The good, the bad, and the forgiven

The media spectacle of South Korean male celebrities’ compulsory military service

Bibliographic Data

ID12904792
AuthorsYezi Yeo (The University of Tokyo, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume10
Issue3
Pages293-313
Publication date2017-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedia War & Conflict (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1750-6352 • E-ISSN: 1750-6360
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1750635217694122
OpenAlexW2594666658
LanguageEN
References cited12

For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the military has been a potent force in post-war South Korean political, economic, and social development. The role and significance of male conscription and the military establishment in South Korean society have been explored from the perspective of political, social, and gender/post-colonial studies. However, there is a considerable lack of academic research assessing the social meanings behind the highly publicized conduct of male celebrities’ negotiating the issue of their compulsory military service, which has turned increasingly into media spectacles since the mid-1990s. This study attempts to provide an insight into the political and social ramifications of such media events by tracing the military service and male celebrity discourse through several major conscription scandals in the South Korean mass media. By simultaneously policing and exploiting the ‘sacred’ duty to serve, these media scandals reinforce what it means to be a true ‘Korean man’

Criminology · Duty · Mass media · Media studies · Military service · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Spectacle · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Japanese History and Culture · Law

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