Korean Wave What is the Korean Wave?
In recent years, there has been an influx of Korean popular culture throughout the world. It began from a small part of East Asia and has been spread out to the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Korean popular culture products, also known as the “Korean Wave” ( Hallyu in Korean) ranges from television dramas, movies, popular music (K-pop), dance (B-boys), and to a lesser extent video games, food, fashion, tourism, and language (Hangul). The term Korean Wave was coined by the Chinese press ( Hanliu in Chinese) a little more than a decade ago to refer to the popularity of Korean pop culture in China. The popular idol group H.O.T.’s concert held in Beijing gave the chance for Chinese p ress to coin the word: “The boom started with the export of Korean television dramas (mini-series) to China in the late 1990s. Since then, South Korea has emerged as a new center for the production of transnational pop culture, exporting a range of cultural products to neighboring Asian countries. More recently, Korean pop culture has begun spreading from its comfort zone in Asia to more global audiences in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.” (The Korean Wave, 2011: p. 11) The Korean Wave in Cultural and Historical Perspective Perspective The basic foundation of the Korean Wave originates from Korean’s cultural
characteristics that have a strong affinity for music and dance. From the earliest days of Korean history, Korean people have had a love for music and dance. Whether working in the field or celebrating a fall harvest, Koreans people peo ple sang and danced to their traditional tunes. Famed Movie Director Lee Jang Ho (2011) affirms that “When I think about the Korean Wave, I realize that we are aware that Korean peo ple are good at music and dance.” Korean folk music includes traditional songs that are orally transmitted over generations. It does not require any special talent or skill, to the contrary anyone can sing individually or as a part of group. In this way, Korean folk music expresses the Korean lifestyle in a simple and honest way that many have enjoyed and cherished for the centuries. There are three ways to sing Korean fork songs: lead and follow, conversational, and solo.7 Lead and follow method is where one singer would lead a song and the others would follow leader’s singing in a cho ral manner. Current songs of Korean idol groups (or K-pop) are very similar to this traditional method of lead and follow in which a leader of a K-pop group would initiate and start the song and the other group members would follow the leader in harmonious fashion. Another interesting characteristic of Korean traditional music is that it is not, unlike composer oriented Western music, rather Korean folk music is more singer oriented toward he/she can improvise and change the tonal and harmonic delivery. This provides for the Korean people to individually express their musical talents through song and dance. For instance, “Nanta” which is cur rently performed in various venues in the US is a modern ver sion “Nongak”, traditional music performed by farmers. Samulnori is a type of traditional percussion music. The word samul means “four objects” and nori means “play”. It is one of the oldest traditional ceremonial musical patterns which reflect group consciousness of an agricultural community, shamanism, Buddhism and folk entertainment. Thus, there is a strong spiritual energy among farmers. According Lee Bae-
Young, the Chief of the Presidential Council on Nation Brand, the Korean Wave has the DNA of traditional culture. Young idol group’s role sharing is inheritance of that of agricultural community (Korea Herald, 2011: p. 1). As noted by Cai (2011: p. 1), “The Korean wave is the combination of Confucianism and Western industrial culture. Korean pop culture has borrowed the best of Western popular culture and recreated it ac- cording to Korean tastes”. Although Korean history stretches back some 5000 years, Korea has gone through the vortex of world history in the 20th century. The nation had suffered the ills of Japanese colonial-ism for over 35 years in which Japan tried to Japanese Koreans. The end of colonialism was quickly followed by the Korean War, which destroyed much of the nation’s economic and social infrastructure. Korea had to start from scratch in almost everything. Economically Korea embarked on efforts to catch up to so called the developed countries. Culture was no exception to this. Korea has long been acquainted with to imports and been open-minded about foreign cultural products. Ancient