Yezi Yeo | The University of Tokyo (original) (raw)
Papers by Yezi Yeo
Media, War & Conflict, Feb 1, 2017
For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the... more For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the military has been a potent force in postwar South Korean political, economic, and social development. The role and significance of male conscription and the military establishment in South Korean society have been explored from the perspective of political, social, and gender/ post-colonial studies. However, there is a considerable lack of academic research assessing the social meanings behind the highly publicized conduct of male celebrities' negotiating the issue of their compulsory military service, which has turned increasingly into media spectacles since the mid-1990s. This study attempts to provide an insight into the political and social ramifications of such media events by tracing the military service and male celebrity discourse through several major conscription scandals in the South Korean mass media. By simultaneously policing and exploiting the 'sacred' duty to serve, these media scandals reinforce what it means to be a true 'Korean man'.
Media, War & Conflict, 2017
For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the... more For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the military has been a potent force in post-war South Korean political, economic, and social development. The role and significance of male conscription and the military establishment in South Korean society have been explored from the perspective of political, social, and gender/post-colonial studies. However, there is a considerable lack of academic research assessing the social meanings behind the highly publicized conduct of male celebrities’ negotiating the issue of their compulsory military service, which has turned increasingly into media spectacles since the mid-1990s. This study attempts to provide an insight into the political and social ramifications of such media events by tracing the military service and male celebrity discourse through several major conscription scandals in the South Korean mass media. By simultaneously policing and exploiting the ‘sacred’ duty to serve, thes...
Asia Journal of Global Studies, Aug 6, 2013
Large scale natural/man-made disasters, such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear t... more Large scale natural/man-made disasters, such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear triple crisis, bear horrible human, social and economic costs. However, they may simultaneously present opportunities for military actors to perform reconstruction and humanitarian efforts that usually receive considerable media coverage. If performed successfully, and covered substantially, these humanitarian activities may influence, change, or confirm public attitudes and understanding of a nation's military role and social acceptance. For Japan's Self-defense Forces, the 2011 Tohoku relief efforts marked the first large-scale domestic opportunity to be successfully utilized, thereby fulfilling its proclaimed mission statement as Japan's primary disaster relief organization (in comparison to the much criticized response to the 1995 Kobe Earthquake). This paper provides an overview of the literature regarding militarized humanitarianism and disaster relief, which has been debated globally since its growing prevalence in the 1990s, and implications for the SDF's public image-making and social positioning. It examines the current identity confirmation of the traditionally insecure existence and role of the SDF in the Tohoku relief efforts as a military by emphasizing this non-combatant aspect.
Mechademia, 2022
The late 2010s saw a boom in military-themed anime (also referred to as “moe military” anime) fea... more The late 2010s saw a boom in military-themed anime (also referred to as “moe military” anime) featuring images of young girls, or shôjo, in military-themed settings. Produced by anime studios and promoted in collaboration with Japan’s Self Defense Forces, scholars have analyzed this trend as an attempt to soften the image of the military, historically associated with nationalistic and militant masculinities. While most analyses approach the moe military trend through birds-eye critiques that incorporate contents tourism, cultural history, international relations, and media studies (Yamamura 2019, Sugawa-Shimada 2018 and 2019, Frühstück 2013), this article focuses specifically on the media representation of the shôjo body, maintaining that the character’s popularity is due to her embodiment of multiple “modes of existence” (Latour 2013). Building upon Hutchinson’s (2020) analysis of militarized shôjo bodies in Kantai Collection, we outline a framework for understanding the multiple modes of existence of the military shôjo, arguing that her ubiquity is in large part due to her embodiment of the “modes” of “kawaii” (otaku culture, cultural narratives about femininity, consumption, capitalism, postmodernism) and “kokutai” (national myths connected to her gendered body). We apply the framework of “kawaii kokutai” to two anime productions (Dragon Pilot 2018 and Warlords of Sigrdrifa 2020), maintaining that the militarized shôjo is a shape-shifting chimera whose “cute national body” personifies different modes of existence for different viewers, to varied success. We also explore the ways in which these new “cute national bodies” can simultaneously reinforce and subvert nationalist narratives within the same text.
Media, War & Conflict, Feb 1, 2017
For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the... more For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the military has been a potent force in postwar South Korean political, economic, and social development. The role and significance of male conscription and the military establishment in South Korean society have been explored from the perspective of political, social, and gender/ post-colonial studies. However, there is a considerable lack of academic research assessing the social meanings behind the highly publicized conduct of male celebrities' negotiating the issue of their compulsory military service, which has turned increasingly into media spectacles since the mid-1990s. This study attempts to provide an insight into the political and social ramifications of such media events by tracing the military service and male celebrity discourse through several major conscription scandals in the South Korean mass media. By simultaneously policing and exploiting the 'sacred' duty to serve, these media scandals reinforce what it means to be a true 'Korean man'.
Media, War & Conflict, 2017
For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the... more For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the military has been a potent force in post-war South Korean political, economic, and social development. The role and significance of male conscription and the military establishment in South Korean society have been explored from the perspective of political, social, and gender/post-colonial studies. However, there is a considerable lack of academic research assessing the social meanings behind the highly publicized conduct of male celebrities’ negotiating the issue of their compulsory military service, which has turned increasingly into media spectacles since the mid-1990s. This study attempts to provide an insight into the political and social ramifications of such media events by tracing the military service and male celebrity discourse through several major conscription scandals in the South Korean mass media. By simultaneously policing and exploiting the ‘sacred’ duty to serve, thes...
Asia Journal of Global Studies, Aug 6, 2013
Large scale natural/man-made disasters, such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear t... more Large scale natural/man-made disasters, such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear triple crisis, bear horrible human, social and economic costs. However, they may simultaneously present opportunities for military actors to perform reconstruction and humanitarian efforts that usually receive considerable media coverage. If performed successfully, and covered substantially, these humanitarian activities may influence, change, or confirm public attitudes and understanding of a nation's military role and social acceptance. For Japan's Self-defense Forces, the 2011 Tohoku relief efforts marked the first large-scale domestic opportunity to be successfully utilized, thereby fulfilling its proclaimed mission statement as Japan's primary disaster relief organization (in comparison to the much criticized response to the 1995 Kobe Earthquake). This paper provides an overview of the literature regarding militarized humanitarianism and disaster relief, which has been debated globally since its growing prevalence in the 1990s, and implications for the SDF's public image-making and social positioning. It examines the current identity confirmation of the traditionally insecure existence and role of the SDF in the Tohoku relief efforts as a military by emphasizing this non-combatant aspect.
Mechademia, 2022
The late 2010s saw a boom in military-themed anime (also referred to as “moe military” anime) fea... more The late 2010s saw a boom in military-themed anime (also referred to as “moe military” anime) featuring images of young girls, or shôjo, in military-themed settings. Produced by anime studios and promoted in collaboration with Japan’s Self Defense Forces, scholars have analyzed this trend as an attempt to soften the image of the military, historically associated with nationalistic and militant masculinities. While most analyses approach the moe military trend through birds-eye critiques that incorporate contents tourism, cultural history, international relations, and media studies (Yamamura 2019, Sugawa-Shimada 2018 and 2019, Frühstück 2013), this article focuses specifically on the media representation of the shôjo body, maintaining that the character’s popularity is due to her embodiment of multiple “modes of existence” (Latour 2013). Building upon Hutchinson’s (2020) analysis of militarized shôjo bodies in Kantai Collection, we outline a framework for understanding the multiple modes of existence of the military shôjo, arguing that her ubiquity is in large part due to her embodiment of the “modes” of “kawaii” (otaku culture, cultural narratives about femininity, consumption, capitalism, postmodernism) and “kokutai” (national myths connected to her gendered body). We apply the framework of “kawaii kokutai” to two anime productions (Dragon Pilot 2018 and Warlords of Sigrdrifa 2020), maintaining that the militarized shôjo is a shape-shifting chimera whose “cute national body” personifies different modes of existence for different viewers, to varied success. We also explore the ways in which these new “cute national bodies” can simultaneously reinforce and subvert nationalist narratives within the same text.