• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.63-91
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• 2018

One of the goals of this article is to continue the momentum begun by emerging scholarship on theory and practice of writing about visual culture of and in Southeast Asia. I hope to offer culturally sensitive and embodied ways of looking at images and objects as sites/sights of cultural knowledge as further theoretical intervention. The argument put forward in my essay is three-fold: first, I critique the prevailing logocentric approach in the field of Southeast Asian Studies and I argue that in a postcolonial, global, and transnational period, it is important to be inclusive of other objects as sites/sights of social, political and cultural analysis beyond written and oral texts. Second, I argue that although it has its own political and theoretical problems, the evolving field of Visual Studies as it is practiced in the United States is one of many ways to decolonize the prevailing logocentric approach to Southeast Asian Studies. Third, I argue that if one reads these Euro-American derived theories of vision and visuality through the lens of what Walter Mignolo calls "colonial difference(s)," then Visual Studies as an evolving field has the potential to offer more nuanced local ways of looking at and understanding objects, vision, and visuality. Last, I point out that unlike in the West where there is an understanding of pure, objective and empirical vision, local Southeast Asian perspectives on objects and visions are more embodied and multi-sensorial. I argue that if one is ethically mindful of the local cultural ways of seeing and knowing objects, then the evolving field of Visual Studies offers a much-needed intervention to the privileged, lingering logocentric approach to Southeast Asian Studies. Moreover, these alternative methods might help to decolonize method and theory in academic disciplines that were invented during the colonial period.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.701-721
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• 2012

This paper aims to revisit William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! by focusing on the corporeal body and its role in dismantling the Southern ideology of white patriarchy. The latter, which is represented by Thomas Sutpen and his attempt to establish a white male dynasty, is a symbolic space in which the corporeal body turns into a symbolic one through the process of inscribing social ideologies on it. However, this symbolic space is also a contending site between the two bodies. The symbolic body of Sutpen cannot entirely erase its corporeal traces, and therefore the corporeal body, which is buried but nonetheless existent, threatens to undermine rules and premises of the symbolic order. Given that, this paper approaches Faulkner's critique of the Southern white patriarchal ideology from the tension that the corporeal body and the symbolic body create. The 'flesh' roughly corresponds to racial and sexual otherness, namely black flesh and the homoerotic desire of male body. Although they-as the matter of race and that of gender - function in different levels of signification, they still share a common purpose in revealing the logical paradox within Sutpen's symbolic order. The idea of pure whiteness that Sutpen subscribes to is a concept that prerequisites the existence of blackness. Likewise, his idea of male homosociality based upon patriarchal legacy stands precariously on the verge of disintegrating into homoetoricism. As internal otherness that Sutpen's symbolic order cannot fully incorporate, the corporeal body functions to indicate the limitation of Sutpen's Design and its body-signification process.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.39-80
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• 2024

Guided by the prism of cultural studies, this paper takes a look at the Manila Korea Town in Malate, Manila. The location, Manila Korea Town, figures as the paper's object of study by exploring, theorizing, and reflecting on its presence and location within the horizon of the signifying powers of Korea-Philippine relations in the contemporary period. With the subject position of this essay, the paper theorizes by responding to the following questions: How does the meaning-making of South Korea fare with other Koreatowns in the world from the scale of Koreatown in Manila? Subsequently, what happens to a place when a global cultural phenomenon evolves into a form of placemaking in a different nation and territory? As Koreatown finally grounds itself in the anarchic lifeworld of Manila, what does this historical development in our urban lives reveal about our contemporary times? Responding to this set of questions led this paper to foreground the idea of a modular imagined community within a four-part discussion. The body of the essay begins by theorizing on the concept that this paper proposes, modular imagined community, and such a concept work draws from the theories of nationalism by Benedict Anderson and Partha Chatterjee. Subsequently, the antinomy between Anderson and Chatterjee is pursued by looking at the history of such a place, and through this step, the paper unravels the character of the place of Manila Korea Town, which explains the conditions of possibility of such social and communitarian formation. Yet as the public is caught by the presence of such development especially at the heart of Manila, the paper expands the scale and viewpoint by shining light on the globality of South Korea in relation to the Philippines. Lastly, this paper closes with a discussion on the food culture facilitated by this recent development, which also pushes us to imagine its potential, especially in light of the critique raised against South Korea and the popular culture associated with this phenomenon.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.53
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• pp.31-49
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• 2003

Neo-liberalism, the most influential ideology in the current world, argues for the commercialization of social security programs and for the dissolution of the interventionist welfare state. From the neo-liberal viewpoint, social services become more efficient and more advantageous for recipients, when provided by the market, not by the state. It is also argued that the welfare of all social members is best secured when the market freely operates without any interference from the state. From the neo-liberal point of view, an argument was raised to commercialize the state-administered Workers' Compensation program of Korea in the mid-1990s. This argument was faced with strong resistances from labor unions and social welfare circles, and has disappeared since the economic breakdown and the restructuring of Korean society during the late 1990s. Butr, such an argument can emerge anytime as the nee-liberal ideology become more powerful. This article aims to examine the neo-liberal argument that the privatization of social security programs, through an increases in efficiency, improves the interests of the recipients as well as the whole society. For this, this article attempts to analyze the Workers' Compensation programs of the USA, which, from state to state, are administered by the state government or by private insurance companies. This study can serve as an effective critique for the neo-liberal argument, if it finds that state-administered Workers' Compensation programs are more efficient than those managed by insurance companies. This article's another aim is to assess the controversies over the privatization of the Workers' Compensation program of Korea during the mid to late 1990s. The controversies were more about which viewpoint is right and, in most cases, lacked empirical evidence. This study shall empirically criticize the argument for the privatization of the Workers' Compensation program.