Koreans absorbed Buddhism, Confucian teachings and Chinese writings and traditions (The Korean Wave, 2011: p. 17). More recently, Korea began to absorb American style of living and education, European philosophy, and Japanese modernity. During two wars —one at home and another in Vietnam—soldiers of allied forces brought popular and modern culture in from the United States and other countries. Koreans were hooked to the flood of imported music —American folk, lush ballads, rock, French chansons, Italian canzone; Latin and Cuban music, and Japanese enka—and local singers eagerly mimicked the tunes and styles to ride on the explosive popularity of foreign adult contemporary music in Korea. A lineage of American folk, balladry, R&B, Brit ish rock, and Japanese group “wannabes” sprouted . By the 1980s, when South Koreans were able to afford leisure and entertainment after decades of nonstop industrialization at a galloping pace, more American and European pop culture streamed in. With the democratization movement that began in the 1980s, regulations on the importation of foreign culture were relaxed. It became trendy to hear American and European pop songs on the radio, American dramas on TV, and Hollywood and Hong Kong films in the theaters. Starting in the mid-1990s, however, things began to change. From the radio, which used to play mostly foreign pop songs, Korean pop music flowed all day long, its genres diverse and its quality greatly improved. Record shops were full of sophisticatedly designed albums by Korean artists. Foreign albums, which just 10 years earlier would have been given pride of place, were banished to a corner. The music industry was pumping out big-time local artists. In less than a decade, Korean pop recouped its home turf. On countless cable TV channels, Korean dramas were playing 24 hours a day, and on the weekends the theaters were full of people who had come to see Korean films. Films were drawing audiences of 6 million or more for the first time in Korean cinematic history; the records kept being broken until 2006, when another Korean film recorded an amazing 13 million viewers, equivalent to almost 30 percent of the nation’s population at the time. Korea had become one of only a handful of nations that consume more locally produced cultural content than foreign content. And Koreans were not the only ones who began to enjoy Korean pop culture (The Korean Wave, 2011: pp. 17-20).
After the Korean War, Koreans were embarked on a non-stop nation building project to reestablish the political, economic and social pillars of the country. The casting off of the vestiges of Japanese ways coincided with a need to invent new and effective traditions in what Hobsbawm (1983) calls the invention of tradition after rapid transformation. The 1960s to the 1980s laid the foundation for the creation of such inventions, cultural reconstruction, identity development and the participation in the project of modernity (Giddens, 1991). By the 1990s, South Korea had moved beyond what Ingelhart (1999) called the tendency to “emphasize economic growth at any price”. Though still thirsting for development and global involvement, two events took place which vastly changed the landscape for South Korea and the future possibility for the Korean Wave: the 1988 allowance of Hollywood to distribute movies directly to theaters, and the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. 1988 was a big year for South Korea. The Olympics Games were hosted in Seoul, South Korea, making a small Northeast Asian country the sudden center of attention — something South Korea had wanted, but had hardly felt possible since the 1950s. The Games brought brand recognition, forged international partnerships and bolstered the national image, all of which stoked the fire of Korea’s slow -growth nationalistic pride. Yet, in the same year the Korean government allowed Hollywood to distribute films directly to Korean theaters, which crushed domestic film popularity and by 1994 foreign visual content enjoyed over 80% of the market share (Yi, 1994). This was followed by a flood of American products that furthered damaged the Korean culture and industry. There was a growing concern, particularly in the government, that amid development and modernization that Koreanness and national culture would disappear. How could this occur in a country that has hosted the Olympics? Subsequently, in 1994 a report appeared from the Presidential Advisory Board on Science and Technology discussing how the economy could benefit from the culture industry based on the premise that if Hollywood