[On This Topic] Transnationality of Popular Culture in the Korean Wave (original) (raw)
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Hallyu in the Heart of Europe: The rise of the Korean Wave in the digital space
Management şi Marketing, 2023
Hallyu, the global cultural phenomenon that is also known as the Korean Wave affects its fans in terms of both their openness to Korean culture and their purchase intentions. Despite this, research into the psychological mechanism behind it is lacking. The aim of this study is to discover a) the relationship between Hallyu culture and the psychological factors associated with interpersonal relationships mediated through digital platforms; and b) the psychological factors that contribute to one's Korean Wave related purchase intention. The survey was conducted using an online questionnaire. Using a purposive sampling method, the core population of the survey consisted of Hallyu fans in Hungary, who were reached through various, Korean culture-specialised social media groups. Data from 495 eligible respondents was analysed using the PLS-SEM method with SMART PLS3 software. It can be concluded that fear of missing out (FOMO) and self-pressure to be member of fandom inspire presence in the online space, which can increase purchase intention towards K-goods, Results shows that the examined psychological elements have the greatest impact on two age groups (20-23 and 30-43 years old); however, due to its higher level of income and already established living circumstances the second group can respond to marketing activities to a greater extent. It has also been determined that the level of fandom involvement has a positive effect on purchase intention, something which can be further enhanced by FOMO and peer pressure. Based on the correlations identified, more effective marketing activities can be planned among fans through social media and influencers in fan groups.
The South Korean Music Industry: The Rise and Success of ‘K-Pop’ By: Johan
2017
Korean popular music, also known as 'K-pop', has become a true phenomenon attracting fans from all over the world and is a part of the Korean wave (an English transcription of the Korean term Hallyu). However, with globalization and new possibilities in foreign markets, there are challenges and difficulties when it comes to selling products to global consumers. Many have debated whether it is more viable to keep or remove cultural elements or as Chen refers it to, "cultural odor" from cultural products targeted for an international audience. When it comes to cultural products such as K-pop, it is argued that removing cultural odor is essential in order for consumers to adopt cultural products. Consumers, who are gradually becoming more global minded, could then inscribe own personal meaning, yet also, it may create a shared experience between different cultures creating one common pan-Asian culture, something that is desired by many East Asian consumers. On the other hand, some people claim that retaining cultural odor is necessary in order to differentiate products and connect them to the origin (Chen 2015). There are two main theories that attempt to explain the reason behind the K-pop phenomenon. First, many scholars argue that K-pop "rests on the concept of cultural hybridity or Pop Asianism" and not a new cultural force (Oh 2013, pp. 389). The success of Hallyu as a whole is mainly attributed to the fact that the Korean culture inherits a supernational hybrid of characters (Kim 2015). There are three major archetypes the advocates of this theory suggest K-pop stems from. First and foremost, there is the circular argument. Korean popular music stems from Chinese and Japanese culture and their earlier global success. K-pop is a hybridity of the grand Asian cultures, China and Japan, and was therefore bound to succeed considering the advancements of Asian culture (Oh 2013). Secondly, it is the exploitation of cultural resonance. With regards to Korean cultural products, Roald H. Maliangkay states that they are: common among Chinese consumers, their selection of Korean products may in part stem from the strong connection of these products with Chinese culture itself. If the cultural similarity is a major factor, then, it may not be so important that the product derives from Korea. […] Will Chinese consumers continue to favor Korean entertainment when they find that domestic products are just as good and Show a similar degree of economic and technological success (q.b. Oh & Park
The Social Mediascape of Transnational Korean Pop Culture: Hallyu 2.0 as Spreadable Media Practice
New Media & Society, 2016
While it has been more than 15 years since the Korean pop culture phenomenon known as the Korean wave or hallyu emerged, academic analyses have not sufficiently addressed its dimension as a media environment from a global perspective. In this regard, drawing on qualitative interviews with North American fans of the recent Korean wave, this study explores how the hallyu phenomenon is integrated into a social media-driven cultural landscape, which will be referred to as the social mediascape. The social mediascape of hallyu reveals that the technological affordances of social media platforms and fans' sociality interplay with each other, resulting in the rapid spread of hallyu as a set of impure cultural forms.
