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Deconstructing Korea
A theoretical consideration of Korean pop culture and society.
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Seoul Subway Fashion: Line by Line
Seoul Subway Fashion: Line by Line
In the midst of my paper deadline and conference-imposed hiatus from writing here at the illustrious pages of The Korea Times, I finally…
Michael Hurt
Nov 15, 2019
Quantum of Femininity, Measure of Worth
Quantum of Femininity, Measure of Worth
This article is a followup to two prior articles I have written here: “No free lunches — paying one’s way in ethnographic research” and…
Michael Hurt
Aug 13, 2019
Ich bin kein Mischling.
Ich bin kein Mischling.
I was born In February, 1972 in Nuremberg, Germany to a mother from the Korean Peninsula and a father who descended from trafficked people…
Michael Hurt
May 13, 2019
BTS, Blackpink, and the Elements of Korean Style
BTS, Blackpink, and the Elements of Korean Style
Strange and wonderful things are afoot at the circle “K.” Indeed, if I had gone back in a time machine to just over two decades ago — say…
Michael Hurt
Apr 24, 2019
The Material Girls of Pyongyang: Theorizing Gendered Consumption in North Korea
The Material Girls of Pyongyang: Theorizing Gendered Consumption in North Korea
I recently finished and submitted an article on gendered patterns of North Korean fashion and consumption. I’ve included the abstract just…
Michael Hurt
Feb 27, 2019
Fashion Field Notes from Seoul Fashion Week, October 2018
Fashion Field Notes from Seoul Fashion Week, October 2018
I just finished Seoul Fashion Week coverage and have just arrived at Vietnam International Fashion Week to look at their fashion and Korean…
Michael Hurt
Oct 21, 2018
Fashion Field Notes from Danang
Fashion Field Notes from Danang
As an ethnographer, I’m always thinking about people, the groups they see themselves as part of, and the way they define discrete cultures…
Michael Hurt
Aug 21, 2018
“Multiculturalism”: Korea’s Most Obstinate “Iron Cage”
“Multiculturalism”: Korea’s Most Obstinate “Iron Cage”
I’m going to do something writers aren’t supposed to do — lose the reader immediately.
Michael Hurt
Aug 1, 2018
The Battle for Normal and the Queering of Korea
The Battle for Normal and the Queering of Korea
Korea is Queering
Michael Hurt
Jul 18, 2018
The Reformation of Korean Tradition: The “Gae-ryang Hanbok”
The Reformation of Korean Tradition: The “Gae-ryang Hanbok”
“Tradition” in Korea is a commodity. And like any commodity, it can be bought and sold. It can be remixed and altered. It can also be left…
Michael Hurt
Jul 11, 2018
The Korean Media Aesthetic of 'O-ba' - Or, The Cultural Politics of the Overwrought Style
The Korean Media Aesthetic of 'O-ba' - Or, The Cultural Politics of the Overwrought Style
Or also, trying to explain why Korean stuff is so very EXTRA.
Michael Hurt
Jun 19, 2018
The Blockchain and Its Possible Utility for Social Science Investigation
The Blockchain and Its Possible Utility for Social Science Investigation
I’m just starting this off right now as a mental bookmark, and the germ of the idea was the idea of tracking Korean style (as in not just…
Michael Hurt
May 14, 2018
Why Korean Street Fashion Is Killing It
Why Korean Street Fashion Is Killing It
Korean street fashion kids are murdering it online, which makes perfect sense if you think about it, so I’ve decided to get Baudrillard on…
Michael Hurt
Apr 28, 2018
Heralds of their Ages: The Flaneur and the Paepi
Heralds of their Ages: The Flaneur and the Paepi
On Flaneurie The French flaneur has a long and storied history in the academic consideration of the growth of cities and modernity. As…
Michael Hurt
Apr 25, 2018
Black Steel in the Hour of Korean Hip Hop
Black Steel in the Hour of Korean Hip Hop
I got a letter from a promoter
Michael Hurt
Apr 10, 2018
On CGV’s Ill-conceived Marketing Gimmick, the Costumization of Otherness, and the Critical…
On CGV’s Ill-conceived Marketing Gimmick, the Costumization of Otherness, and the Critical…
This dumb CGV idea came across my plate two days ago, when I started posting about it across expat facebook groups and my own feed…
Michael Hurt
Mar 29, 2018
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