Week 1: Course Introduction

Week 2: Starting from Gyeongbokgung Palace

• Yi Sun-sin & King Sejong


• BTS x Gucci Gyeongbokgung performance and runway


• Korean civil society

Week 3: Origins and History of K-Culture

• Korean desires and vulnerability: a Confucian interpretation


• Government, chaebols, civil society, and K-Culture

Week 4: Age Culture & Nunchi Culture

• Why does a one-year age gap matter so much?


• Confucianism, the modern state, and colonial legacy


• Reproducing hierarchy within the MZ generation

Week 5: Korean Food: Is Buldak Bokkeum Myeon Korean cuisine?

• Origins and authenticity in culture


• How Korean corporations "manufactured" Korean food

Week 6: Regionalism

• The 6.3 Presidential Election and regionalism: A vicious circle or a historical legacy?


• The May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the roots of regionalism


• The history of mobilizing regional identity

Week 7: Generational Divides, Feminism, and Meritocracy

• Focus on the MZ generation

Week 8: Midterm Exam

Week 9: Generational Divides & Feminism Continued

• Why do Korean men and women hate each other?


• Why can't men and women in their 20s understand each other?

Week 10: Chaebols & Economic Inequality

• The "Miracle on the Han River" and its darker side


• Meritocracy and the MZ generation

Week 11: Brief Political History of Korea

• A history of humiliation and overcoming


• The Korean War, division, and civil conflict


• Authoritarianism

Week 12: Democratization

• The 1987 Democratic Movement


• How was democratization achieved?

Week 13: Two Presidential Impeachments

• Why were two conservative presidents impeached?


• What implications can we gain from the two cases?

Week 14: Korea’s Geopolitics

• The tributary system and sadaejuui (deference to great powers)


• Korea’s self-image amidst the U.S., Japan, China, and Russia

Week 15: Guideline for better comparive stduy

Week 16: Final Exam

Each week, questions comparing Korea and students' own society will be assigned; students are required to prepare short insights and responses (2-3 minutes)

To be provided later

• Attendance: 10%


• Participation: 30%


• Midterm Presentation: 20%


• Final Presentation & Report: 40%

Midterm & Final Exam Guidelines

For the midterm exam, students are required to choose one topic and present a comparison between Korean and your own society (approx. 5 minutes). The instructor will provide more detailed instructions and specific guiding questions for the midterm presentation.

Students will develop the same topic further and give a more in-depth presentation for the final exam (approx. 10 minutes). For example, choose representative cultural, social, or political phenomena from each country, analyze them through appropriate theoretical frameworks, and illustrate why/how the two countries differ. 

Lecture slides and PDF materials will be provided by the instructor.