From oppression to freedom: changes in the use of Western symbols in Korean pop and East Asia
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | This paper analyzes East Asian modernity in the use of Western symbols accommodated in Korean culture, their gradual semantic as well as pragmatic shift and contemporary spread. As railway or train became the symbol of modernity in Europe (Weber 1976), it was also adopted as a sign of progress in South Korea (Han Seung-Mi 2004) when diesel locomotives and their sound represented negative control of people (Han Youngsue 2020). With more positive development at the end of the 20th century, this optically same motif has lost its negative value and now is more positive sign of the shift to better future (e.g. Twice: Likey + I can’t stop me) or symbolic gate to another space (BTS: Run). Similarly the Biblical parable of knowledge (= snake or eating of an apple) was adopted by Korean Christians. Despite their original motif of punishment (Gain, Paradise Lost), these symbols have also changed and might be connected to East Asian feminine modernity (cf. Lin & Avin 2008) and strength, when knowledge is equal to desire for a better future (e.g.: Twice: More & More). The analysis allows to conclude that these symbols are gradually disconnected from their original or moral content (GFRIEND: Apple; Gain: Apple; in secondary moments e.g. in Twice: Yes or yes; Blackpink: How you like that; Hyuna: Red). This semantical shift correlates with economic success of South Korea and analogical reception of these symbols in post-colonial Asia. |
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