Encoding the nation: Media, compressed modernity, and the global projection of Korean identity

This article addresses a central puzzle in media studies: how a nation’s turbulent experience of rapid development become a foundational narrative for its global media projection? Focussing on South Korea, the article argues that contemporary national identity and its transnational cultural influence are best understood through a tripartite framework linking ‘the own’ (enduring traditions and ethnic nationalism), ‘the near’ (social ruptures generated by compressed modernity), and ‘the far’ (global repackaging of these experiences through Hallyu ). The study posits that Korea’s global cultural success is not merely a manufactured export but a structural expression of its historical trajectory, aestheticised to transform domestic socio-political tensions into global symbolic capital. Methodologically, the article combines historical scrutiny with illustrative analysis of key cultural texts across cinema, K-drama, and K-pop, alongside a dual-circuit model of cultural diffusion. The findings demonstrate that tensions produced by rapid development are structurally intertwined with international media projection, offering a heuristic framework for analysing similar trajectories of cultural power in the 21st century.