天美影视传媒

Turning TV
into a cultural lens

鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to research Korea because I feel a strong sense of pride for my country, but I鈥檝e never had the chance to explore it academically,鈥� says Kwon. So she had an easy time deciding on a direction for her honors thesis: 鈥淥f course, I chose South Korea.鈥�

But the next step wasn鈥檛 as simple, and Kwon struggled to narrow down her research topic. Then her thesis adviser, Deborah Porter, an associate professor at the Jackson School of International Studies, suggested that Kwon use Korean television dramas 鈥� or 鈥淜-dramas鈥� 鈥� as a lens through which to study women鈥檚 roles in Korean society.

Similar to American soap operas, K-dramas feature idealized characters on quests for true love. Nearly 67 percent of Korea watched the finale of the late 鈥�90s drama 鈥淵ou and I,鈥� and audiences from Spain to Zimbabwe have been captivated by these hugely popular shows: 鈥淒ae Jang Geum鈥� (鈥淛ewel in the Palace鈥�), about an orphan who becomes the first female royal physician, was distributed to 91 countries.

鈥淒ramas are a huge cultural thing in Korea,鈥� says Kwon. 鈥淚 grew up watching them. And since I was born there, I feel a sense of belonging when I watch the shows.鈥� However, she adds, she also recognizes the stark gender and generational contrasts portrayed in K-dramas.

South Korean women have made huge strides toward equality, particularly in the workplace. Even so, many young professional women watch dramas that depict more conservative gender roles. For her thesis project, Kwon decided to explore this apparent paradox, as well as its economic and social implications.

Her current hypothesis argues that modern Korean women can watch and enjoy K-dramas because they鈥檙e able to differentiate the conservative world of the shows from the more progressive reality in which they were raised and educated.

Going right
to the source

After settling on a hypothesis, Kwon began to read existing studies on K-drama consumption. Many were available only through Korean-language databases, which most students can鈥檛 access or navigate on their own. So Kwon reached out to the East Asia Library.

Located on the UW campus in Seattle, the East Asia Library houses more than 770,000 volumes 鈥� including the second-largest Korean-language collection in the country.

Hyokyoung Yi, the Korean Studies librarian, began working closely with Kwon. 鈥淔rom the first meeting, I could see her great curiosity and passion for her paper,鈥� Yi says. Together they navigated online resources, including the KISS Korean-language database of academic journals, to find the material Kwon needed.

鈥淓ven though it took hours, Ms. Yi was so passionate about helping me,鈥� says Kwon. 鈥淚 was really thankful for that dedication.鈥�

After combing through the available materials, Kwon decided to collect her own data by traveling to Seoul to interview South Korean women. The trip would also give her a chance to reunite with her grandmother and aunts, whom she hadn鈥檛 seen in more than a decade.

Returning to
her roots

To make the most of her time in Seoul, Kwon wanted to improve her spoken and written Korean 鈥� and make sure that her research methods wouldn鈥檛 clash with Korean societal norms.

Yi, who travels to Korea frequently, was happy to help prepare Kwon for the cultural aspects of her trip. She also introduced Kwon to Hwasook Nam, the James B. Palais Endowed Associate Professor in Korea Studies at the Jackson School and the Department of History. Nam connected Kwon with a colleague at Ewha Womans University in Seoul who invited Kwon to visit her classroom and recruit interview participants.

By September 2017, Kwon was ready to return to South Korea. She spent two weeks interviewing women for her research and visiting with her family 鈥� and thanks to the help she received from Nam and Yi, all her conversations went smoothly.

Putting her thesis to the test

There was a lot riding on the trip: As she analyzes her interviews over the next few months, Kwon might find that the data she collected disproves her hypothesis entirely.

That may sound defeating, but Kwon鈥檚 thesis adviser believes it can create another opportunity. 鈥淚 love it when that happens, because it means we鈥檙e on to something,鈥� says Porter. 鈥淜risty is really seeing how we let data speak to us.鈥�

Kwon will defend her thesis in the spring, and she plans to apply for an undergraduate research award through the University Libraries. After graduation, she hopes to earn a J.D. in immigrant or criminal law and study the impact of U.S. government policies on the lives of marginalized communities.

She credits the East Asia Library with providing crucial help for her work, as well as the connections to pursue a topic so close to her heart. 鈥淚 want to use this research to show that although South Korea created a lot of laws to ensure positive change for women, it鈥檚 not enough,鈥� Kwon says. 鈥淲e need to keep having these conversations.鈥�

Through the University Libraries, students like Kwon gain access to knowledge in every format from everywhere around the globe 鈥� and the journey that begins with undergraduate research can end up changing the world.