Flower of Capitalism

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An ethnography of advertising in postmillennial South Korea, this work details contests over advertising freedoms and obligations among diverse interests while posing significant questions about the social contract governing advertising in late-capitalist societies. The term “flower of capitalism” serves as a clichéd metaphor for South Korean advertising, emphasizing its positive connotations while downplaying its commercial purposes and highlighting its potential for public service. Historically, South Korean advertising aimed to promote virtue, with expenditures monitored to curb advertisers’ influence in the name of public interest. Although this ideal was often compromised, advertising maintained accountability to public scrutiny and popular demands. However, as neoliberal hegemony took hold in the twenty-first century, this beneficent role faced challenges. The work examines the clash between advertising's traditional obligations and newfound freedoms, navigated by practitioners, censors, audiences, and activists. It presents a rich multi-sited ethnography, exploring controversies from provocative campaigns to boycotts, revealing advertising as a contested social institution with evolving connections to business, media, and government. The author challenges mainstream advertising notions rooted in Transatlantic contexts, offering insights into how advertising could prioritize its public effects alongside marketing goals,