Leverhulme Postdoctoral Researcher at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford. Award winning author. Hendrick Hamel 2023. General Editor of Bloomsbury's Foodscaping Asia series. AKSE Graduate Scholar. Finalist WishingShelf Book Awards 2017. Supervisors: Professor Jieun Kiaer
One of the most popular topics in Korean film studies is the reconstruction of conventions in the... more One of the most popular topics in Korean film studies is the reconstruction of conventions in the ways Korean films mean, via narrative and aesthetic, since the dramatic rise of Korean film’s international popularity known as the Korean Wave. This topic has been discussed extensively, particularly the concept of hybridisation and the development of cinematic techniques, styles, and skills. However, there are lesser explored conventions, such as conventions in the logic - or - semantics of Korean film discourse that still lack empirical investigation. Semantic conventions in Korean cinema, usually referred to loosely and in less-specialised terms, are claimed to have been problematic or incoherent before the Korean Wave and not so since. Recent developments in semantic approaches to multimodal film discourse analysis have now provided a means to approach this subject where previously there were none. The method illustrates film as a logical discourse called ‘Segmented Film Discourse Representation Structures’ (SFDRS) according to a systematic process that provides both a needed set of semantic variables and places controls on their interpretation. This facilitates a comparative analysis to identify conventions. SFDRS was tested on three narrative event criteria in Korean films. Results showed that SFDRS can be utilised to find conventions in film, but also the need for development in order to predict Korean meaning potential. The methodology is now being developed via translation studies and Korean socio-cultural studies to find ways of systematically accommodating Korean meaning types.
The transformation of narrative and aesthetic meaning in Korean film since the Korean Film Wave i... more The transformation of narrative and aesthetic meaning in Korean film since the Korean Film Wave is a popular topic in cinema studies. However, there is still a lack of empirical investigation and a tendency toward Euro-American models of film analysis. ‘Segmented Film Discourse Relation Structure’ (SFDRS) is a semantic approach to multimodal film discourse analysis that provides a diagrammatic description of the logical ways films mean. SFDRS was recently piloted to investigate conventions in meaning in Korean film with positive results and demonstrated potential to be developed to account for Korean meaning types. Korean films were selected according to three sets of criteria: pilot 1 ‘two revenge events in the same film, pilot 2 ‘three parent/guardian’s goodbye to child finale events in revenge films’, and pilot 3 ‘five avenger’s final moments in bittersweet finales’ in revenge films. Samples were transferred to SFDRS, which is composed by three variables: (1) meaningful segments, (2) their composition, and (3) the discourse relations that hold one segment to the next in a way that makes sense. SFDRS is drawn according to a systematic process that provides both a set of variables from which to predict meaning potential, and subsequently segment the discourse, and provides rules for coherence which place logical controls on the interpretation of the researcher. Pilot results showed linear structural patterns shared only by similar types of meaning at three levels of discourse. This means that, according to the criteria and data it produced, similar types of meaning have structures and components in common. Restrictions on interpretation provided a means for consistency as the logical rules create a replicable analysis condition, which is beneficial in analysis of foreign films. However, inferences were, in all except one case, of action-based meaning. For instance, instead of the emotion sadness it would be the action of crying that was inferred. Only on a single occasion was this level of description elaborated further by specification, made possible by knowledge of both the film and Korean studies held by the researcher. In this case, ‘emotion’ was specified as ‘bittersweet emotion’, and this was found to not affect the coherence of the discourse. This showed that SFDRS can accommodate further specificity but wasn’t doing so due to the level of the researcher’s knowledge, indicating that Korean specifications on meaning could be inferred with the relevant knowledge. To improve utilisation of SFDRS in future analysis of Korean film, a further level of controls on interpretation are needed. Controls, that provide a standard process for Korean meaning types to be inferred, just as those already achieved by the logical conditions placed on inference by SFDRS. By developing SFDRS in this manner, there is potential to contribute to more accurate data on how Korean films mean.