• Archives of design research
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• v.19 no.3 s.65
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• pp.105-116
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• 2006

In product manufacturing industries, a recent issue is the green concept. The green concept is a complicated area. If the green concept is for products, its serious issues have to be criticized. Although the importance of the green concept has overflowed, its influences have not been disputed vigorously. So this study is to critic the serious issues of the green concept in aesthetics in product design, manufacturing, and products' prices. The green environment has four representative elements: systems, policies, minds, and technologies, but they are not in the field of design. An element of the green concept, green design is also a sub concept for design, so it should be based on aesthetics. It is green aesthetics. But since green design first appeared, it has never approached by aesthetics because it has mostly had social meanings and expectations. So for green aesthetics, to think about what makes a product, and what can be aesthetic issues among them are important. Products consist of form, structure, material, and technology. Form means different shapes in a structure, but there cannot be any specific directions for a green concept. Structure has two kinds: interior and exterior structure. While interior structure has a technological character, exterior structure is deeply related with aesthetics, but it has also no chance for green concept. Material can be divided as two also: aesthetic and technological. Aesthetics materials mean the colors, opacity, and tactile sense of materials, but they are not aesthetic issues. Technological materials are recycled materials or non-recycled materials. Even if recycled materials are used today, they are close to systems or policies rather than aesthetics. With this result, green aesthetics is a very difficult concept. Second, green products are usually 30% more expensive than general products. But every consumer has his or her own economical conditions, and nobody can coerce consumers into buying expensive green products for green environments. And green products without good quality cannot satisfy consumers. This means that green concept is not accomplished by just manufacturing green products. Third, although a lot of proposals have appeared as green design in exhibitions, most of them are close to craft because they are so hard to be manufactured. Manufacturing is the first consideration for products. These three issues are enough to explain why green concept is complicated in manufacturing products. If they are not solved, the green concept is just a fiction. So if this study proposes a turning point against blind green-oriented atmosphere, it will be meaningful enough.

• 사회경제평론
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.203-237
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• 2018

This paper critically studies Meidner's wage-earner funds project. On the basis of this, this paper intends to create new prospects for a universal welfare regime. From the perspective of the welfare system, the funds project is a correction or supplement of the Swedish welfare system of the Swedish model centered on 'redistribution'. However, the funds project shares the ideology of Swedish model and its fundamental premise, I.e. guild socialism and labor-centrism. This paper discusses the limitations of the funds project resulting from this, especially with regard to its three purposes: equalization of property distribution, economic democracy and the correction of excess profit. It then highlights that the alternative to overcome the limitations of the funds project and the Swedish universal welfare system should be based on a new ideology and fundamental premise that is cut off from guild socialism and labor centrism. As an alternative fulfilling this, this paper focuses on theories that suggest that the Common Wealth Fund should be created and basic income should be implemented in the form of dividends as its dividend. As a result, Commons Capital Stock and the basic income as its dividend are presented as alternative prospects for the funds project.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.48
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• pp.325-359
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• 2017

The works of a literary and cultural historian Franco Moretti are conspicuous in many ways. Trained in Marxism and Russian formalism, he participated in the construction of the New Left in England. Also, he interestingly interpreted the socialization of the individual through the genre of bildungsroman. Then, he shifted his research interest to the notion of world literature, and to explore its global scale, he developed his own quantitative approach combined with advanced computer technology in digital humanities. His recent publication reveals that Moretti conducted a social critique of the European bourgeois culture with his new quantitative method. His macroscopic view of literature and use of cutting-edge technology in his research inspire historians of Korean literature located in the so-called periphery of world literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the idea of world literature outlined by Franco Moretti by reviewing his method called "distant reading" and examples of such an approach. His distant reading is to construct a macroscopic archive through inclusion of forgotten works from literary history and to analyze morphological patterns that frequently appear in the archive. His book entitled Graphs, Maps, Trees is a collection of examples of which he applied distant reading. By delving into such cases, I will raise questions about Moretti's macroscopic perspective of world literature in conjunction with Korean literature. As located at the periphery of global circulation of literary knowledge, Korea appropriated Western genres, established its literary institutions, and developed book markets through modern newspapers and magazines. This experience of furthering modern literature through periodicals would provide another view to revisit Moretti's world literature.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.258-273
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• 2019

