Korean Digital Natives

Considering the profound impact of growing up—including working, playing, and forming relationships—in a fully digital world, this book charts the political, social, economic, and personal effects of digital mediation on Korean digital natives.

Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations of young Korean adults, the author proposes a digital modus vivendi comprising four intersectional and transformative parts: pragmatic, entrepreneurial, political, and solitary. Across each of these domains, questions are addressed concerning how these people have developed, what aspirations they hold, and what forms of social and political collectives they have forged in their digital lives. Taking a combinational view of interlacing social structures (politics, economics, culture, personal life) and affective subjectivity (participatory, entrepreneurial, practical, and solitary) allows for readers to compare not only their harmonious and developmental features, but also their difficult and at times contradictory nature.

Situated in between cultural, philosophical, and critical studies on digital media, this book contributes significantly to our understanding of platform capitalism and the multifaceted reality of young lives in the present day.