who funded a portion of this dissertation, thank you. I am particularly grateful for Dr. Youngkyun Yang’s gentle supervisorial style and help during my fieldwork. iv To the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), thank you for including me in the InterAsia Connections V “Knowledge Mobilities and the Prospects for InterAsian Urbanisation” workshop held at Seoul National University. I am particularly indebted to Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Kong Chong Ho who performed careful, detailed readings of the very first draft of my first chapter. To workshop participants — thank you for paving the way during those early days of dissertation writing. Dr. Jacqueline Armijo, Dr. Younghan Cho, Dr. Sujin Eom, Dr. Melanie Feakins, Dr. Wai Weng Hew, Dr. Maureen Hickey, Dr. Yoonhee Kang, Nithila Kanagasabi, Dr. Stephanie Kim, Dr. Suray Agung Nugroho, Dr. Yasmin Patrice Ortiga, Dr. Le-Ha Phan, Dr. Lillia Zemnukhova. To the University of Michigan Nam Center for Korean Studies; University of Southern California Korean Studies Institute; University of California, Irvine, Department of Anthropology; University of Edinburgh, The Department of Asian Studies, thank you for having me at your conferences and workshops where the feedback I received was crucially important to shaping parts of this dissertation. Thank you to Professor Michael Sweeney, my bassoon teacher at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music, for first taking me on as his student while I was an undergraduate and letting me go my own way to the social sciences but writing reference letters anyway, along the way. I still don’t know what is more arduous: pursuing a PhD in Anthropology or a lifetime of making reeds. (Probably reeds). But I also would like to thank Michael for providing comp tickets to see his brilliant performance of Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, complete with his written own cadenzas, which was a much-welcomed recess during my coursework. With that said, I also owe my gratitude to the Juilliard Pre-College Division for accepting me while I was a high school student, in particular Mark Goldberg, an instructor who taught me how to be a diligent student. This was my first step towards winding up at the University of Toronto. Thank you also to my editor for this dissertation, Claudia Urlic. Now, I really owe my interlocutors, former colleagues, and students in South Korea. Thank you for your time, patience, and energy despite your exhaustion. I would include your names, but for the sake of maintaining anonymity alone, I plead the fifth. Just know that you have been v crucially important to me throughout the past decade. Especially for all the late nights of utter debauchery — drinking and eating as if we were Romans. To others who joined in on the ride, thank you for sharing meals, laughter, impromptu trips, and new perspectives. Thank you for being the best writing buddies and if not helping in the writing, seeking out spaces for me to get work done under strange circumstances. More than anything, thank you for your companionship into journeys of the absurd: Mathis Arnell, Lynn Byung, Xuan-Yen Cao, Nate Coben, Erica Chung, Nathaniel Ming Curran, Dr. Ursula Dalinghaus, Clinton Debogorski, Dr. Guy Duke, Kyunghee Eo, Jennifer Gibson, Jordan Hale, Griffin Hamill, Melinda Hatcher, Jen Hughes, Ling Hui, Ken Huynh, Susan J., Sera Jeong, Yong Ha Jeong, Dr. Aaron Kappeler, Dr. Hareem Khan, Dr. Daisy Kim, Jayne Kim, Dr. June Hee Kwon, Hee Jin Lee, Braedon Links, Sabrina Maher, Sabina Martin, Fara Marz, Aaron Miller, Seth Palmer, Eugene Park, Dr. Michael Prentice, Adam Reese, AJ Ripley, Dr. David Seitz, Tori Sheldon, Yoonie Song, Iraj Temadon-Nejad, Anna Ulak, Melinda Vandenbeld-Giles, Liana Van Rensburg, Ané Uno, Dr. Letha Victor, Dr. Sunyoung Yang, Elise Youn. To Alex Artful-Dodger, I miss you and wish you were still with us. Kettle Glazed Donuts deserves an honourable mention. Thanks for the sugary carbs and caffeine to that kept me motoring throughout. I might have diabetes now, but it may be worth it. Thanks for the laughs and many impromptu intriguing discussions too, especially Michael Dean. I am sorry if I forgot anyone. If this ever gets turned into a book, I promise to include you in the version that matters more. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ..........................................................................................................................