Doctoral Dissertation Research: Bodies, Computers, and Productivity in South Korea

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University of California at Irvine doctoral candidate, Stephen C. Rea, supervised by Dr. Keith M. Murphy, will investigate the relationship between somatic skill and everyday computer use in two seemingly distinct realms: the information technology (IT) sector and computer gaming culture. The research will be conducted in South Korea among IT workers and computer gamers, two groups who utilize similar physical, technical, and social skills in the operation of computers, but who have radically different social statuses. Whereas IT workers are praised for the contributions that they make to the growth of the South Korean economy, computer gamers are often regarded as lazy and unproductive, garnering the label of "pye-in," a slang term meaning "garbage people." South Korea is an ideal location for this research because of the intensity with which computer technology dominates both work and leisure activities.The study will address these issues through the use of traditional and innovative social scientific research methods, including: participant observation with South Korean IT workers and computer gamers in their everyday lives; ethnographic interviews; archival research in South Korean media technology archives; and analytical videography of IT workers and gamers using computers. These methods will help answer questions about how the cultivation or eradication of specific physical, technical, and social skill sets, as well as the discourses about such practices, impacts cultural concepts of productivity and of the appropriate relationship between individuals and computers. This study is important because it will further scientific understanding of the technological socialization of workers in post-industrial economies; the roles of computer technology in everyday life; and the effects of discourses and practices around cultural concepts of productivity on human physical development. Supporting the research also supports the education of a graduate student.