Tiago Canario / Courtesy of Tiago Canario

By Lee Hae-rin

Tiago Canario, a Seoul-based Brazilian scholar, has revealed how drag culture has influenced the K-pop industry by visualizing minorities and marginal cultures, as the co-author of a book called “Here Comes the Flood: Gender, Sexuality, and Stereotype in the Korean Wave.

Drag is the art of dressing up and performing a type of gender expression, usually different from the performer’s actual gender identity. It’s a way to explore gender and express LGBTQ pride, as well as a form of entertainment.

The 34-year-old, who is also a visual artist and freelance researcher, said he had no idea his trip there would last this long when he started in 2013.

After earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in journalism in Brazil, Canario came here to earn a doctorate. in visual culture at Korea University. He said Korea had caught his attention among other countries as an academic area for being “the cradle of webtoon culture,” or digital comics.

“Visual storytelling has always been my thing. I was first interested in forms and how they are shaped by daily life. They are part of who we are,” Canario said in a written interview. with The Korea Times, Friday.

Although Canario’s initial plan was to complete the university course within four years and return to his home country to fill a gap in Asian studies there, he was drawn to new subjects of study: gender , sexuality, youth and popular culture.

As a visual culture scholar, Canario said he’s witnessed and studied how dating “opened a new chapter” in Brazilian cultural history with names like Pablo Vittar and Gloria Groove. When he started noticing similar phenomena in the Korean music industry, he felt he “had to study and document this precious moment in history”.

In late 2020, he heard about Moises Park and Marcy Tanter’s project to bring together diverse perspectives on gender, sexuality, and stereotypes in hallyu via the internet. He offered his research ideas to the two editors, which they found very interesting.

The cover of the book ‘Here Comes the Flood: Perspective of Gender, Sexuality, and Stereotype in the Korean Wave’ / Internet screenshot

Along with 10 other co-contributors of Korean and foreign nationalities, Canario examined the layers of gender stereotypes presented in Korean media content and explored the various socio-cultural layers of their “Koreanness”.

“I think the book is a very useful guide for those who want to learn more about how gender, sexuality and stereotypes play out in Korean culture, from traditional values ​​to contemporary society,” Canario said.

In his chapter, titled “Queering the Wave: Drag Queens and Drag Kings in the K-Pop Industry,” Canario breaks down the socio-cultural context of how LGBTQ culture has created fissures in the K-pop industry, which has been dominated by the Korean heteronormative patriarchy. , as well as collectivist and Confucian philosophies which still remain hegemonic.

With examples of works from K-pop stars like Lee Hyo-ri, G-Dragon, and Girls Generation, to musicals with LGBTQ elements like “Hedwig” and “Kinky Boots,” Canario showcases some original ideas. on how queer origin non-normative gender performances not only gained popularity, but also reshaped the industry by creating resistance to the normative and hierarchical binary of Korean genres, while making room for diversity .

“My primary research interest is the intersection of queer experiences and popular culture,” Canario said. “I’m fascinated by how many marginalized experiences have come into capitalism and become mainstream.”

With his ongoing and future research, Canario said he plans to contribute to Korean Studies as well as Queer Asian Studies in Brazil and broaden perspectives on Korean culture.

“I hope other groups and minorities will have more chances in the mainstream, on big platforms, so that the world can experience how plural Korea is. Every story deserves to be told. Every voice deserves to be amplified,” Canario said.