Todd Henry

“Hallyu" (Korean Wave) before "Hallyu": André Kim as Boundary/Gender-Crosser in Post-Colonial and Hot War Worlds

From Psy’s “Gangnam Style” (2012) and Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” (2019) to Hwang Dong-hyuk’s “Squid Game” (2021) and more, the world today is fully awash in the Korean Wave (hallyu). Even as this form of global popular culture gained traction during the late 1990s, Henry's historical research (part of his forthcoming book, "Profits of Queerness," one chapter of which treats such gender-bending labor as fashion design for male-born people and taxi driving for female-born people) documents considerably earlier and more impressive instantiations during what he calls South Korea’s “hetero-authoritarian” period (1948-1993).

To this end, his second documentary will examine the understudied story of André Kim. As he will retrace in his film, Kim was a gender-crossing icon and a global entrepreneur who managed to promote his clothing line and his capitalist nation, “stitching” the post-colonial and Hot War worlds into a more just, if still highly uneven, fabric of capitalist and ethnic communities.

After pioneering the fashion show, self-branding, and social philanthropy at home, Kim, Henry's film will also show, took his flamboyant gowns, stunning models, and entrancing music overseas, touring nearly every continent. By analyzing his visits to the mainland U.S. and the former Kingdom of Hawai’i as well as his complex interactions with diasporic Koreans and other local residents, Henry's film will reveal how he exploited these First World markets, while also seeking to advance international understanding, post-colonial reconciliation, and social justice as a cultural ambassador. His career thus offers us productive ways to overcome ongoing tensions in today’s politicized world.

Q&A

Fellowship Cohort: Fall 2023

Why did you choose this project?
I have written about André Kim in my scholarship, but after befriending his adopted son, I decided to make a documentary to capture unknown aspects of his globetrotting career.

How was this fellowship meaningful or impactful to you?
The fellowship allowed me to interview four Asian (American) women in Honolulu in February.

What future plans do you have related to this work, if any?
I will return to Honolulu in December to interview other people who interacted with this designer during his 10 visits to Honolulu between 1972 and 2006.

Todd A. Henry is associate professor of Modern Korean/East Asian History at UC San Diego, where he is also faculty affiliate in Critical Gender Studies, Film Studies and Science Studies. He is the author of “Assimilating Seoul: Japanese Rule and the Politics of Public Space in Colonial Korea, 1910-1945” (University of California Press, 2014) and “Profits of Queerness: Media, Medicine, and Citizenship in Authoritarian South Korea, 1950-1980” (University of Hawai’i Press, 2025). Henry also edited “Queer Korea” (Duke University Press, 2020), among other publications.