What is a Hero?

This interdisciplinary course explores the timeless concept of the hero from both Asian and Western traditions. Classical heroes will be analyzed along with those featured in contemporary films, fictions, comics, and pop culture. The main goal is to compare and examine how heroes have informed intellectual, artistic, and moral traditions in various cultures and how heroic ideas were spread, transformed, and re-imagined to suit the needs of their times.

The Trưng Sisters: The Living Heroines of Việt Nam

In this paper, I used the existing frameworks on heroes characteristics to analyze the Trung Sisters, who are important cultural and historical figures in Vietnam history.

A New Era of Heroic Anti-Hero: An Analysis of Vincenzo

In this paper, I used Vincenzo, an anti-hero K-drama character, to analyze his heroic traits using existing hero frameworks. I also incorporated Korea’s cultural figure, Hong Gil-dong, into my analysis of Vincenzo and making reference to the social significance of big conglomerates such as Samsung in contemporary Korean society.