A semiotic analysis of humor in K-drama memes
By: Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi & Lily Kahn
| ARTICLE INFO: Volume: 11 Issue: 01:Summer 2025 ISSN: 2459-2943 DOI: 10.18680/hss.2025.0011 Pages: 221-240 Lic.: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 |
KEYWORDS: K-drama Meme Memescape Hallyu Humor |
ABSTRACT
This study is a qualitative semiotic analysis of the humor in 13 representative K-drama memes drawn from a corpus of approximately 200 memes bearing the hashtag #kdramameme. K-dramas are one of the key aspects of the global Korean Wave, and there is a thriving body of memes created by and for the global K-drama fandom. Despite the centrality of humor to the meme genre and the fact that memes constitute a prominent form of 21st-century expression, K-drama memes have not previously been analyzed from a humor theory perspective. We analyze the humorous element of the K-drama memes in our corpus according to three semiotic theoretical mechanisms, namely the concepts of meme templates, blending, and benign violation. We argue that these three semiotic mechanisms feed into two overarching functions of K-drama meme humor, i.e., a social function (construction and enhancement of in-group identity and belonging), and a psychological one (expression of emotions). Our study shows that the K-drama memescape is multifaceted and connected to K-drama and real life in complex ways.
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