How have Japanese women been portrayed in South Korean popular culture? In this presentation, Dr. Yukie Hirata will discuss how Japanese women are depicted in South Korean TV dramas and films produced since the 2000s that are set in the colonial era, examining the patriarchal and post-colonial systems and imagination.
This study raises two specific questions. First, what are the specific cultural processes that led to the formation and transformation of Japanese women’s image in Korea? Hirata examines the popular acceptance of Japan in Korean society under postcolonial conditions and explores the link between gender and nation in doing so. Second, how have the images of ‘Japanese women’ changed and reproduced, especially after the Korean Wave in 2000s? Ultimately, this study aims to reexamine their historical and political significance and position them within the constant movements of ideas, people, and texts between Japan and Korea.
About the Speaker:
Yukie Hirata is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia from April 2025 to March 2026. She is a Professor in the Department of Studies on Contemporary Society at Japan Women’s University. Her current research focuses on the gendered representations in popular cultural texts across Korea and Japan, analyzing through critical and transnational frameworks. She received a Ph.D and M.A in Sociology from Yonsei University, Korea. Her recent work includes Kankoku dorama no sōzōryoku [Imagination of Korean Dramas](co-authored with Tomoomi Mori and Chie Yamanaka, published by Jinbunshoin, 2024) and Kankoku kazoku: gurōbaru-ka to “dentō bunka” no semegiai no nakade [Korean Families between globalization and ‘traditional culture’](co-edited with Kojima Yuki, published by Aki Shobō, 2014).
This talk is presented by the Centre for Korean Research (CKR).
