Abstract

This study investigates the historical formation and characteristics of modern Korean consumption culture by reviewing previous literature about consumption spaces and conspicuous consumption in modern Korea. This study examined the historical formation and characteristics of three different periods of time: from 1876 to 1919, from 1920 to 1936, and from 1937 to 1945. In addition, the current study reviews previous literature related to advertising, poems, novels, historical events, and Orientalism. Based on this, the historical characteristics were also analyzed. The overall results were as follows: The first period from 1876 to 1919 was the beginning of modern Korean consumption culture, in which exotic goods such as foreign fabrics were preferred and consumed. In addition, clothing was simplified and westernized through modern reform. The second period of time, 1920 to 1936, was the development stage of modern Korean consumption culture that formed the foundation of modern consuming spaces where the recognition of the human form became more modern, and 'modern girls' styles appeared. The final period, 1937 to 1945, was the regression stage of Korean modern consumption culture, in which consumption decreased during the Sino-Japanese War and World War II. The results of this study' conclude that the leading-consumer items hold symbolic value as well as became signifiers within modern consumption spaces such as modern Korean department stores and that women were recognized as modern leading-consumers as shown by the dramatic increase in the number of products that targeted women.

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