K-Drama as ecocinema? A multimodal analysis of climate hange representation in 60 globally popular Korean TV dramas

Melchior, Cristiane, Seeck, Hannele ORCID: 0000-0001-6209-651X and Hadi, Ratna Aini (2025) K-Drama as ecocinema? A multimodal analysis of climate hange representation in 60 globally popular Korean TV dramas. International Journal of Communication. ISSN 1932-8036

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Abstract

This study examines climate change themes in 60 globally popular South Korean dramas (2019–2024) using network, sentiment, and framing analyses and drawing on ecocinema. The results show that climate change topics represented only 0.36% (4 hours) of 1,135 total viewing hours. Despite Korea’s environmental challenges, only 26 dramas included climate-related content, primarily addressing recycling and eco-friendly practices. Our study provides the first systematic investigation of climate change narratives in Korean TV dramas. It highlights their potential to shape environmental awareness and introduces a replicable methodological framework integrating computational and longitudinal analyses. Integrating ecocinema into Hallyu studies is crucial as it (1) expands Hallyu’s thematic scope beyond family, history, gender, and class to include underexplored environmental issues; (2) leverages K-dramas’ global reach to enhance climate change awareness through serialized storytelling; and (3) addresses the dominance of Western media in ecocinema studies by incorporating East Asian television narratives.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences
Date Deposited:	24 Nov 2025 10:33
Last Modified:	27 Nov 2025 10:21
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/130290

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