Culture and Inequality in South Korea

Thursday, 10 July 2025: 09:00-10:45
Location: SJES021 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
RC14 Sociology of Communication, Knowledge and Culture (host committee)

Language: English

This regular session invites papers that discuss how cultural forces interact with increasing social inequalities in contemporary South Korea.

South Korea has experienced rapid economic development and cultural shifts in recent decades. Along with these changes, social inequality in South Korea has been increasing across diverse domains such as income, wealth, education, regional disparities, and generational gaps. Meanwhile, new forms of cultural products (e.g., digital platforms) are transforming how we communicate and respond to such social issues.

We welcome any topics related to culture and inequality in South Korea. Topics can include, but are not limited to:

(1) How cultural values, norms, and expectations perpetuate or alleviate existing social inequalities

(2) How various forms of culture (e.g., popular culture including K-dramas, K-pop, and movies) contribute to or reflect social inequality

(3) How new technology (e.g., social media, AI algorithms) is transforming our reactions to social inequalities

(4) Cultural processes of justifying various forms of disparities

This session will offer valuable insights for scholars interested in how culture interacts with social inequalities in contemporary South Korean society.

Session Organizer:
SetByol CHOI, Ewha Womans University, South Korea
Chair:
Vincenzo CICCHELLI, Gemass Paris Sorbonne/CNRS, France
Oral Presentations
A Study on the Determinants of Employment Migration Among Female College Graduates in South Korea
Hee-Jeong LEE, Kongju National University, South Korea; Joohee CHOO, Jeonbuk National University, South Korea
Sanitized Love: Exploring the Idealization of the Urban Middle-Class Dating Culture in South Korea
Kwangho LEE, Keio University, Japan; Jinah LEE, Keio University, Japan
Multigenerational Approaches to Cultural Capital in South Korea
Hyae Jeong JOO, South Korea; Seo-hyeon KIM, Ewha Womans University, Republic of Korea; SetByol CHOI, Ewha Womans University, South Korea
Neutralization of Social Inequality By Cultural Equality in Communication
Musa YUSUPOV, Chechen State University, Russian Federation