The Sublime Body of Hallyu Celebrities: Conflicting Perceptions of Hallyu Celebrities in Korea The global expansion of Hallyu is treated in Korea as a new chapter in the history of the nation’s overseas trading that celebrates the virtue of hard work as a crucial ingredient in its modernization. Seen in this light, Hallyu is a type of nationalist discourse that disseminates docile images of hard work. This study, however, demonstrates how this nationalist take on Hallyu unexpectedly serves as a catalyst for fostering among some local fans a range of subversive expressions and nuances that disputes the model of hard work. The study argues that this ironic shift reflects an emerging ethos of cultural disenchantment, which turns away from nationalist concerns and views. To prove this, the essay points out how the local consumption of “glamorous” bodies displayed by Hallyu celebrities produces a sense of asymmetry between the perception of hard work (rigorous diet, fitness, etc.) and an opposing perception that treats the body as a site of cultural transgression in pursuing sensuous pleasures. To explore this conflicting slide of imagination, the essay uses the term “sublime” in order to point out the way in which the glamorous bodily spectacle triggers an aesthetic perception extending beyond confines of moral or cultural consent.