Abstract
This study examines the cultural meanings of underclothes advertisements through the analysis of advertisement messages appeared in women's magazines of Korea which are , and published between 1965 and 1999 mainly targeting the women at the age of 20s through 40s. The method of study is mainly qualitative with subsidiary citations from the results of content analysis. The advertisement messages identified in underclothes advertisements are 1) body care, 2) gender role, 3) commercialization of eroticism, 4) feminism, 5) men's social status and masculinity, 6) social issues of concern and ideologies of the time. Advertisements produce a new meaning through a dynamic mixture of the advertisement's visual and verbal factors. Such a new meaning then can become a part of culture and therefore we can obtain insights of a society culture by analyzing the advertisement messages of underclothes advertisements. Advertisements bring definite changes to the culture through long-term and implicit influences on the constituents of the culture.
