Ethnic and Racial Other in Contemporary South Korean Dramas

Every year the flow of migrants and foreign tourists arriving in Korea is growing, and the proportion of foreigners appearing in Korean media is increasing accordingly. However, the image of racial and ethnic minorities is often surrounded by a number of stereotypes that affect their adequate perception in real life. Existing works on this topic are devoted to the study of the representation of migrants, foreigners and non-ethnic Koreans in various types of media content, but the ethnic scene of contemporary Korean dramas remains largely unexplored. This study aims at exploring the ethnoscape of modern South Korean dramas and distinguishing main features of the representation of racial and ethnic minorities in them. To meet the purpose of the research primary data was collected, qualitative data analysis approaches were employed. Three contemporary Korean dramas have been examined and analyzed.