The good, the bad, and the pretty

Abstract

South Korea has experienced a stark increase in its population’s diversity since the late 1980s. Though South Korean media adopts a superficially positive stance towards migrants, it perpetuates assimilative expectations and emphasises a racial hierarchy. This study critically examines its constructions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ migrants through a thematic analysis of three popular, unscripted South Korean television shows (Abnormal Summit, Love of 7.7 Billion and Hello Counselor). A little over eight hours of content was examined. The episodes indicate a preference for the migrant perceived as intelligent, high-status, likeable, cosmopolitan and ‘deserving’. Notably, migrants also face paradoxical expectations to assimilate, but not to do so ‘too much’ to avoid disrupting ideals of Koreanness, particularly in terms of language proficiency. Linguistic standards for ethnically Korean immigrants indicate even more ambivalent standards, as they are expected to speak as natively as possible while retaining their ‘outsider’ status.