movie like Jurassic Park could earn as much as selling 1.5 million Hyundai cars, then why shouldn't Koreans try to benefit in such a way (Shim 2006)? The report lead to the establishment of the Culture Industry Bureau, which in 1995 quickly initiated the Motion Picture Promotion Law that forced a quota for Korean film representation in theaters. The government actively and optimistically promoted the fledgling media industry by even going so far as to require financial investment by the large family corporate conglomerates of Korea (the chaebol ), like Hyundai, Sam-sung, and LG (Jin, 2006). Soon domestic production and consumption of Korean cultural products began to establish their roots. Korean companies could enjoy the profit, and Koreans consumers could take pride and participate in their culture in new and different ways. Just when things were looking up, it was uncovered that that South Korea had accumulated massive foreign debt due largely to the reciprocal relationship between the government and the Chaebol and the latter attempted risky and extensive expansion, leaving the banking industry with numerous non-performing loans which led to the IMF crisis of 1997. Numerous businesses collapsed. Korea’s credit ra ting tanked. And numerous corporate fire sales occurred. When the smoke cleared, South Korea was left injured, but endowed with a cultural legacy of such setbacks; the momentum of the country was hardly slowed. While efforts were made to repair the financial sector, it be-came increasingly obvious that creating capital was important, thus more money flowed from the Chaebol into
their media sectors producing cultural products. The result was the increase in both investment and consumption of Korean cultural products in East Asia over the next few years, which soon expanded to Central and South Asia and eventually to Europe and the Americas. Hong Quinbo, editor of Dandai stated that “The Korean TV series What is Love had
been a huge success in China. The Chinese audience had mostly watched TV soaps from Europe, America, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. After What is Love, the Chinese audience fell for Korean dramas as if they had discovered a whole new world. In 1998, Chinese teenagers colored their hair after the Korean idol group H.O.T. In 1999, a shop-ping center selling Korean products opened in downtown Beijing. By 2003, Hyundai Motor Beijing was turning out cars and soon becoming as big as American and European brands in China” (The Korean Wave, 2011: p. 21). In this vein, Lee (2011) affirms that “Korea is very small but has made dynamic progress unlike China and Japan. In the new era, the world will focus on culture and Korea has already emerged as a leader. The Twenty- first century is called the ‘cultural century’, and Korea has a unique and outstanding culture. I positively feel that it could lead the world”. Yet, such vi ews do not help easily substantiate the concept or the potential impact of the Korean Wave. It is first necessary to identify exactly what the Korean Wave has been and how it should be defined and in order to ascertain its impact on cultural diplomacy and policy making.
Korean Wave as a Policy
At the same time, the Korean government has tried to take the advantage of the Korean Wave as a policy tool to improve its cultural and public diplomacy. Under Lee Presidency, the Korean government has placed “complex diplomacy” and “value diplomacy”
the main policy objectives to improve cultural and public diplomacy along with enhancing national image and national brand. In particular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Presidential Council on Nation Branding have been seeking to take advantage of the popularity of the Korean Wave to promote Korean national interest and to enhance Korean images in the world.
News: Korea | Government to expand Korean Wave and overseas cultural exchanges Contributed by: Judith Staines Date Posted: Tuesday, 13th March 2012
The Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced a substantial budget increase for ‘hallyu’ – the Korean Wave – promoting Korean arts and culture abroad. An East Asia culture and arts creative city programme will be launched in 2014, between Korea, Japan and China. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will form a 12 billion-won ($10.7 million) fund to support original South Korean musicals and establish a K-Arts Academy to help create new sources of cultural products. The Culture Ministry announced plans at the end of February at Culture Station Seoul 284 to further expand hallyu, the Korean Wave, through