The Foundation of Hallyu – K-Pop's Coming of Age
2013
We are, collectively, still struggling to come to terms with Hallyu, Korean Wave. This is seen in the multitude of contrasting perspectives that have been applied by journalists and academics alike since the turn of the new millennium. There is a lack of consensus, and perspectives run from fear and criticism by what Cho Hae-joang calls the postcolonial camp, through pride and celebration in what is happening (Cho's nationalist camp), to economic planning (the neoliberal camp; Cho Hae-joang 2005). 1 The three camps seem to trend chronologically in the order given here, 2 but are no longer sufficient now that Korean Wave has spread to the world beyond Asia. Indeed, recent foreign commentaries about the economy of Korean Wave have diverged, often markedly, from Korean accounts of its global popularity. New models are needed, one of which, Ingyu Oh and Gil-Sung Park's supply chain model (2012), seems to have considerable utility. 3 Their theory throws out existing, albeit dated, accounts of the music industry, and demonstrates how the internationalization of Korean Wave moves the industry from a fan-oriented service business (B2C) to business servicing (B2B). Our accounts do, though, agree on key moments in Korean Wave: 1999, when the term, hallyu, began to be used; 2003 when "Winter Sonata" reached Japan; 2008 or shortly after when Korean pop again moved into a global frame; and 2012 as the date when Psy conquered YouTube. Whatever our perspective, though, let us start with a celebration: a celebration of those in the cultural industries who in recent years have made Korea cool. During the more than 30 years of my involvement with Korean Studies, I have always struggled to counter the abiding images of Korea held in Europe and America: images of poverty and destruction in the Korean War that are still perpetuated by repeated broadcasts of MASH, images of a bellicose and threatening North, images of student demonstrations and striking workers, and, in terms of industry, images of cars, computers and mobile phones considered slightly inferior to those made in Japan. This, bluntly, is no longer the case. Korean Wave is so fashionable that its coolness 1 The three camps are also discussed by Keehyeung Lee (2008: 180-88), referencing an earlier article by Cho (2002) and a paper by W. Paik (2005). 2 The three camps all remain, as interviewees in KBS World's 2013 documentary, "Hallyu taejŏnhwan/The Great Transformation of Korean Wave", illustrate. Documentary
Transnational Proximity of the Korean Wave in the Global Cultural Sphere
International Journal of Communication, 2023
This article analyzes several distinctive Hallyu contents to determine whether "transnational proximity" based on similar sociocultural experiences, including social inequality, youth culture, and fascinating choreography in the late-stage capitalist society, instead of traditional cultural proximity, works as a major frame in understanding the global popularity of the Korean Wave. Here I articulate whether transnational proximity works as a new theoretical framework for explaining the nascent flow of Korean popular culture in the global cultural sphere.
Situations: Cultural Studies in the Asian Context, 2018
Although scholarly attention has focused increasingly on the global recognition of the Korean Wave, little has been explored regarding the popularity and appeal of this phenomenon in the United States. This article seeks to fill this gap by analyzing the extent to which hallyu has been recognized and accepted by American audiences by focusing on K-pop and K-drama. Exploring how hallyu is being received in America offers meaningful insights into how a country with predominant cultural influence on the global stage responds to another country's transnational popular culture. This study demonstrates that K-pop and K-drama are gradually gaining popularity and visibility in America via diverse channels. BTS in particular has significantly penetrated the U.S. market by interacting with fans on social media, meeting psychological needs of individuals, and filling in for the lack of boy bands in the current American music scene. While both K-pop and K-drama exhibit some limitations in infiltrating American society, the contemporary status of hallyu in America disputes the idea of American cultural dominance by illustrating a complex and intriguing process of globalization embedded in constant interactions between global and local forces, a process that entails adaptation, acceptance, and tension between different cultures.
The Hallyu Influence. K-POP on Foreign Lands
The Korean Wave, also known as Hallyu, represents a strong cultural manifest coming from South Korea. The movement recently began to slowly, but certainly penetrate global markets in various ways. The most popular manner is K-Pop, Korean music, which has become a manifest itself, especially since foreign individuals seem to not always relate it to Hallyu; actually, the tendency is to separate the two concepts. Still, as previous research on the topic shows, overseas popularity of Hallyu and K-Pop is not as high as desired, and has many weaknesses. Regarding foreign markets, especially non-Asian ones, previous research seems lacking. For this reason, the current study was conducted, in order to provide a starting point for future research about targeted overseas markets. As the results show, there are many aspects that require attention and improvements. The aim of this paper is to explain where those weaknesses occur, and, if combined with other aspects, how things can be improved in order to better promote K-Pop and Hallyu in general.
UGM Digital Press, 2018
The absence of borders increases the consciousness on the larger access which creates global dependency in many ways such as trades, traveling, tourism, and culture information and creates borderless countries. Lyman (2000) explains that the movement and the influence of globalization are triggered by many factors such as the economic expansion in the form of massive industrialization and the development of science, technology, and communication. The beauty of globalization is the ability to force people to be creative and innovative in creating something beneficial. Culture are wrapped and formed then exposed, which later called as "exporting culture" or in the more popular form, it is called as commodification. The boom of Korean popular culture in all over Asian countries has increased starting in 2000 it moves forward to rule all over Asia (Hyejung: 2007). The rise of Korean Popular culture through globalization triggers a favorable environment to the new commodities allowing interaction between nations. K-Pop Global expansion is through three stages "Competence" or Hard Power, "Attraction" or Soft Power and last but not least Criticism in order to be able to continue or to have a sustainable career in global industries many things should be taken including "facelift". The purpose of this research is to figure out that commodification on culture is the answer for Korean Music to have successful world expansion and global stage powered with qualitative research is applies in this research.