Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Honors Thesis (Colby Access Only)

Department

Colby College. East Asian Studies Dept.

Advisor(s)

Ankeney Weitz

Second Advisor

Hideko Abe

Abstract

How do women in South Korea negotiate gender roles? What role does the media in the form of Korean TV dramas (K-dramas) play in these negotiations? What does the popularity of gender-bending dramas tell us about women, the major audience of these Korean TV dramas? By studying three gender-bending K-dramas, [Coffee Prince (K’ŏp’i P’ŭrinsŭ 1 Hochŏm, 2007), You’re Beautiful (Minamisineyo, 2009), and To The Beautiful You (Arŭmdaun Kŭtaeeke, 2012)], which all feature a female protagonist that assumes the role of a male, this study aims to prove that the popularity of these dramas lies in the changing attitudes of women and their desires to excel and assume equal or higher positions than males.

Comments

Full-text download restricted to Colby College campus only.

Keywords

Korea, television, popular culture, sexuality

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