Iridescence on Screen: Media Stereotype and Representation of LGBTQ+ in South Korean Television Dramas

This dissertation explores how Korean television dramas represent the LGBTQ+ community, including recent changes, prospects, and limitations. 25 television dramas with LGBTQ+ characters and narratives are selected to comprise the corpus, with Critical Discourse Analysis as the main Methodology. Each conceptual framework of ‘Visibility’, ‘Representation’, ‘Disclosure’, ‘Framing’, and ‘Sexuality’ constitutes the main chapters of the analysis. They serve as five different lenses to investigate whether there are queer characters on screen, and if so, who they are, how they are displayed, and why they appear in narratives. The aim is to conduct a comparative study to inspect the field from a wider perspective and incorporate recent changes in the media industry, along with their influences on the LGBTQ+ community. The analysis of the drama corpus elucidates five significant findings. Firstly, in terms of ‘Visibility’, both exposure and diversity have expanded over time, but most characters appear as supporting roles. Secondly, the ‘Representation’ is realistic as the dramas depict the detailed position of the characters within the narrative. Thirdly, there are several outing cases in ‘Disclosure’ and a limited spectrum of reactions after coming out, yet hopeful in that affirmative ones also exist. Fourthly, there remain limitations in ‘Framing’ after heteronormativity and stereotypes. Lastly, as for ‘Sexuality’, romance and intimacy are selectively manipulated and concealed. These five analyses assert the positive aspects of having more queer discourses on screen, but also acknowledge the drawbacks in that some still reinforce the dominant system. They become essential evidence in revealing the power dynamics and examining the realities of Korean society. Overall, this dissertation guides the Korean media industry on how to deal with media in the direction of fairly representing, and ultimately, going along with the LGBTQ+ community.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Bae, Jiyoung

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sanchez Rivera, Rachell

Licence

• https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.109737

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/370266