Document Type
Think Piece
Abstract
Taehanoegugin is a newly coined Korean term that gained popularity around 2018 when a television program of the same name began airing on one of the Korean cable networks. It is a mixture of two independent and preexisting terms: the first part of the word, Taehan (대한), refers to the Republic of Korea; the latter part of the term, Oegugin (외국인), means foreigner. Hence, translated, the term means the Republic of Korean-foreigners. The term gained popularity enough to be adopted by other television entertainment programs and a sector of the government. What can we make of the term’s popularity? Does it indicate that Korea, which had previously prided itself on ethnic nationalism, has changed its stance? Through analysis of the television program that originally popularized the term, I suggest that the term’s popularity is symbolic of the ways in which Korea is attempting to rebrand itself as a cosmopolitan nation.
Citation Information
Lee, Min Joo. "THINK PIECE: New South Korean Framework for Conceptualizing NonKoreans?: Taehanoegugin and the Politics of National Boundary-Making." Asia Pacific Perspectives 19, No. 1 (2025)
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Korean Studies Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons