Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

Romantic Korean television dramas are inspiring international viewers (young women from Europe and North America) to visit Korea as tourists in a phenomenon called Hallyu tourism. The tourists come to Korea not only to tour the sites where the dramas were filmed but also to go on dates with Korean men who are depicted in the dramas as emotionally sensitive partners ideal for romantic relationships. In the paper, I analyze the intimate relationships that form between Hallyu tourists and Korean men. My paper is based on one year of field research from 2017 to 2018 in Korea whereby I interviewed and observed Hallyu tourists and their Korean male partners. Through intersection of theories on gender, media studies, and tourism studies, I analyze where racial stereotyping ends and romantic desires begin in such media-inspired interracial relationships. How do the intimate encounters between foreign tourists and Korean men challenge hegemonic masculinity and norms of intimacy?