Semiotics in Korea: A research overview

Abstract

At first glance, giving a report on the history of semiotic studies in Korea may not seem very challenging because modern Korean semiotics does not have a long history. Nevertheless, in trying to summarize the present state of semiotic research in Korea, one runs a certain risk: Since semiotics is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of culture, it is difficult to distinguish its subject matter from that of other cultural sciences. The boundaries of semiotics appear fluent and whoever wants to specify them in a concept-based way must avoid the danger of imposing inadequate restrictions on the practice of semiotic research. It is certain, however, that semiotics is the science of signs and sign processes and should study all areas of cultural life from this perspective. This is shown by means of central examples from actual semiotic research in Korea.