The Construction of Masculine Identity with the Otherness in South Korean Television Series Descendants of the Sun

Abstract

This article aims to study the construction of South Korean masculine identity through the principal characters in South Korean television series named Descendants of the Sun directed by Lee Eung-bok and Baek Sang-hoon. The study found that the construction of South Korean masculine identity related to South Korean nationalism and the construction of the otherness. The contradictory setting created ortherness and emphasized South Korean nationalism and the protagonist’s humanity. The nature was presented as the destroyer and disaster to humankind in exotic land and the westerners also were presented as savage destroyers and malignant against humanity in order to emphasize the protagonist’s heroic actions. The North Korean characters were presented as cruel invaders for emphasizing the civilization of South Korean characters and creating this otherness among their own race also revealed South Korean love and their strong sense of solidarity.