Skinship

Tension in Korean Popular Culture

Abstract

While conservative patriarchal ideals remain a dominant force in South Korean society, same-sex “skinship” has found a paradoxical footing on the line of socially unacceptable homoeroticism and Korean cultural heritage. However, it is precisely this contradiction that may provide insight into the discursive production and articulation of a modern “authentic” Korean self through a term I coin as ‘liminal national identity’. Using literary studies, qualitative research, and case studies, this research aims to explore the phenomena of “skinship,” especially in terms of sexuality, the evolution of how it is understood and exists in Korean society and media, and the means by which it reflects ‘liminal national identity’. In doing so, this research elucidates the deprivation of an “authentic” Korean identity through cultural amnesia caused by colonialist conflicts and how it has transformed the way the Korean consciousness interprets, negotiates, and contends with its own identity in a modern world. Such critical examination of the interplay between sexuality, colonialism, and power sheds light on the lasting impact that imperialist rhetoric has had on shifting social paradigms in South Korea and provides insight on how South Korea reconstructs identity and reclaims agency through the use of ‘liminal nationalism’ in a Eurocentric world.