Evolving Conceptions of Gender in South Korea

[Marcos Garrido]

I loved Dr. Kim’s lecture, as it was full of information that is of interest to my students. It was very interesting to learn about the androgyny phenomena that has taken place since WWII, and how the concept of masculinity has changed. Some of my 7th grade students are so fanatic of BTS, and I figured that I made assumptions about them. As I mentioned in class, most of my male students make negative comments about this k-pop band as this contrasts with the concept of masculinity. On the other hand, it is even more interesting to hear the counter arguments made by my students who like bts, and they essentially say that those who hate bts are jealous of how handsome and popular they are.  In addition, this lecture enriched us with knowledge on chain migration, and some of the consequences of having military bases in Japan and South Korea. More than anything, knowledge of this kind can help us better understand South Korean culture, in order to break away superficial stereotypes.