Economies of Difference and Identity-based Content on a Digital Platform: The Case Study of Emily in Korea on TikTok

This study presents a conceptualization of identity-based content creation in the digital sphere, examining the cases of two TikTok content creators, Amy and Erin, who leverage their identities to establish distinctive brands. Amy, a white American English teacher in Korea, highlights the differences between her and Korean society in her content about Korea, while Erin, a Korean American, critiques Amy's content by emphasizing the distinction between her experience as an immigrant and Amy's experience as a white American. The study explores how the emphasis on self-branding can obscure power dynamics and historical inequalities within identity-based content creation, which inherently reflects geopolitics and racial hierarchy. The research further examines how this type of content creation can serve as a space for the negotiation of power dynamics between dominant and non-dominant identities while also functioning as a means to build a self-brand in the digital content creation field.

Automated summary

This study examines the concept of identity-based content creation in the digital sphere and explores how the emphasis on self-branding can obscure power dynamics and historical inequalities. Through the analysis of two TikTok content creators, it also examines how this type of content creation serves as a means to negotiate power dynamics and build a self-brand in the digital content creation field.