• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.63 no.7
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• pp.121-133
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• 2013

The globalization of the world, fueled by the Internet, made possible for individuals to access the cultures around the world, other than their own, easier than ever before. But among those rapidly sought out sub-cultures, the video gaming industry, once a niche market mostly for nerds and geeks, now has become one of the biggest entertainment businesses in the world. In a video game, one of the critical elements that could determine its success or failure is the characters featured in the game. And as the countless number of animated characters from many different video games from the past few years have become incredibly popular among the audiences around the world, the expectations from the fans also grow higher every time a new game comes out. Ultimately this has forced the video game developers to come up with more unique and interesting characters for their video games. And at this point, where a video game character is more than just fictional fantasy but a brand to be recognized, it is worth paying proper attention to the video game characters that represent Korea. Hence in this study, we will take a look at Han Ju-Ri, a Korean character featured in Super Street Fighter IV, a competitive fighting game developed by Capcom, one of the world's most recognized video game companies that started its life as an arcade video game, developer but eventually ventured its business into the online world. The study will propose a complete overhaul of the character by incorporating Korea's own traditional looks.