(Update 2, January 2024: Please see here for further clarification on that new direction mentioned below, and how and why I plan to use my many various privileges for good!)
(Update 1, December 2023: From 2024, I’m taking the blog in a slightly new direction, under the new tagline “Sex, Sass, and Sensibility in South Korea.” But everything else below still applies!)
As the tagline says, The Grand Narrative is all about Korean feminism, sexuality, and popular culture, and in the last 17 years has become one of the leading English-language sources on those topics, getting mentions in such sources as TIME, The Washington Post, BUST, CNN, The Associated Press, Slate, and Jezebel. Since 2010, I have also become a freelance writer and frequent public speaker too, regularly giving lectures at universities and institutions across Korea and overseas.
That being said, I am no “Korean feminism expert.” Rather, I always try to be honest about my many, many inadequacies and gaps in knowledge, and I acknowledge that my male, white, cishet, middle-aged and Western privilege and background present considerable challenges in understanding the topics covered in this blog. For that reason, I try to use as many Korean-language sources as possible in my writing, and naturally Korean women in particular. I also concentrate on topics that have gotten little or no coverage in the English-language media, aiming to pass on news and perspectives that people who don’t speak Korean would otherwise never get exposed to.
I realize middle-aged white men are privileged in discussions about Korea, and that sucks. Many offer non-Koreans little more than uninformed Orientalist tropes and stereotypes too. So, I completely understand why many people believe that white men have no place discussing Korean feminism, of all things.
If you feel the same way, I hope I can show you that anyone can still offer something useful and novel to any subject, provided they’re aware of their limitations and that they do the hard work required to overcome them. If I ever don’t succeed with any post though, and don’t seem to have done enough of that work, please get in touch and tell me why.
But offering more than just soundbites about Confucianism requires a lot of time and effort. and accordingly this blog represents 1000s of unpaid hours of researching, translating, and writing. Keeping readers up to date on the latest news via my Twitter and the blog’s Facebook page has been an hour a day commitment for the last 10+ years too. So, if you like what you read on my blog and social media, and/or do ever find them useful, please consider helping me keep them going by making a small donation via the PayPal button below, or by a wire transfer to Turnbull James Edward (Kookmin Bank/국민은행, 563401-01-214324) if you live in Korea :)
Finally, on a more personal note, I was born in the UK, I spent my teenage years going back and forth between there and Australia and New Zealand, and I graduated from the University of Auckland. I’ve lived in Korea for 24 years now, am divorced, and have two teenage daughters. Since 2010, I’ve taught at Dongseo University in Busan.
Recent and Forthcoming Guest Lectures, Conference Presentations, Articles, and Media Appearances:
January 2019
— “#MeToo to meat: no more soju calendars with nearly nude women in South Korea”, South China Morning Post.
— “South Korean men lead the world’s male beauty market. Will the West ever follow suit?”, CNN.
September 2018
— “Can K-Pop stars have personal lives? Their labels aren’t so sure”, CNN.
August 2018
— “Gender, Celebrity, and Korean Advertising”, Guest Lecture, 11th Korea-America Student Conference, Busan University of Foreign Studies
June 2018
— “South Koreans may no longer face jail if they refuse to serve in the military”, CNN.
February 2018
— “In Pyeongchang, a surprise visit from Queen Yuna”, The Globe and Mail
— “Behind Olympic death threats, a South Korean fan culture that takes speed skating seriously”, The Globe and Mail
— “En Corée du Sud, les femmes n’ont pas d’autre choix que d’être belles”, ChEEK
July-August 2017
— IS313 “Gender in South Korea”, 2017 International Summer Session in Korean and Asian Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
May 2017
— “Gender, Celebrity, and Korean Advertising”, Guest Lecture, Seoul National University
April 2017
— Critical Korea Studies Group Meetup/Mini-conference, Yonsei University, Seoul
February 2017
— “Just beautiful people holding a bottle: the driving forces behind South Korea’s love of celebrity endorsement”, Celebrity Studies, Volume 8, 2017 – Issue 1, pp. 128-135.
