Negotiating Gender Identity in a Globalized Media Landscape: The Influence of Korean Dramas on Pakistani Viewers
Keywords:
Korean Drama, Gender Roles, Identity Negotiation, Pakistani Viewers, Transnational Media Influence, Cultural Impact, Korean Wave, Progressive Gender PortrayalsAbstract
Focusing on the mechanics of identity formation in a cross-cultural media setting, this study investigates how viewers from Pakistan understand and navigate gender depictions in Korean dramas (K-dramas). This research draws on Identity Negotiation Theory (Ting-Toomey, 1999) to investigate how international media depictions of gender interact with local cultural scripts in Pakistan and how viewers respond to these challenges to established gender norms. The study gathers quantitative and qualitative data from 78 educated urbanites using a descriptive survey approach. The questions include Likert-scale items, multiple-choice questions, and open-ended replies. Results show that most people think that K-dramas are trying to promote more progressive gender norms, especially when it comes to how strong women are and how kind men are portrayed. A number of viewers were uncomfortable with or ambivalent about challenging established standards, while others reported experiencing cultural dissonance. These findings provide credence to Identity Negotiation Theory as a framework for investigating how local values influence audiences' adoption, rejection, or hybridization of global narratives. Findings shed light on the media's role in conservative cultures as a platform for cultural negotiation and identity reform add to the growing body of scholarship on the topic of global media impact.
References
Ali, K. (2020, March 6). Pemra advises TV channels to refrain from airing 'controversial content' on Women's Day. DAWN.COM. https://www.dawn.com/news/1538893
Atteneder, H., & Herdin, T. (2020). The role of geomedia in building intercultural competence: A qualitative case study within the context of a student exchange program between Austria, Germany and China. KOME, 8(2), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.17646/KOME.75672.54
Babbie, E. R. (2010). The practice of social research (12th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage.
Barker, C. (1999). Television, globalization, and cultural identities. Open University Press.
Beck, U., & Beck-Gernsheim, E. (2002). Individualization: Institutionalized individualism and its social and political consequences. SAGE Publications.
Benet-Martínez, V., & Haritatos, J. (2005). Bicultural identity integration (BII): Components and psychosocial antecedents. Journal of Personality, 73(4), 1015–1049. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00337.x
Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11
Gatchalian, C. B., Handig, J. E. R., Mercado, M. C. L., & Domingo, M. S. (2023). Beyond the "Hallyuwood": A systematic review of the multifaceted influence of Korean drama. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Publications (IJMRAP), 6(3), 92–98.
Gerbner, G., & Gross, L. (1976). Living with television: The violence profile. Journal of Communication, 26(2), 172–199.
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., & Signorielli, N. (2002). Growing up with television: Cultivation processes. In Media effects (pp. 43–67). Routledge.
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Stanford University Press.
Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Anchor Books.
Gudykunst, W. B., & Lee, C. M. (2002). Cross-cultural communication theories. In Handbook of international and intercultural communication (pp. 25–50). Sage.
Hage, S. M., & Powers, P. J. (1992). Social role negotiation strategies for dual-career couples. The Counseling Psychologist, 20(1), 10–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000092201003
Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1014
Hyejung Ju. (2019). Transnational Korean television: Cultural storytelling and digital audience engagement. Lexington Books.
Iwabuchi, K. (2015). Resilient borders and cultural diversity: Internationalism, brand nationalism, and multiculturalism in Japan. Lexington Books.
Iwabuchi, K. (2015). Resilient borders and cultural diversity: Internationalism rebranded? Lexington Books.
Jin, D. Y., & Yoon, K. (2022). The Korean Wave: Evolution, fandom, and transnationality. Lexington Books.
Jung, S. (2010). Chogukjeok Pan-East Asian Soft Masculinity: Reading Boys Over Flowers, Coffee Prince and Shinhwa Fan Fiction. In D. Black, S. Epstein, & A. Tokita (Eds.), Complicated Currents: Media Flows, Soft Power and East Asia. Monash University ePress.
Khalid, R. (2024). The impact of the Korean cultural wave on the attitudes and practices of Pakistani youth. Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 8(2), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/8.2.9
Khoja-Moolji, S. (2021). Sovereign attachments: Masculinity, Muslimness, and affective politics in Pakistan. University of California Press.