‘Segmented Film Discourse Representation Structures’ (SFDRS) is a systematic tool developed in a... more ‘Segmented Film Discourse Representation Structures’ (SFDRS) is a systematic tool developed in a semantic approach to multimodal film discourse analysis for describing how films mean and are understood. SFDRS’ diagrammatic form illustrates how resources are constructed and unfold meaningfully in film, providing a method for identifying conventions at multiple levels of discourse. However, SFDRS has not been utilized to investigate conventions. The purpose of this study was to investigate how SFDRS can be utilized to find conventions in film, by testing samples within three constrained events in Korean film samples: Pilot 1 two revenge sequences from the same film, Pilot 2 three parent/guardian’s goodbye to a child finale sequences, and Pilot 3 five avenger’s bittersweet finale segments. SFDRS is composed by three phenomena: (1) semantic – or - meaningful segments, (2) their composition, and (3) discourse relations. To draw SFDRS, film is transcribed, meaning potential of salient elements predicted, resulting in segmentation, segments are divided into higher activities that compose the event, and a set of discourse relations are applied between segments that define how one segment holds to the next in a way that makes sense. Pilots 1 and 2 had linear patterns in phenomena 1, 2, and 3 with brief divergence. Pilot 3 had patterns in phenomena 1 and 2. Events contained similar higher activities with minimal differences, and patterns were only found between comparable meaning types in segments and higher activities and not those that were incomparable. This demonstrated that configuration of SFDRS at three levels: event, higher activity, and segment, share patterns in structure and content when compared with similar meaning types. Thus, SFDRS could be used to identify patterns within the sample. The exclusivity of patterns to only similar meaning types suggests that patterns would be identifiable in a larger sample and therefore that there is potential to use SFDRS to analyse conventions.
Bibliography
Asher, N. & Lascarides, A., 2003. Logics of Conversation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wildfeuer, J., 2014. Film Discourse Interpretation: Towards a New Paradigm for Multimodal Film Analysis, New York: Routledge.
The objective of this work is to provide insights on the relationship between the shift in the So... more The objective of this work is to provide insights on the relationship between the shift in the South Korean (Korean) women’s rights movement away from class issues to gender issues in 1988-early 1990s, at which time women’s groups in Korea began to address issues of equality, abuse, and violence without authoritarian and patriarchal vindication, and the changing representation of women in Korean film from this point onwards. Figures will be used to identify periodical characteristics in the changes to women’s narratives and archetypes, through which the temporal relationship between increasing female agency in film and the 1988-early 1990s period will be shown. The data was collected from a total of 3,460 film synopses from 1960-2018 available online via the Korean Film Directory. Popular female narrative themes and archetypes found in the archive were first coded and then the criteria of each code was searched via reading the synopsis of each film and interpreting based on the literal and implied content. Findings show a consistent decreasing periodical characteristic in female suffering, abuse, sacrifice, abandonment, and negative sexualisation from 1988-early 1990s, and this is consistent with an increase of female agency in film which spikes around 1988-early 1990s.
A series of four interactive crowdsourcing workshops in collaboration between Oxford Korean Studi... more A series of four interactive crowdsourcing workshops in collaboration between Oxford Korean Studies and the Korean Cultural Centre, shedding light on the meaning beyond the subtitles of Squid Game (2021).
One in a series of talks hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre in conjunction with the Faculty of ... more One in a series of talks hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre in conjunction with the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford. Our talk focused on deconstructing the invisible meanings expressed verbally and non-verbally in Korean films which are not translated in the English subtitle.
A webinar, part of a series of webinars on Korea, provided for the Korean Education Centre UK.
... more A webinar, part of a series of webinars on Korea, provided for the Korean Education Centre UK.
This webinar was an introduction to the untranslatable 'invisible' meanings expressed through Korean verbal and non-verbal language, provided for secondary school children. We provided a small number of examples, explained how these meanings effect non-Korean comprehension of film, and the socio-pragmatic reasoning that underpins their use.
One of the most popular topics in Korean film studies is the reconstruction of conventions in the... more One of the most popular topics in Korean film studies is the reconstruction of conventions in the ways Korean films mean, via narrative and aesthetic, since the dramatic rise of Korean film’s international popularity known as the Korean Wave. This topic has been discussed extensively, particularly the concept of hybridisation and the development of cinematic techniques, styles, and skills. However, there are lesser explored conventions, such as conventions in the logic - or - semantics of Korean film discourse that still lack empirical investigation. Semantic conventions in Korean cinema, usually referred to loosely and in less-specialised terms, are claimed to have been problematic or incoherent before the Korean Wave and not so since. Recent developments in semantic approaches to multimodal film discourse analysis have now provided a means to approach this subject where previously there were none. The method illustrates film as a logical discourse called ‘Segmented Film Discourse Representation Structures’ (SFDRS) according to a systematic process that provides both a needed set of semantic variables and places controls on their interpretation. This facilitates a comparative analysis to identify conventions. SFDRS was tested on three narrative event criteria in Korean films. Results showed that SFDRS can be utilised to find conventions in film, but also the need for development in order to predict Korean meaning potential. The methodology is now being developed via translation studies and Korean socio-cultural studies to find ways of systematically accommodating Korean meaning types.
