Viral imperialism: outbreaks in South Korean film.

This article traces the influence of colonialism in South Korean viral outbreak films. It specifically interrogates the pathways viruses travel—from the Global South to the Global North—how such travel happens along colonial routes, and how such travel lays bare postcolonial conflicts between South Korea and, namely, the US empire. I introduce the notion of <italic>viral imperialism</italic> in my film analysis, a concept that implies the long tentacles of empire reaching from the Global North into the Global South, while also following along historically colonial routes that tap into existing narratives and fears of contagions. By weaving film analysis with the historical context of US empire-building in South Korea and the development of South Korean public health, I argue that these films offer a critique of empire as a process that is willing to sacrifice some (read Koreans) for the health and safety of the empire and, arguably, the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]