Kim, Y. (2021). Gender representation in Korean television dramas. Asian Journal of Communication, 31(4), 312–328.
Kim, Y., & Singhal, A. (2019). Global flows of Korean media and transnational cultural identity. Media, Culture & Society, 41(4), 512–530.
KOFICE. (2023). 2022 Overseas Hallyu survey. Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange.
Kraidy, M. M. (2005). Hybridity, or the cultural logic of globalization. Temple University Press.
Morgan, M., & Shanahan, J. (2010). The state of cultivation. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 54(2), 337–355.
Saeed, A., Shabbir, S. B., & Abbasi, S. (2023). Fiction, fantasizing and romanticizing: Studying the effect of Korean dramas on Pakistani youth. Journal of Media & Communication, 4(2), 173–184. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392798406
Santoniccolo, F., Trombetta, T., Paradiso, M. N., & Rollè, L. (2023). Gender and media representations: A review of the literature on gender stereotypes, objectification and sexualization. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(10), 5770. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105770
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research Methods for Business Students (8th ed.). Pearson.
Shehzad, H., Raza, M.R., Zehra, S. (2019). Licensed to Learn: A Case of TV and Radio Channels in Pakistani Universities. International Journal of Distance Education and E Learning.
Swann, W. B. (1987). Identity negotiation: Where two roads meet. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1038–1051. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.53.6.1038
Swann, W. B. (2005). The self and identity negotiation. Interaction Studies, 6, 69–83. https://doi.org/10.1075/IS.6.1.06SWA
Swann, W., & Bosson, J. (2006). Identity negotiation: A theory of self and social interaction. In O. John, R. Robins, & L. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of Personality Psychology: Theory and Research. Guilford.
Swann, W., & Bosson, J. (2009). Self and identity. In Self as a Mental Representation (chap.).
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Brooks/Cole.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Nelson-Hall.
Thussu, D. K. (2006). International communication: Continuity and change. Bloomsbury Academic.
Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures. Guilford Press.
Ting-Toomey, S. (2005). Identity negotiation theory. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Theorizing about intercultural communication (pp. 211–233). Sage.
Ting-Toomey, S. (2005). The matrix of face: An updated face-negotiation theory. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Theorizing about intercultural communication (pp. 71–92). SAGE Publications.
Ting-Toomey, S. (2015). Identity negotiation theory. In J. Bennett (Ed.), Sage Encyclopedia of Intercultural Competence, Volume 1 (pp. 418–422). Sage.
Ting-Toomey, S. (2016). Identity negotiation theory. In C. R. Berger & M. E. Roloff (Eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication (pp. 1–10). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118540190.wbeic129
Toomey, A., Dorjee, T., & Ting-Toomey, S. (2013). Bicultural identity negotiation, conflicts, and intergroup communication strategies. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 42, 112–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2013.785973
Vazir, M. (2024, August 5). Stolen glances and rooftop confessions: Why Pakistani women love K dramas. The Express Tribune. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2485660/stolen-glances-and-rooftop-confessions-why-pakistani-women-love-k-dramas
Waheed, S., Ahmad, M. K., & Bhatti, Z. I. (2025). Influence of K-pop dramas on Pakistani youth: A case study on Netflix's role in cultural transformation. FWU Journal of Social Sciences, 19(2), 89–110. https://doi.org/10.51709/19951272/Summer2025/7
Yasmin, M., & Safdar, M. (2023). Negotiated gender subjectivity of Muslim women and sustainability in Pakistan. In R. Brinkmann (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Global Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01949-4_73
Yoon, H., Nguyen, H. D., & Kim, T. H. (2024). Addressing user engagement in social media platforms with cultural differences based on Hofstede’s dimensions. Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems, 34(1), 191–208. https://doi.org/10.14329/apjis.2024.34.1.191
Zia, A. S. (2018). Faith and feminism in Pakistan: Religious agency or secular autonomy? Sussex Academic Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Ifra Iftikhar, Minahil Eiman Aamir
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
LEGALOPEDIA EDUCATINIA (PVT) LTD