Bae Doona and Yi So-yeon as Korean-cosmopolitan celebrities: global citizenship, science fiction and cultural globalization

This article explores what elevates the actress Bae Doona and astronaut Yi So-yeon to the level of ‘Korean-cosmopolitan celebrities.’ Our contradictory but efficacious coinage recognizes their Koreanness and outstanding achievements on behalf of different industries – with work in film and aerospace – yet such identity and cultural position are rare in South Korea because it showcases the value and necessity of humanitarian activities that resist being anchored to a strict and narrow national register. Bae’s and Yi’s representations through media constitute a kind of uber-minority position, marking an intriguing new manifestation of cosmopolitanism under cultural globalization. We believe this cosmopolitanization can be understood dually as an ‘outlook’ as well as a provocative premise towards ‘decolonialization’ to balance burgeoning ideas about global citizenship, peace, conflict, futurity, and hospitality in and outside of Korea.