Mannen med ett vackert yttre och ett kraftfullt kroppsspråk : En kvalitativ semiotisk analys av maskuliniteten inom koreansk populärkultur

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is to examine and analyse how the Korean pop culture depicts Korean masculinity. The theoretical point of departure in this study is based on Connell's theory of masculinity in order to define the Korean masculinity. Furthermore, this study also uses Lippman´s theory of stereotypes to determine the potential stereotypical formation of Korean males. By using a qualitative semiotic analysis, this study aimed to identify through a Korean perspective how the phenomenon Hallyu represents the Korean masculinity. In other words, how the Korean media and popular culture visualises and represents the Korean men. Moreover, for the ability for us to define the visual representations of the Korean masculinity we used Barthes' semiotic method. In addition to Barthes it was also used the list of male characteristics and attributes by Daniel Ekman in order to further define masculinity and develop the analysis. In total this study analysed eight different K-Beauty campaigns and two different K-pop music videos. Based upon the result from this study it was identified and defined a different formation of masculinity that was represented within the Korean pop culture. This new formation that was shown in both K-beauty and K-pop indicated that the traditional Korean masculinity is no longer standardized within the Korean pop culture. Therefore, based upon the findings from this study it was concluded that this new masculinity has reached a global audience. This audience will with high probability be influenced by this new image depicted by the Korean man.