The transformation of narrative and aesthetic meaning in Korean film since the Korean Film Wave i... more The transformation of narrative and aesthetic meaning in Korean film since the Korean Film Wave is a popular topic in cinema studies. However, there is still a lack of empirical investigation and a tendency toward Euro-American models of film analysis. ‘Segmented Film Discourse Relation Structure’ (SFDRS) is a semantic approach to multimodal film discourse analysis that provides a diagrammatic description of the logical ways films mean. SFDRS was recently piloted to investigate conventions in meaning in Korean film with positive results and demonstrated potential to be developed to account for Korean meaning types. Korean films were selected according to three sets of criteria: pilot 1 ‘two revenge events in the same film, pilot 2 ‘three parent/guardian’s goodbye to child finale events in revenge films’, and pilot 3 ‘five avenger’s final moments in bittersweet finales’ in revenge films. Samples were transferred to SFDRS, which is composed by three variables: (1) meaningful segments, (2) their composition, and (3) the discourse relations that hold one segment to the next in a way that makes sense. SFDRS is drawn according to a systematic process that provides both a set of variables from which to predict meaning potential, and subsequently segment the discourse, and provides rules for coherence which place logical controls on the interpretation of the researcher. Pilot results showed linear structural patterns shared only by similar types of meaning at three levels of discourse. This means that, according to the criteria and data it produced, similar types of meaning have structures and components in common. Restrictions on interpretation provided a means for consistency as the logical rules create a replicable analysis condition, which is beneficial in analysis of foreign films. However, inferences were, in all except one case, of action-based meaning. For instance, instead of the emotion sadness it would be the action of crying that was inferred. Only on a single occasion was this level of description elaborated further by specification, made possible by knowledge of both the film and Korean studies held by the researcher. In this case, ‘emotion’ was specified as ‘bittersweet emotion’, and this was found to not affect the coherence of the discourse. This showed that SFDRS can accommodate further specificity but wasn’t doing so due to the level of the researcher’s knowledge, indicating that Korean specifications on meaning could be inferred with the relevant knowledge. To improve utilisation of SFDRS in future analysis of Korean film, a further level of controls on interpretation are needed. Controls, that provide a standard process for Korean meaning types to be inferred, just as those already achieved by the logical conditions placed on inference by SFDRS. By developing SFDRS in this manner, there is potential to contribute to more accurate data on how Korean films mean.
‘Segmented Film Discourse Representation Structures’ (SFDRS) is a systematic tool developed in a... more ‘Segmented Film Discourse Representation Structures’ (SFDRS) is a systematic tool developed in a semantic approach to multimodal film discourse analysis for describing how films mean and are understood. SFDRS’ diagrammatic form illustrates how resources are constructed and unfold meaningfully in film, providing a method for identifying conventions at multiple levels of discourse. However, SFDRS has not been utilized to investigate conventions. The purpose of this study was to investigate how SFDRS can be utilized to find conventions in film, by testing samples within three constrained events in Korean film samples: Pilot 1 two revenge sequences from the same film, Pilot 2 three parent/guardian’s goodbye to a child finale sequences, and Pilot 3 five avenger’s bittersweet finale segments. SFDRS is composed by three phenomena: (1) semantic – or - meaningful segments, (2) their composition, and (3) discourse relations. To draw SFDRS, film is transcribed, meaning potential of salient elements predicted, resulting in segmentation, segments are divided into higher activities that compose the event, and a set of discourse relations are applied between segments that define how one segment holds to the next in a way that makes sense. Pilots 1 and 2 had linear patterns in phenomena 1, 2, and 3 with brief divergence. Pilot 3 had patterns in phenomena 1 and 2. Events contained similar higher activities with minimal differences, and patterns were only found between comparable meaning types in segments and higher activities and not those that were incomparable. This demonstrated that configuration of SFDRS at three levels: event, higher activity, and segment, share patterns in structure and content when compared with similar meaning types. Thus, SFDRS could be used to identify patterns within the sample. The exclusivity of patterns to only similar meaning types suggests that patterns would be identifiable in a larger sample and therefore that there is potential to use SFDRS to analyse conventions.
Bibliography
Asher, N. & Lascarides, A., 2003. Logics of Conversation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wildfeuer, J., 2014. Film Discourse Interpretation: Towards a New Paradigm for Multimodal Film Analysis, New York: Routledge.
