SKY Castle: Consuming Education from the Cases of Two Tiger Parents

Authors

  • Yuliyanto Chandra Universitas Kristen Petra

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21512/lc.v14i2.6566

Keywords:

education consumption, consumer culture, cultural capital, tiger parent153, koing style, SKY Castle

Abstract

The research aimed to analyze how the Korean series, SKY Castle, successfully captured the idea that education could be
commoditized in consumer culture for ensuring class mobility, which was majorly done by two exemplary tiger parents in
Korea. Methodologically, the research applied a qualitative approach and employed a detailed analysis of the main character and one supporting character, Han Suhjin and Cha Minhyuk, respectively. Both characters’ actions and utterances would be selectively used to support the arguments of the research. Their relationship with other characters would also be used as further explanations. The research sheds light on how the two aforementioned characters fervently pursue and spend millions on education as it is perceived to strengthen their position in the social totem pole. The underlying theories to support the discussion are those of cultural and economic capital, consumption, commodification, and tiger parents. These are interconnected in the Korean context, especially due to the shifting value of education in the contemporary era. 

Dimensions

Plum Analytics

Author Biography

Yuliyanto Chandra, Universitas Kristen Petra

Mahasiswa Program Magister Sastra dari Fakultas Sastra dan Bahasa, Universitas Kristen Petra

References

Akua-Sakyiwah, B. (2016). Education as cultural capital and its effect on the transitional issues faced by migrant women in the diaspora. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 17(4), 1125-1142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-015-0455-8.

Chung, I., & Park, H. (2019). Educational expansion and trends in intergenerational social mobility among Korean men. Social Science Research, 83, 102307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.04.020.

Cui, M., Darling, C. A., Coccia, C., Fincham, F. D., & May, R. W. (2019). Indulgent parenting, helicopter parenting, and well-being of parents, and emerging adults. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(3), 860-871. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-01314-3.

Fletcher, K. L., Pierson, E. E., Speirs Neumeister, K. L., & Finch, W. H. (2020). Overparenting and perfectionistic concerns predict academic entitlement in young adults. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(2), 348-357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01663-7.

Gabay-Egozi, L., & Yaish, M. (2019). Intergenerational educational mobility and life course earnings in Israel. Social Science Research, 83, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.04.015.

Goldthorpe, J. H. (2016). Social class mobility in modern Britain: Changing structure, constant process. Journal of the British Academy, 4, 89-111. https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/004.089.

Ha, Y., & Park, H. J. (2017). Can after-school programs and private tutoring help improve students’ achievement? Revisiting the effects in Korean secondary schools. Asia Pacific Education Review, 18(1), 65-79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-016-9451-8.

Harsono, I. M. (2017). Mediocrity madness: The destructive effects of Antonio Salieri’s narcissistic personality disorder in Amadeus. K@Ta, 19(2), 71-76. https://doi.org/10.9744/kata.19.2.71-76.

Howe, B. (2020). South Korea: Transformative challenges to the economic and political “Miracle on the Han River”. Asian Affairs(UK), 47(1), 16-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/00927678.2019.1704469.

Hultberg, P., Calonge, D. S., & Kim, S. H. (2017). Education policy in South Korea: A contemporary model of human capital accumulation? Cogent Economics and Finance, 5(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2017.1389804.

Irawan, S. (2018). Tiger mother and her cubs on a stage: ‘Tiger’ parenting style and its effects in Listen to Me. K@ta, 21(1), 33-41. https://doi.org/10.9744/kata.20.1.33-41.

Kim, H. H. (2019). Parental overprotection and youth suicide behavior in low- and middle-income countries: A multilevel analysis of cross-national data. International Journal of Public Health, 64(2), 173-184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-018-1169-4.

Kim, J. S., & Bang, H. (2017). Education fever: Korean parents’ aspirations for their children’s schooling and future career. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 25(2), 207-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2016.1252419.

