REPRESENTATIONS OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN WIVES UNDER THE KOREAN GAZE

Abstract

Korea’s homogeneous society is changing. Through the influx of migrant wives, it is moving toward a multicultural society. Brides from Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines comprise a significant number of migrant wives. This reality is reflected in Korean film and television. Their presence in media creates representations of Southeast Asian wives, which influence society’s perceptions of what foreign presence entails and what multicultural society means. Using Judith Butler’s theory of performative Gaze this research sought to find out how the representation of Southeast Asian wives is repeatedly “performed” and looked at through “the gaze” of 6 Korean film and television dramas.The research found out that Southeast Asian wives are stereotypically portrayed under Korean media gaze. Filipino wives are often depicted in three ways: educated but poor women marrying for money, sexual object of curiosity, and caring Catholic mother. Vietnamese wives are depicted in seven ways: as a commodity of matchmaking agencies, as having close connections with Korea, as luckier wives than their predecessors, as opportunistic women, as malleable wives, as panacea, and as a counterpoint to Korean wives. Southeast Asian wives, as a whole, are repeatedly depicted as caring wives, as devoted mothers, and as filial daughters-in-law. Thus, they are portrayed as more desirable women than Korean women—at least for Korean men who belong to a lower socioeconomic class.