Representation of Women's Lifestyle in the Republic of Korea in Social Media as a Determinant of Country Image Perception among Russian-Speaking Users

South Korea, despite its high level of economic development and despite its being a consolidated democracy remains a very patriarchal country. However, its positive image strategy as a middle power state leads to a high level of romanticising of South Korean society by Internet users.2 The media creates a positive image of Korean society through K-dramas, pop culture, cinematography etc. Russia is a large market for South Korean media products and a huge media market. There is a rising trend for Russian-speaking influencers, involved in forming the media image of South Korea, who are creating content related to South Korean society, including the influencers living in South Korea and married to South Korean men. This leads to the question, of how the consumption of Korean dramas and content of such influencers by Russian consumers influence the awareness about the gender inequality, income gap and other social problems that women in South Korea are facing. This research is dedicated to finding out how Russian-speaking bloggers might form the perception of the social life in South Korea. It will mainly use questionnaires and interviews to analyse both sides of the issue to identify the interconnections.