5 - Semiotic Excess: Tracing Culture

Summary

This chapter considers the excess of signification, or the semiotic “traces” of global Korea. It first explores the question of the trace in relation to conspicuous municipal designations of Korean spaces in various Koreatowns, which are in turn juxtaposed with the Gwanghwamun in Seoul, a gate to the royal Gyeongbokgung Palace that has been destroyed, relocated, and restored over the years. The chapter then examines how cultural meaning emerges through semiotic traces that would normally be dismissed as having any significatory value, focusing on the case of European semiosis and the role it plays in signifying Koreanness. Finally, it turns to the unusual case of signage in bathrooms of restaurants and other establishments advising patrons to not flush paper down the toilet, reflective of a uniquely Korean preoccupation that can be traced to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. These examples collectively show that Korea can be encountered through semiotic traces that seem to have nothing to do with Korea at all. This in turn not only raises questions about what Korea is but also invites considerations of what to look for when trying to make sense of Korea or another cultural entity.