Critically Capitalist: The Spirit of Asset Capitalism in South Korea

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Speaker


Dr. Bohyeong Kim, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Vanderbilt University
Dr. Bohyeong Kim is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies and Asian Studies at Vanderbilt University. As a scholar of critical media and cultural studies with a particular emphasis on Korea and East Asia, her research focuses primarily on the relationship between the media, culture, and the capitalist economy. Her first book Critically Capitalist: The Spirit of Asset Capitalism in South Korea (University of Michigan Press, 2025) presents an ethnography of South Korea’s aspiring millionaires to theorize “critical capitalism” as a simultaneous critique and legitimation of capitalism. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Cultural Economy, Cultural Studies, Television & New Media, Media, Culture & Society, among other.
Abstract
Critically Capitalist: The Spirit of Asset Capitalism in South Korea (University of Michigan Press 2025) presents an ethnography of South Korea’s asset seekers, including amateur stock investors, real estate enthusiasts, and money coaches, to demonstrate how financialized asset capitalism is sustained. As they hunt for profit margins, rent, and dividends, they simultaneously critique capitalism and posit their pursuit of assets as a form of resistance. I theorize this new spirit of capitalism in South Korea as “critical capitalism,” arguing that it reflects the popular discontent with both national development and financial neoliberalism. As a paradoxical critique and legitimation, I argue that critical capitalism valorizes the capitalist economy not through a triumphant narrative, but by highlighting the emotional wounds, destroyed communities, and oppressive tactics of modern capitalism.