The objective of this work is to provide insights on the relationship between the shift in the So... more The objective of this work is to provide insights on the relationship between the shift in the South Korean (Korean) women’s rights movement away from class issues to gender issues in 1988-early 1990s, at which time women’s groups in Korea began to address issues of equality, abuse, and violence without authoritarian and patriarchal vindication, and the changing representation of women in Korean film from this point onwards. Figures will be used to identify periodical characteristics in the changes to women’s narratives and archetypes, through which the temporal relationship between increasing female agency in film and the 1988-early 1990s period will be shown. The data was collected from a total of 3,460 film synopses from 1960-2018 available online via the Korean Film Directory. Popular female narrative themes and archetypes found in the archive were first coded and then the criteria of each code was searched via reading the synopsis of each film and interpreting based on the literal and implied content. Findings show a consistent decreasing periodical characteristic in female suffering, abuse, sacrifice, abandonment, and negative sexualisation from 1988-early 1990s, and this is consistent with an increase of female agency in film which spikes around 1988-early 1990s.
A series of four interactive crowdsourcing workshops in collaboration between Oxford Korean Studi... more A series of four interactive crowdsourcing workshops in collaboration between Oxford Korean Studies and the Korean Cultural Centre, shedding light on the meaning beyond the subtitles of Squid Game (2021).
One in a series of talks hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre in conjunction with the Faculty of ... more One in a series of talks hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre in conjunction with the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford. Our talk focused on deconstructing the invisible meanings expressed verbally and non-verbally in Korean films which are not translated in the English subtitle.
A webinar, part of a series of webinars on Korea, provided for the Korean Education Centre UK.
... more A webinar, part of a series of webinars on Korea, provided for the Korean Education Centre UK.
This webinar was an introduction to the untranslatable 'invisible' meanings expressed through Korean verbal and non-verbal language, provided for secondary school children. We provided a small number of examples, explained how these meanings effect non-Korean comprehension of film, and the socio-pragmatic reasoning that underpins their use.
Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts
Translanguaging refers to the dynamic meaning-making process whereby multilingual language users ... more Translanguaging refers to the dynamic meaning-making process whereby multilingual language users make full use of their communicative repertoires by crossing the boundaries between named languages and other semiotic and modal resources (García and Li 2014). Director Bong Joon-ho is well-known for utilising such border-crossing practices in his films, specifically, for his strategic and creative use of multiple languages and translation. He also extends this practice to his live interviews where an interpreter is usually present. This article focuses on understanding Director Bong Joon-ho’s translanguaging practices in interviews. It first examines how he communicates through translanguaging and for what purposes, and secondly how he and his interpreter collaboratively and strategically make use of translation as translanguaging. Through the study, we wish to make the case for (a) approaching translation as collaborative translanguaging practices and an act of democratisation, and (...
A webinar, part of a series of webinars on Korea, provided for the Korean Education Centre UK. Th... more A webinar, part of a series of webinars on Korea, provided for the Korean Education Centre UK. This webinar was an introduction to the untranslatable 'invisible' meanings expressed through Korean verbal and non-verbal language, provided for secondary school children. We provided a small number of examples, explained how these meanings effect non-Korean comprehension of film, and the socio-pragmatic reasoning that underpins their use.
This volume advances the data-based study of multimodal artefacts and performances by showcasing ... more This volume advances the data-based study of multimodal artefacts and performances by showcasing methods and results from the latest endeavors in empirical multimodal research, representing a vibrant international and interdisciplinary research community. The collated chapters identify and seek to inspire novel, mixed-method approaches to investigate meaning-making mechanisms in current communicative artifacts, designs, and contexts; while attending to their immersive, aesthetic, and ideological dimensions. Each contribution details innovative aspects of empirical multimodality research, offering insights into challenges evolving from quantitative approaches, particular corpus work, results from eye-tracking and psychological experiments, and analyses of dynamic interactive experiences. The approaches and results presented foreground the inherent multidisciplinary nature and implications of multimodality, renegotiating concepts across linguistics, media studies, (social) semiotics, game studies, and design. With this, the volume will inform both current and future developments in theory, methods, and transdisciplinary contexts and become a landmark reference for anyone interested in the empirical study of multimodality.
Edited by: Jana Pflaeging , Edited by Janina Wildfeuer , Edited by John A. Bateman
Soft Power of the Korean Wave: Parasite, BTS and Drama, 2021
Book Description
At this fascinating historical moment, this timely collection explores the new ... more Book Description
At this fascinating historical moment, this timely collection explores the new meaning of the Korean Wave and the process of media production, representation, distribution and consumption in a global context as a distinctive and complex form of soft power.
