Affective Hurdles to Grievability in South Korea: How Morality, Meritocracy, and Normativity Shape Public Mourning
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This paper examines how grief is regulated in South Korea through socially constructed norms that determine which deaths are publicly mournable. Drawing on Judith Butler’s concept of grievability and affect theory, it introduces “affective hurdles”—conditions families must navigate to gain recognition for their loss. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with families affected by disasters, the study identifies three key hurdles: moral authenticity, fantasized meritocracy, and family normativity. These criteria shape whose grief is acknowledged and whose is dismissed. Families often tailor their narratives to align with prevailing norms—emphasizing their loved ones’ moral character, educational or economic promise, and traditional family structures. While these efforts can amplify certain voices, they may also silence others and reproduce exclusionary standards. The paper highlights how grief becomes a political field of struggle and how activism aimed at securing recognition often reinforces the very barriers it seeks to overcome. Ultimately, it calls for broader, more inclusive understandings of mourning and loss.
Abstract
This paper examines how grief is regulated in South Korea through socially constructed norms that determine which deaths are publicly mournable. Drawing on Judith Butler’s concept of grievability and affect theory, it introduces “affective hurdles”—conditions families must navigate to gain recognition for their loss. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with families affected by disasters, the study identifies three key hurdles: moral authenticity, fantasized meritocracy, and family normativity. These criteria shape whose grief is acknowledged and whose is dismissed. Families often tailor their narratives to align with prevailing norms—emphasizing their loved ones’ moral character, educational or economic promise, and traditional family structures. While these efforts can amplify certain voices, they may also silence others and reproduce exclusionary standards. The paper highlights how grief becomes a political field of struggle and how activism aimed at securing recognition often reinforces the very barriers it seeks to overcome. Ultimately, it calls for broader, more inclusive understandings of mourning and loss.