Korean arts. It will spend 54.4 billion won this year toward the project and increase the budget in the following year in cooperation with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The latest plan is the second such announced by the ministry aimed at boosting hallyu. The first plan announced in January emphasizes traditional culture. The third plan, which will include long-term policies to drive the commercialization of hallyu, will be revealed shortly. “We will put in great efforts to expand hallyu into art and culture sectors,” said
Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik at a press conference Tuesday. According to the plan, the Culture Ministry will support productions of new cultural contents, train professionals who can lead culture and art industries, link art and culture with industry and technology, and boost overseas cultural exchanges for sustainable hallyu. The Culture Ministry has allocated 12 billion won to fund production of musicals. This is aimed at bringing about a change to the musical industry here which is over reliant on licensed musicals imported from overseas. The ministry is also planning to spend 3 billion won next year to support encore shows or overseas promotions of successful original musicals. Korea Musical Academy will open after 2013. K-Arts Academy, which the ministry plans to open next April, will educate TV producers and writers on traditional culture. The ministry will also establish a ballet academy in 2013 and art academy for gifted children in the near future. For sustainable cultural exchanges, the number of Korean Cultural Centers around the world will be boosted from the current 24 to 36 by 2014. More Korean language centers, named King Sejong Institutes, will be established, from the current 60 to some 200 by 2016. To prevent anti-hallyu sentiments in Japan and China, the Culture Ministry plans to select an “ East Asia culture and arts creative city ” in 2014 and encourage cultural exchanges among the three countries. It will also spend 600 million won this year to make cultural contents relating to a common theme among the three neighboring Asian countries ― paper road and silk road. From The Korean Herald (article by Park Min-young) http://culture360.org/news/korea-government-to-expand-korean-wave-and-overseascultural-exchanges/
Beauty and the Expansion of Women's Identity / Vanessa D. Fisher
For the first time feminism, many women agreed that there was a need to reject societal ideals of beauty in order to access to domains that had previously been exclusive to men. (e.g., jobs and intellectual inquiry)
Mary Wollstonecraft (one of the earliest feminists) says if women do not resign the arbitrary power of beauty- they will prove that they have less mind than men.
Small number of feminists returning to the beauty question and struggling to address the issue of beauty as not male or socio-cultural construction but also a deeply rooted female yearning. These people try to sort out what beauty might mean for us as women in today’s world.
Five Feminist Criticisms of Beauty: Is It Worth the Fight?
Feminists criticize standard of beauty which are the (big, fat) double-standard are not accepted, spend a lot of money to maintain beauty standard, Standards of beauty are informed by various industries, fashion, cosmetic, pharmaceutical etc, and disseminated via the mass media, specifically through advertising, the artificial and manufactured images of beauty pose physical and mental health risks (e.g., smoking, disordered eating), the beauty myth is classist, ageist and racist.
The Beauty Paradox: When Feminism and Vanity Collide
Baby-boomer women who have helped engender, or at least have benefitted from
feminism movement, and are brought up to care for their looks without caring too much -now feel compelled to take sides on the issue (they are around 65 years old now) -- to be true to feminism, or betray all that word stands for.
Beauty Paradox
Message One: Your looks shouldn't matter. They are superficial. It's what is inside that
counts. Stay true to your real self. Let your looks take their natural course as you age. Message Two: Your looks should matter and they always will. Defy aging at whatever the cost, in any way you can, lest you become invisible. Oh, and be sure to make it look natural!
Conclusion of this article is caring about one's appearance is far from being "anti-
feminist," or narcissistic. In fact, it is a continuation of what feminism, in some ways, stands for: freedom of choice. Choosing to let our looks be one among other aspects of who we are as women is our right.