October 2016
— “An epic battle between feminism and deep-seated misogyny is under way in South Korea”, Quartz
August 2016
— Interview, Inside Out Busan
July 2016
— “For Women In Korean Pop, ‘Making It’ Can Mean A Makeover”, NPR Music
— “Sex crimes in South Korea”, VOA Asia Weekly
— “Male or Female Alcopops? South Koreans Pick One”, Zester Daily
June 2016
— “Tackling body shaming in South Korea”, The Korea Herald
May 2016
— “South Korean Men and Grooming”, Askmen
March 2016
— “Let’s talk about sex, baby”, Taz
December 2015
— “One Size Fits All in South Korea, As Long as That Size Is Small”, Racked
April 2015
— “The Thigh Gap Obsession”, Busan Haps
March 2015
— Interview, Groove Korea
February 2015
— Podcast Interview: Notebook on Cities and Culture
— “A Weighty Matter: Are Koreans Really Getting too Fat?”, Busan Haps
January 2015
— Podcast Interview: Korea and the World
December 2014
— “Give It to Me? The Impact of K-Pop’s Sexualization on Korean Advertising”, Culture and Commerce in the Traditional, Modern and Contemporary Asian Music Industries, Yonsei University, Seoul
November 2014
— “Korea’s Gender Imbalance: The Fight for Power”, Busan Haps
July 2014
— “Trends in Korean Media and Body Image, 1997-2014”, Guest Lecture, Ewha Womans University, Seoul
June 2014
— “Trends in Korean Media and Body Image, 1997-2014”, Guest Lecture, Yonsei University, Seoul
May 2014
— “Trends in Korean Media and Body Image, 1997-2014”, Guest Lecture, Dankook University, Cheonan/Asan
— “Trends in Korean Media and Body Image, 1997-2014”, Guest Lecture, Ewha Womans University, Seoul
— Mention: “The Fight for Equality: Women’s struggle to defy prejudice, stereotypes, and tradition”, Groove
April 2014
— Mention: “Corée du Sud La quête du galbe”, Libération
— “When K-pop Gets Under Your Skin…”, Busan Haps
March 2014
— “Girls’ Generation? Gender, (Dis)Empowerment and K-pop”, The Korean Popular Culture Reader, Duke University Press (co-written with Dr. Stephen Epstein)
— “Trends in Korean Media and Body Image, 1997-2014”, Guest Lecture, Disruptive Voices, Seoul
February 2014
— “Hollaback! Korea: A Determined Group Works to Fight Sexual Harassment”, Busan Haps
December 2013
— Media Appearance: “Let’s Talk Busan”, Busan e-FM
— “The K-Pop Cringe: Is the Korean Wave Living Up to the Hype?”, Busan Haps
October 2013
— “Shaking the Model Taboo: More Korean magazines portraying Korean women as sexy”, Busan Haps
— “Sex and Gender Stereotypes in Korean Advertising”, Guest Lecture, Dongseo University, Busan
September 2013
— Mention: “Step aside Miley Cyrus, here comes K-Porn”, Global Post
August 2013
— “Hot Summer On Screen: Sizzling it up with More Provocative K-Pop”, Busan Haps
July 2013
— Media Appearance: “Let’s Talk Busan”, Busan e-FM
June 2013
— “Is too Much Study Indoors Destroying Students` Vision?”, Busan Haps
— Mention: “The RockTigers”, Paste
May 2013
— Mention: “The K-Pop Plastic Surgery Obsession”, The Atlantic
April 2013
— “Going Solo: The Korean trend of living alone”, Busan Haps
March 2013
— “Revealing the Korean Body Politic”, Guest Lecture, 10 Magazine Book Club, Seoul
February 2013
— “Crossing the Lines: The Trends Reshaping Women’s Bodies in Korea”, Busan Haps
January 2013
— Media Appearance: “The Morning Wave”, Busan e-FM
December 2012
— Mention: “Should pornography be censored?”, The Korea Herald
— “K-girl Power: The emerging trend of empowerment and sexuality in K-pop”, Busan Haps
November 2012
— Media Appearance: “Let’s Talk Busan”, Busan e-FM
— “Sex and Gender Stereotypes in Korean Advertising”, Guest Lecture, Busan e-FM Global Forum
— Mention: “‘Ladygate’ incidents point to misogyny on the Korean Internet”, Yonhap
October 2012
— Media Appearance: Radiowa Trójka
— “Sex and Gender Stereotypes in Korean Advertising”, Guest Lecture, Pusan National University
— Mention: “When fans go too far”, CNN
— Media Appearance: “Let’s Talk Busan”, Busan e-FM
— “Sex and Gender Stereotypes in Korean Advertising”, Guest Lecture, Dongseo University, Busan
— “Censors in Retreat”, Busan Haps
September 2012
— Mention: “For S. Korean men, makeup a foundation for success”, The Associated Press
August 2012
— “The Empowerment of The Pill in Korea”, Busan Haps
June 2012
— “Goodbye Madame Butterfly, Hello Sexless Marriage”, Busan Haps
May 2012
— “Sex and Gender Stereotypes in Korean Advertising”, Guest Lecture, Pusan National University
April 2012
— “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”, Guest Lecture, Pusan National University
— “Why are There So Many Celebrities in Korean Ads?”, Busan Haps
— Media Appearance: “Let’s Talk Busan”, Busan e-FM
March 2012
— Media Appearance: “Le sexe autour du monde” documentary interview, Eurêka! Productions
February 2012
— “Korea’s Hidden Smokers”, Busan Haps
January 2012
— Mention: “Thinking through Korean Appropriation of American Indians”. Sociological Images
December 2011
— “Reflexivities and Embodiment” Seminar and Workshop, Keimyung University, Daegu
November 2011
— Media Appearance: Gwangju Foreign Language Network
September 2011
— Mention: “South Korean Starlets Stuck with Offensive Bagel Girl Label”, BUST
July 2011
— “Should the Sexualization of Teens in K-Pop be Banned?”, The Korea Herald
— “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”, Guest Lecture, 4th Korea-America Student Conference, Pukyong National University, Busan
— Media Appearance: “Wirtschaftsfaktor Girlband”, Deutschland Radio
June 2011
— “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”, Guest Lecture, Pusan National University
— “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”, Guest Lecture, Sejong University, Seoul
May 2011
— “Girls’ Generation? Gender, (Dis)Empowerment and K-Pop”, Conference Presentation, University of California, Irvine (with Dr. Stephen Epstein)
April 2011
— “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”, Guest Lecture, Pusan National University
March 2011
— “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”, Guest Lecture, Royal Asiatic Society, Seoul
November 2010
— “An Introduction to Korean Gender Issues”, Guest Lecture, Wellesley College, Boston
June 2010
— “Blogging ’bout Love in the ROK”, Busan Haps
August 2009
— “Backlash: The Role of the Asian Financial Crisis in the Feminization of Korean Ideals of Male Beauty”, 6th International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) Conference, Chungnam National University, Daejeon
March 2009
— Media Appearance: “Let’s Talk Busan”, Busan e-FM
The Grand Narrative 