earticle

영어

The success of Hallyu in the past couple of decadeshas increased South Korea’s international visibility, leading to a growth inthe overseas consumption of Korea-related media content. Responding to theincreased global attention towards Korea and the demand for presumablyauthentic user-generated content, Korean YouTubers have established channels,targeted at non-Korean audiences and displaying the Korean perspective oncross-cultural topics. Representative of that phenomenon is the YouTube channelKorean Studio, which is in the focus of the current investigation. Based on atextual analysis of the images of the cultural other produced on the channel,and on a critical discourse analysis of viewers’ comments, the current paperargues that Korean Studio’s content constructs racialized sexualities, relyingon stereotypes and uneducated assumptions. Furthermore, the cultural other isoften objectified by the Korean narrator, who assumes the role of a validatorand assessor of foreign cultures, their products and their representatives.Such practices impede the cross-cultural dialogue, and whereas some audiencemembers detect the encoded signs of disrespect, others remain uncritical of thecontent, blinded by their fascination with Korea and Korean people.