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Unit of study_

ASNS2004: Korean Popular Culture

2025 unit information

This unit presents multiple aspects of popular culture in South and North Korea, from K-pop to blockbuster movies, popular literature, internet culture, video games and socialist mass culture. It approaches Korea's cultural industries historically and critically, questioning their relationships to colonialism, militarism, social hierarchies, national identities, and economic globalization. Primary reading materials are drawn from a variety of genres and media to reflect the diversity of popular culture in the two Koreas. All reading materials are available in English translation and no knowledge of Korean is required.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Arts and Social Sciences

Study level Undergraduate
Academic unit Asian Studies
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
12 credit points from Korean Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level from Asian Studies
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Gain in-depth knowledge of how Korean popular culture is produced, distributed and consumed globally
  • LO2. Reflect about the specificities of Korean culture and its relationships to other cultures around the world
  • LO3. Develop critical thinking skills to be able to assess the economic, social and political aspects of contemporary cultural industries
  • LO4. Learn about concepts from the fields of art sociology, economics of culture, cultural studies and critical theory and apply them to the study of works of popular culture
  • LO5. Conduct research, weigh evidence and work critically with primary and secondary sources
  • LO6. Structure an academic essay and write clearly and concisely to make persuasive arguments
  • LO7. Develop oral presentation skills and learn to communicate ideas effectively

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

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