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How Social Distinction and Imitation Function in Luxury Consumption : Focusing on Young Adult Workers in Korea

초록/요약

Luxury consumption in contemporary consumer society manifest in different ways accommodating for both social distinction and inclusion. As consumer society proceeds to tear down traditional barriers of luxury, luxury products have become readily accessible for social segments which do not belong to the high class. However, luxury products still occupy prestigious standings in the consumption realm and continues to be favored by elite groups. Therefore, luxury consumption has become a perplexing phenomenon which facilitates conflicting social forces: distinction and imitation. The study explores practical manifestations of luxury consumption as distinguishing and integrating forces amongst South Korean young workers. First, to address the practical workings of luxury consumption, the study derives a robust definition of luxury by examining studies on the attributes of luxury. Second, the study introduces theories linking consumption to social distinction and inclusion, then discuss how luxury consumption may manifest accordingly. Specifically, the paper refers to theoretical discussions on cultural capital (Bourdieu 1984), sign value (Baudrillard 1996), uniqueness-seeking (Snyder 1992) and conspicuous consumption (Veblen 2012). Third, to seek understandings on ‘how’ individuals internalize luxury consumption, the study introduces the notion of ‘strategic consumption’. Data collected from in-depth interviews of young adult employees were analyzed. The findings of the study captured cases of luxury consumption as both social distinction and inclusion. Luxury consumption functioned as cultural capital (Bourdieu 1984) providing advantages for those originating from wealthy backgrounds. On the other hand, luxury also functioned as a ‘necessity’ which provides membership to the middle class. The sign value of prestige and the widespread popularization have made luxury to become signals of the middle class. Finally, the study found that young working adults strategically construct consumption narratives and engage in luxury consumption. This study concludes that luxury consumption can both manifest as forces of social distinction and imitation. This study offers a bird’s eye view on social implications of luxury consumption in consumer society, identifying practical cases of distinction and inclusion. Also, a sociological concept of ‘strategic consumption’ suggests an explanation on how individuals build narratives and behave regarding luxury consumption.

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