Perceptions of Female Beauty in the 20th Century by Louise Wood
The 20th century has seen a huge upsurge in the importance placed by Western society on physical beauty, particularly for women. The fashion, cosmetics and plastic surgery industries have thrived on 20th century preoccupation with physical appearance. It is a preoccupation that affects women in every sphere, whether they choose to pander to it or not. Definitions of beauty in the 20th century, when referring to human physical beauty, are nearly always constructed in terms of outward appearance and sexual attractiveness. Nancy Baker's definition is The Beauty Trap is more concerned with intangible personal qualities. “A truly beautiful woman makes the best of her physical assets but, more importantly, she also radiates a personal quality which is attractive.” For the first two decades of the 20th century, many of the attitudes towards beauty associated with the 19th century remained. In Victorian society, it was considered a woman's duty to make herself beautiful. In the early 20th century, this was coupled with the idea of “self -presentation” as enjoyable, expressive and creative. One of the main elements of this century's perception of beauty that sets it apart from the 19th century is the polarity of cosmetics. In the last century, cosmetics were frowned upon in society as the mark of a prostitute. The cosmetics industry grew from the roots of the manufacturing of theatre make-up by Helena Rubenstein and Max Factor, who adapted their products for everyday use. From puberty onwards, young girls use cosmetics in order to look older an attract older boys. Conversely, their mothers use cosmetics in order to disguise the flaws of age and maintain a youthful appearance. That is not to say that the cosmetics boom does not have its adversaries: many feminists believe the marketing of cosmetics, along with high fashion, to be an exploitation of women by male industry moguls. Some women resent having to use cosmetics in order to compete in the workforce. But for many women, the cosmetics ritual is not a chore or a necessary evil, but an enjoyable activity in itself. It is not purely for the benefit of men that women wear cosmetics, but for themselves and each other. http://barneygrant.tripod.com/p-erceptions.htm Cultural Hegemony Cultural imperialism is the economic, technological and cultural hegemony of the industrialized nations, which determines the direction of both economic and social progress, defines cultural values, and standardizes the civilization and cultural environment throughout the world. http://www.kotikone.fi/matti.sarmela/culturimperialism.pdf
Korea as a wave of the future Korean President Roh recently said, "The 21st Century is the age of knowledge and the creative mind. A powerful cultural nation will become an economically strong nation. In particular, the game industry is a high value added cultural industry that has enormous future potential. "KOSDAQ securities market president Ho-joo Shin recently stated, "I think the culture industry can be a breakthrough for a revitalization of the South Korean economy. It is often said that the 21st Century is the age of culture. There is a debate regarding the IT industry as to whether it is already at a mature stage or whether it is still in its infancy. The important point is that we should create new billion US dollars. Minister of Culture and Tourism, Lee Chang-dong, stated, "Korea must first build a stronger cultural infrastructure in order to gain a larger piece of the $1.4 trillion global cultural industry." The Federation of Korean Industries also emphasized the need for entrepreneurs to engage in more culture-related businesses. Experts and government officials agreed to cooperate in fostering the nation's gaming industry so that it can be ranked among the world's top three by 2007. The government seems set to earmark 150 million won for that purpose. http://www.jfs.tku.edu.tw/9-1/04.pdf?referer=www.clickfind.com.au
GLOBALIZATION OF THE KOREAN
POPULAR CULTURE IN EAST ASIA: THEORIZING THE KOREAN WAVE Pg.43 A central argument of cultural (or media) imperialism is that the transnational media circulation has the potential to weaken indigenous cultures—globalized forms of culture dispersed through a dominant media model tend to preoccupy the mainstream cultural markets with massproduced media and cultural commodities. The Korean Wave thereby reflected the logic of neoliberal capitalism driven by growing market competition and economic obsession. As a result, the spread of Korean pop culture throughout Asia has been accelerated in large part by media commoditization. The nationallysupported commercial drive in Korea took advantage of demands for media content by the Asia region and these actually created new outlets for Korea’s cultural products. The Korean Wave represents an unprecedented pop cultural move throughout Asia in terms of political, cultural, and industrial impact on the region. In less than ten years, Korean pop culture has spread widely and has recorded rapidly growing economic transactions in its transnational business. Asian media often view the Korean Wave as a celebrated national triumph. Korean media content has not had much exposure to the general public in other East Asian nations before the Korean Wave began. The recent fascination for all things Korean is a unique and sensational circumstance: “When it comes to what’s hot, hot, hot, South Korea has emerged to dethrone its traditional—and bigger—rival, Japan. In Singapore, and all over Asia, people are embracing Korean music, TV stars, technology and fashion” (Yong, 2006, para.
1).
