Daylife: The evolution of partner dance spaces in urban South Korea

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, urban South Korea has witnessed the emergence of daytime partner dance businesses catering exclusively to older patrons. While these businesses may seem like mere recreational leisure facilities, they are, in fact, intertwined with evolving urban regulations and the pursuit of intimacy during the day. Drawing on fieldwork data from the partner dance scene in South Korea, this paper examines the evolution of daylife—an intimate economy and sociality occupying urban day spaces—by analysing the interaction between changing governance agendas and the intimate desires of urban denizens. Specifically, it traces three periods of daylife regulation to examine the ideologies and practices of daylife in relation to other social institutions (i.e. home and work) that occupy people’s daytime hours. By doing so, this study highlights the significance of daytime as a window into examining the urban governance and structural factors that shape urban integration, particularly regarding gender, class, and age.