Bilbao, Spain, made a mark as a example of the regional revitalization by culture and tourism. Korean Government have a perspective that culture and tourism could be an alternative to the regional crisis of manufacturing in 2018. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the locational specificity and the revival strategies for the regional development of Bilbao in a structural context. This could provide implications to the regional crisis of Korea. The main results are summarized as follows. Firstly, the local government of Bilbao has taken an active role, using not only its political and financial autonomy but also its locational advantage as an important nodal region of transnational trade networks in Europe. Secondly, Bilbao was able to sustain its regional revitalization initiatives for a long period by facilitating public-private partnership system. Finally, despite the effectiveness of the mega project and place marketing, low job security and the polarization of the service sector have emerged as a problem at the same time. Still, the deindustrialization of Bilbao could be possible due to the various services including knowledge-based services and financial services as well as culture and tourism.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.53
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• pp.129-153
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• 2003

This study examines the socio-economic impacts of recent welfare reform in the United States. Based on the neo-conservative critique to the traditional public assistance system for low-income families, the 1996 welfare reform has given greater emphases on reducing welfare dependency and increasing work effort and self-sufficiency among welfare recipients. In particular, the welfare reform legislation instituted 60-month lifetime limits on cash assistance, expanded mandatory work requirements, and placed financial penalties for noncompliance. With the well-timed economic boom in the second half of the 1990s, the welfare reform seems to achieve considerable progress; welfare caseload has declined sharply to reach less than 50% of its 1994 peak, single mothers' labor force participation has increased substantially, and child poverty has decreased. In spite of these good signals, the welfare reform also has several potential problems. Many welfare leavers participate in the labor market, but not all (or most) of them. The economic well being of working welfare leavers did not increased significantly, because earnings increase was canceled out by parallel decrease in welfare benefits. Furthermore, most of working welfare leavers are employed in jobs with poor employment stability and low wages, making them highly vulnerable to frequent layoff, long-time joblessness, persistent poverty, and welfare recidivism. Another serious problem of the welfare reform is that a substantial number of welfare recipients are faced with extreme difficulties in finding jobs, because they have severe barriers to employment. The new welfare system with 5-year time limit can severely threaten the livelihoods of these people. The welfare reform presupposes that welfare recipients can achieve self-reliance by increasing their labor market activities. However, empirical evidences suggest that many people are unable to respond to the new, work-oriented welfare strategy. It may be a very difficult task to achieve both objectives of the welfare reform((1) providing adequate income security for low-income families and (2) promoting self-sufficiency) at the same time, because sometimes they are conflicting each other. With this in mind, a possible solution can be to distinguish welfare recipients into "(Very)-Hard-to-Employ" group and "(Relatively)-Ready-to-Work" group, based on elaborate examinations of a wide range of personal conditions. For the former group, the primary objective of welfare policies should be the first one(providing income security). For the "Ready-to-Work" group, follow-up services to promote job retention and advancement, as well as skill-training and job-search services, are very important. The U. S. experiences of the welfare reform provide some useful implications for newly developing Korean public assistance policies for the able-bodied low-income population.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.77-102
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to contribute to Home Economics(HE) teachers' culture by figuring out acknowledging characteristics of cultures of HE teachers and impeding factors on development of HE education. For this intensive interview were used. Intensive interviews were made with 14 HE teachers who completed coursework for master's or doctor's program of graduate school and belong to HE Teachers' Study Associations of each region or Korean Home Economics Education Association and analyzed by subject analysis method. The results of the study are as follows. First, HE teachers establish the philosophy of HE education, and practice education to provide profit to adolescents, their families, as well as society through HE class with their belief that HE is a practical and critical subject to benefit individual adolescents, families, and society. Second, HE teachers form culture to make an effort to continue to improve their expertises by attending graduate school, joining HE teachers' associations to enhance teaching methods, evaluation methods, and work ability or disclosing their own class. Third, HE teachers settle culture to conduct classes focusing on practical issues by converting the paradigm of HE education to that of practical critique. They also see that the system of three actions(technical action, communicative action, and emancipative action) should be applied in circulating ways to improve quality and value of life. Forth, for impeding factors of development of HE education, there are educational system and social recognition. However, with HE teachers' efforts, HE education settles well, as it reflects demands from students and society, finds students' talents, and actualizes its own goals. HE teachers believe that student will recognize that HE education is necessary for happiness of individuals and families. As a way to develop Home Economics teacher culture, Home Economics teachers should have the opportunity to develop more Home Economics teachers by participating in and working in research sessions in each area. It also called for a control tower to enable and lead collaborative networks between local Home Economics curriculum research committees. The Korean Home Economics Education Association should play a central role in the academic research community of each region and be able to help Home Economics teachers by moving more quickly and systematically to cope with the upcoming changes in education. Finally, participants said that in order to prepare a basic framework for the change in Home Economics education, practical critical Home Economics teacher training are needed. To this end, students can understand the essence of Home Economics education and establish their identity by taking a deeper Home Economics education curriculum philosophy for Home Economics teacher training.