Hello, Asia 327!
In this paper I will be analyzing how the intersection of Korean music industries and their close ties with the government in promoting Hallyu and nationalism, have contributed to the political and social changes of the “Korean wave” during the Park Geun-hye Regime. Specifically I argue that culture dictatorship during the Park Geun-hye regime has shaped the way we perceive Korean popular music today during the Korean Wave phenomenon era (Kim 2019, 81).
During the time of the Park Geun-hye regime from 1961- 1979, people began to recognize the opportunity to promote Korean culture as way for Korea to become globally recognized and to increase Korea’s global economy. Through this, the government sparked a new way for Korea to be globally recognized, rebranding themselves with the national slogan as “Creative Korea (Kim 2019, 81)”. As Kim (2019) explains, this slogan “embodied the country’s national values within the international community, placing emphases on its culture to boosting its national economy (81).
This began the era of the “Korean Wave” also known as Hallyu in Korean, “a collective term used to refer to the phenomenal growth of Korea and popular culture encompassing everything from music, movies, drama to online games and Korean cuisine” (Roll 2018, 1). This idea of promoting popular culture through entertainment became immensely successful in creating a creative economy while boosting its economic growth. Connell (2014), further explains that the “creative economy” as described by Park Geun-hye was “the convergence of science and technology with industry, the fusion of culture and industry and the blessing of creativity in the very borders that were once permeated by barriers”(4). In relation to as discussed in class, during this time in 1963, electronics started to become more affordable as the tariff tax was taken away and people started to venture out to American schools to learn more about the film and broadcasting industry, coming back to Korea to be able to create successful broadcasting stations contributing to the growth of the Korean Wave. This caused a major shift in diverting from the traditional ways of finding jobs and opened up new creative job opportunities for young Korean people.
In relation to the expansion of the “creative economy,” Kim Tae-young and Jin Dal-yong discuss about the role of cultural diplomacy through its contributions to the Korean wave. As described by Kim & Jin (2016), cultural diplomacy is the exchange of ideas, information, art and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples to foster a mutual understanding” (3). Through the use of cultural diplomacy and soft power embedded through presidential speeches, public statements and cultural policies heavily contributed to influencing popular culture in becoming part of Koreas national brand and in promoting nationalism (Kim & Jin 2016, 4).
Through analyzing Korean popular culture through its political and social changes throughout the Park Geun-hye regime, it is significant that Korean popular culture has become global and internationally recognized in today’s modern society. I believe that the success of Korean popular music promoting nationalism on a global scale today is due to the governments strategic use of cultural diplomacy, soft power through influencing others to align with the governments desires and its close ties with the Korean music and film industry in promoting Hallyu and nationalism during the Park Geun-hye regime.
What are your thoughts on the Park Geun-hye regime and its influence to the K-pop industry? What are some other ways the Korean wave promoted nationalism to the global economy?
- Amber
Connell, Sean. “Building a Creative Economy in South Korea: Analyzing the Plans and Possibilities for New Economic Growth.” Connell: Building a Creative Economy in South Korea 7, no 1. (2014): 1-82.
Kim, Juoak. “Korea’s Blacklist Scandal: Governmentality, Culture and Creativity.” Culture, Theory and Critique56, no 2. (2018): 81-93.
Kim, Taeyoung, Jin Dalyong. “Cultural Policy in the Korean Wave: An Analysis of Cultural Diplomacy Embedded in Presidential Speeches.” International Journal of Communication 10, no. 1 (2016): 1-10.
“Korean eave (Hallyu) - The Rise of Korea’s Cultural Economy and Pop Culture.” Martin Roll Business and Brand Leadership. https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/asia/korean-wave-hallyu-the-rise-of-koreas-cultural-economy-pop-culture/ (accessed 5/24/2019).
Guys, I am really disappointed that no one recognized that President Park Geun-hye is the wrong president. She was in office just a few years ago. President Park Chunghee was in office during the military dictatorship.
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Hi Amber! I think your focus on the “creative economy” is extremely important. For a small country without many natural resources, on a peninsula surrounded by two large giants in China and Japan, Korea has disproportionate amount of influence and power. Like how Jenni and Hailee talked about soft power as a means of influence, which stems from this “creative economy”. In Canada, we are a country that relies on its abundance of natural resources, like lumber and oil. Canada is not a vast producer of culture, unlike the United States to the south. This is in comparison to Korea, a country that leverages its culture. Kpop is a global phenomenon and Korean dramas, movies, and other Korean technology has made…
Hi, Amber
Thank you for sharing your perspective on Park Geun-hye Regime’s contribution to the Korean Wave that we know today. I strongly agree with you that the government’s devotion to brand Korean culture with nationalism in order to boost the nation’s economy had achieved its goal without a doubt. I think it was very strategic of Park Geun-hye Regime to use Korea’s culture as a prominent way of boosting the economy and to promote Korea in the worldwide scale. Also, just like you had explained, the convergence of technology with culture industry had immensely succeeded by boosting both the technological industries and cultural industries from Korea. Also, I think the role of those one of the first people to…
Hi Amber,
Thank you for opening up the discussion on the Park Guen-hye regime and Korean popular culture. I believe that the Korean government was original in its attempts to promote nationalism through Korean popular culture. It seems as though government and music/art are two separate disciplines, yet Korea has shown us that the two can successfully be combined through the use of cultural diplomacy and soft power. I believe that these efforts attempt to rebrand the nation as a country thriving in creativity. In your essay, you describe the emergence of a creative economy which utilized K-Pop’s popularity to serve as a symbol of Korea. The entertainment industry has been used as a way to encourage nationalism through enjoyable…