Korean Men in Western film festival: The representation of filmic masculinity in five South Korean award – winning films

Abstract

Masculinity is volatile, subject to representation. It is both personal and collective, interchanging with historical and cultural dynamics. This essay holds a focus on Korean masculinities represented in five award-winning South Korean films. In both diachronic and international perspectives, it differentiates between ideal, real and filmic masculinities, illuminating that ancient and modern Korean masculinities do not purely stick to a fixed, expected and shared ideology. There are variations in response to personal intention, nationhood and cultural globalization. The main argument of this essay is that conventional regulation is not the sole source to influence masculinity representation. Even violation of idealized manhood could deliver a sense of masculinity. Extending this argument to the concern with international film marketing, this essay questions about whether diversification of gender features would blur Korean masculinity and create new gender identification.