| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation examines the new economies of intimacy alongside rapid demographic aging in South Korea. I argue that, in the context of population aging, new forms of intimacy emerge at the intersection of local consumer culture and changing gender relations. Through ethnography on commercial venues for intimacy—partner dance businesses—that cater exclusively to women and men over the age of 50 in South Korea, this study examines new places, norms, relations, identities, and socio-economic interests engendered by their desires and increased mobility in the city. From a macro perspective, I examine the place of intimacy in South Korea’s demographic aging and the shifting social relations and economic interests that result from that aging. On a meso-level with respect to the institutional dynamics of social life, I illustrate how patrons, dance teachers, and club owners and their employees work together to create the logic of cultural distinction. Furthermore, I examine how men and women assess their positions in consideration of the local context where demographic aging emerges as a socio-economic problem. I also examine the micro-level interaction between women and men in the dance scene, where the exchange of intimacy and money reshapes gender relationships. All in all, this study examines how different accounts and practices of intimacy emerge as an instance of shifting gender, class, and age identities and relationships; as a source of business innovation; and as a measure of social control. My research on the niche dance business for aging individuals in South Korea illuminates more than parochial innovation or deviation. Rather, this dissertation suggests that intimacy is not peripheral to the changing socio-economic arrangements that accompany longer life expectancy but instead drives them. | |
