An Ethnographic Study on CosPlay Group in Korea I - Analysis on CosPlay Groups in Korea -

This study goes into the field of CosPlay that takes place in Korea, and directly observes the people who engage in CosPlays. Based on in-depth interviews, this research identified the reasons why the CosPlay aficionados participate in this practice and their cultural preferences. Ethnography methodology was used to understand the behavior of the cultural entities of CosPlays. Moreover, this research attempted to understand their daily formalities through their own perspective and language instead of superficial language. In general, CosPlay form that they manifest is classified into two main categories: those who enjoy posing by becoming their favorite characters and those like to wear the clothes of their favorite characters and go up on the stage to perform an act of animation or game where the applicable character appears. Some of these groups are: 1) 'Bishojo CosPlay' that CosPlays mostly Bishojo cartoon characters and wants to just stand out, 2) 'Aekyo' group that CosPlays merely for the sake of the enjoyment of wearing costumes instead of having the mania-like characteristics, 3) 'CosPlayer Group' who enjoy doing organized team CosPlay in order to present a performance, 4) 'J-Rock CosPlay' group that CosPlay Japanese visual rock groups and prepare to be among a professional CosPlay team, and 5) 'People related to Cospre.com' who try to make CosPlay rooted in as one of new cultures.