Kim, S. W., Zhang, C., Chung, H., Kim, Y., & Choi, S. Y. (2020). Why do women value credentials? Perceptions of gender inequality and credentialism in South Korea. International Journal of Educational Development, 73, 102158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102158

Kowen, M. R., Jang, M., & Lee, N. K. (2019). Transforming in awareness of relationship problems due to excessive private education in Korea. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 14(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2019.1586624.

Kumar, G. (2020). A study on the Korean value system in Korean dramas: Focusing on “Cheese in the Trap”. Research Review International Journal of Multidisciplinar, 5(2), 13-21. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3801126.

Kwon, K. A., Yoo, G., & Bingham, G. E. (2016). Helicopter parenting in emerging adulthood: Support or barrier for Korean college students’ psychological adjustment? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(1), 136-145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0195-6.

Kwon, K. A., Yoo, G., & De Gagne, J. C. (2017). Does culture matter? A qualitative inquiry of helicopter parenting in Korean American college students. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(7), 1979-1990. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0694-8.

Levent, F., & Pehlivan, M. (2017). Confucianism’s influence on ethics education in South Korea. Journal of Human Sciences, 14(1), 321-330. https://doi.org/10.14687/jhs.v14i1.4372.

Li, Y., & Thorson, E. (2018). Converting cultural capital into economic capital: A hybrid newspaper’s content management and performance during economic turbulence. Journal of Media Business Studies, 15(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2018.1445159.

Lin, X. (2019). Purchasing hope: The consumption of children’s education in urban China. The Journal of Chinese Sociology, 6(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40711-019-0099-8.

McVey, M. (2018). Shadow education and the curriculum and culture of schooling in South Korea. International Review of Education, 64(3), 397-401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-017-9675-9.

Oh, I. (2010). Education and development: Why are koreans obsessed with learning? Comparative Sociology, 9(3), 308-327. https://doi.org/10.1163/156913209X12499527665422.

Paterson, M. (2006). Consumption and everyday life. Abingdon: Routledge.

Rössel, J. (2011). Cultural capital and the variety of modes of cultural consumption in the opera audience. The Sociological Quarterly, 52(1), 83-103. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.2010.01192.x.

Segrin, C., Givertz, M., Swaitkowski, P., & Montgomery, N. (2015). Overparenting is associated with child problems and a critical family environment. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(2), 470-479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9858-3.

Shin, K., Jahng, K. E., & Kim, D. (2019). Stories of South Korean mothers’ education fever for their children’s education. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 39(3), 338-356. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2019.1607720.

Slater, D. (1997). Consumer culture and modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Spiegler, T. (2018). Resources and requirements of educational upward mobility. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 39(6), 860-875. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1425131.

Szutta, N. (2020). The virtues of will-power - From a philosophical & psychological perspective. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 23, 325-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-020-10068-1.

Tan, C. Y., Peng, B., & Lyu, M. (2019). What types of cultural capital benefit students’ academic achievement at different educational stages? Interrogating the meta-analytic evidence. Educational Research Review, 28, 100289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2019.100289.

Tsang, T. L. (2014). Book review of consuming higher education: Why learning can’t be bought by Joanna Williams. UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies, 10(2), 1-4.

Tyner, K. (2015). Body and consumer culture. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Consumption and Consumer Studies, 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118989463.wbeccs025.

Williams, J. (2012). Consuming higher education: Why learning can’t be bought (1st Ed.). London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Woo, H., & Hodges, N. N. (2015). Education fever: Exploring private education consumption motivations among Korean parents of preschool children. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 44(2), 127-142. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcsr.12131.

Yee, Y. (2020). 드라마 「 sky 캐슬 」 에 나타난 아버지와 어머니의 문지기 유형 (Types of parental gatekeeping in drama SKY Castle). The Journal of the Korea Contents Association, 20(1), 593-604. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5392/JKCA.2020.20.01.593.

Downloads

Published

2020-12-30
Abstract 1488  .
PDF downloaded 1160  .