Focusing on the most recent phenomenon of Korean popular culture, this book considers the Korean Wave in the global digital age and addresses the social, cultural and political implications in their complexity within the contexts of global inequalities and uneven power structures. The collection brings together internationally renowned scholars and regional specialists to examine this historically significant, visibly growing, yet under-explored current phenomenon in the global digital age. Drawing on a wide range of perspectives from media and communications, cultural studies, sociology, history and anthropology, and including a series of case studies from Asia, the USA, Europe and the Middle East, it provides an empirically rich and theoretically stimulating tour of this area of study, going beyond the standard Euro-American view of the evolving and complex dynamics of the media today.
This collection is essential reading for students and scholars interested in Korean popular culture and in film, media, fandom and cultural industries more widely.
Film viewing presents a unique situation in which the film viewer is unwittingly placed in the ro... more Film viewing presents a unique situation in which the film viewer is unwittingly placed in the role of a multimodal translator, finding themselves entirely responsible for interpreting multifaceted meanings at the mercy of their own semiotic repertoire. Yet, researchers have made little attempt, as they have for literary texts, to explain the gap in translation when it comes to multimodality. It is no wonder then that, in an era of informed consumerism, film viewers have been trying to develop their own toolboxes for the tasks that they are faced with when viewing foreign language films by sharing information online. This is particularly the case with South Korean film, which has drawn the interest of foreign viewers who want to understand these untranslatable meanings and even go as far as learning the Korean language to do so.
Understanding Korean Film: A Cross-Cultural Perspective breaks this long-awaited ground by explaining the meaning potential of a selection of common Korean verbal and non-verbal expressions in a range of contexts in South Korean film that are often untranslatable for English-speaking Western viewers. Through the selection of expressions provided in the text, readers become familiar with a system that can be extended more generally to understanding expressions in South Korean films. Formal analyses are presented in the form of in-depth discursive deconstructions of verbal and non-verbal expressions within the context of South Korea’s Confucian traditions. Our case studies thus illustrate, in a more systematic way, how various meaning potentials can be inferred in particular narrative contexts.
Uploads
Bibliography
Asher, N. & Lascarides, A., 2003. Logics of Conversation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wildfeuer, J., 2014. Film Discourse Interpretation: Towards a New Paradigm for Multimodal Film Analysis, New York: Routledge.
This webinar was an introduction to the untranslatable 'invisible' meanings expressed through Korean verbal and non-verbal language, provided for secondary school children. We provided a small number of examples, explained how these meanings effect non-Korean comprehension of film, and the socio-pragmatic reasoning that underpins their use.
Bibliography
Asher, N. & Lascarides, A., 2003. Logics of Conversation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wildfeuer, J., 2014. Film Discourse Interpretation: Towards a New Paradigm for Multimodal Film Analysis, New York: Routledge.
This webinar was an introduction to the untranslatable 'invisible' meanings expressed through Korean verbal and non-verbal language, provided for secondary school children. We provided a small number of examples, explained how these meanings effect non-Korean comprehension of film, and the socio-pragmatic reasoning that underpins their use.
Edited by: Jana Pflaeging , Edited by Janina Wildfeuer , Edited by John A. Bateman
At this fascinating historical moment, this timely collection explores the new meaning of the Korean Wave and the process of media production, representation, distribution and consumption in a global context as a distinctive and complex form of soft power.
Focusing on the most recent phenomenon of Korean popular culture, this book considers the Korean Wave in the global digital age and addresses the social, cultural and political implications in their complexity within the contexts of global inequalities and uneven power structures. The collection brings together internationally renowned scholars and regional specialists to examine this historically significant, visibly growing, yet under-explored current phenomenon in the global digital age. Drawing on a wide range of perspectives from media and communications, cultural studies, sociology, history and anthropology, and including a series of case studies from Asia, the USA, Europe and the Middle East, it provides an empirically rich and theoretically stimulating tour of this area of study, going beyond the standard Euro-American view of the evolving and complex dynamics of the media today.
This collection is essential reading for students and scholars interested in Korean popular culture and in film, media, fandom and cultural industries more widely.
Edited by Youna Kim
Understanding Korean Film: A Cross-Cultural Perspective breaks this long-awaited ground by explaining the meaning potential of a selection of common Korean verbal and non-verbal expressions in a range of contexts in South Korean film that are often untranslatable for English-speaking Western viewers. Through the selection of expressions provided in the text, readers become familiar with a system that can be extended more generally to understanding expressions in South Korean films. Formal analyses are presented in the form of in-depth discursive deconstructions of verbal and non-verbal expressions within the context of South Korea’s Confucian traditions. Our case studies thus illustrate, in a more systematic way, how various meaning potentials can be inferred in particular narrative contexts.