Masculinity in Korea

The blogsite on Seo Taiji and masculinity provides a very detailed and comprehensive discussion on the masculinity vs. feminism dichotomy, with most of the material provided by the author’s personal interview with fans of the singer. For those that did not have the time to browse through “Janet’s Thesis,” the site is essentially a progress chart of her thesis, which aims to “…examine how South Korean popular culture, namely Taiji’s songs and performances, deal with “being a man” using non-verbal modes of signification (primarily aspects of music but also dance and so on).”

I did not read through her entire blog with detail or with care, but I found it to be rather interesting as the field of Korean pop culture sorely lacks significant scholastic contribution. For those that have the time, I think this might be one of the more interesting researchers pertaining to this field.

It is quite amazing to see how Taiji’s career took flight during a period of liberation, if you may. It was in the early 1990s, President Kim adopted a liberal policy in guiding Korea’s political, economic and social visions. Taiji was seen, according to Janet, as a pioneer or gang leader in pushing Korean youth towards a new platform of openness, in some ways, challenging the prescribed social order. Indeed, Taiji’s legacy according to Janet, lies not only in his songs and singing, but also his impact on the mentality and outlook of generations.

But on the issue of masculinity, which is central to the thesis, Taiji might not have represented the quintessential ideals of masculinity. In fact, to me at least, Taiji’s outlook resembles his Japanese counterparts – vanguards of metrosexuality (One might remember the wave of metrosexuality that swept the Japanese archipelago in the 1990s, when perfectly sculpted eyebrow is not a choice, but a necessity). What the West would perceive as literal sissies were in back then (maybe now too? Not too sure). Indeed, even some of the fans interviewed in Janet’s thesis seem to struggle with his androgynous appearance, but many divert their focus more to the strength of his music.

Interestingly, there seems to be a move from this androgynous outlook towards an embrace of what is regarded as more traditional stereotypes of masculinity. Pop stars and movie actors in Korea today spot a much more athletic build. Kwon Sang Woo, who single-handedly inspired the term mom-chang (몸짱), created a wave of obsession amongst Korean males with their physique. Even Bi, who seems very mild-mannered in interviews, has an element of masculinity to him due to his built.

How does one evaluate masculinity? Can one with feminine characteristics still exhibit elements of masculinity? Fans of Taiji seem to think so.

- ARC