The K-pop Industry- The Sound and Symbol of South Korea’s Economic Success
The South Korean popular music industry, coined “K-pop” has been steadily gaining interest in the Western world through hits like Psy’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012. Psy’s music video became viral on the Internet and has helped to introduce Korean entertainment, a symbol of Korean national identity, to the world. Nationalism can be defined as a complex concept of shared communal feelings of identification with a nation (Wikipedia). It can also be an emotional experience with feelings of acceptance, cultural practices, and be in a form of popular music (Lecture 4). In the Korean pop industry, Psy’s music and artistry is only a deviance to the highly saturated market of mass-produced girl groups and boy-bands. These young stars are groomed by powerful entertainment agencies to put on eye-catching performances with addictive melodies to capture immense national and regional popularity within Asia. Among its sensationalism in Korean society, there are strong fan clubs for these stars. The K-pop fan culture requires absolute dedication, intimate knowledge of your idol’s schedule, unquestionable patience, and camera equipment worth thousands of dollars to capture and contribute to your favourite stars’ fan sites (Beyond Hallyu). The influence of the K-pop industry goes beyond its national borders as the “Korean Wave”, a term used to refer to phenomenon and popularity of Korean entertainment and popular culture around the world, is marking its mark in the international entertainment scene (Korea Net). Mega popular groups like Girls’ Generation, EXO, and Big Bang can be seen topping iTunes charts around the world with every new release, an indication of their star power and commercial success. This essay aims to not only examine Korean pop music as a genre, but to consider the K-pop industry as a symbol of South Korean nationalism, an export commodity backed by large institutions to spread global awareness on Korean popular culture.
Government Intervention
According to Geoffrey Cain’s article, “How Korean bureaucrats turned K-pop into a national symbol”, the Korean government had a significant role in building momentum in the Korean entertainment industry. During the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, the South Korean economy was hit with large account deficits, stagnant, declining growth in multiple industries, and the high possibility of nationwide bankruptcy disrupted the “Asian Tiger’s” success story (Gidwani). Then President, Kim Dae Jung chose to invest in the Korean entertainment industry to boost its national reputation and promote its pop culture during the economic decline (Cain). Organizations like the Korea Creative Contents Agency and the Korean Film Council were set up to market its music and film industries to other countries as the government believed that in doing so, it could boost business and tourism (Cain). The South Korean government’s political and economic support for large entertainment corporations and its national stars reflect the nation’s commitment to investing and cultivating this symbol of Korean popular culture on the world stage.
Rise to Global Stardom
One of the most representative acts in K-pop are idol groups. These groups usually consist of 4 to as many as 13 members who have been training for years to perfect their singing, dancing, and performing skills. The highly saturated market for Korean idols makes the business extremely competitive for these groups to gain public recognition and access to broadcast opportunities on music shows, variety shows, and interviews. K-pop as a genre includes a mix many different styles of music and is influenced by Western popular culture. Most songs are sung in Korean with several English phrases, to make the music catchier to domestic and foreign audiences (Seoulbeats). The lucrative nature of the K-pop industry entices entertainment companies to send their artists abroad to other East and South Asian countries, releasing songs in multiple languages to attract fans. One of the most popular K-pop groups of all time is EXO, a South Korean boy group produced by SM Entertainment that once consisted of 12 members and 2 sub-units, EXO-K and EXO-M. EXO-K was comprised of Korean members and released albums in Korean while EXO-M had 4 Chinese members, 2 Korean members, and promoted in China.
This marketing strategy by SM Entertainment demonstrates a bold attempt by Korean entertainment companies to capitalize on the Hallyu movement in other countries and to tailor Korean popular culture to a niche market. Having foreign members in Korean boy/girl bands is increasingly common, as the rising popularity of K-pop around the world has been captivating the interest of youth, aspiring to become a star. Moreover, having foreign members can give the group a competitive edge when expanding overseas- diminishing language and cultural barriers while attracting foreign investments. Through K-pop and K-entertainment, foreign countries are exposed to South Korean popular culture, including technology, food, and tourism. The Hallyu wave presents a multitude of opportunities for Korean firms in various industries to increase sales, expand their operations, and to enter new markets. Moreover, foreign firms may look towards South Korea as a promising new market for foreign direct investment. “Studies carried out by the Hyundai Research Institute have suggested a one per cent increase in the export of cultural products would bring about a 0.03 per cent rise in exports of all consumer goods from Korea, providing a major boost to the country’s economy” according to Vienne Chow, author of the article, “Korean music acts tout global ambitions and Hong Kong links at region’s biggest K-pop awards show” for the South China Morning Post.
Korean National Identity and Cultural Attitudes
The rise of Korean idols and K-pop in the global music scene can be attributed to 3 factors according to Lenzo Yoon, business planning director for Big Hit Entertainment, home of best-selling K-pop boy band, BTS, attractive artists, excellent showmanship, and brand identity (Chow). Many South Korean award shows have been offshored to neighbouring Asian countries such as Macau, Singapore, and Hong Kong, particularly, the Mnet Asian Music Awards or often referred to as MAMA (Chow). These South Korean stars represent much more than their latest album or television series, they uphold the image of an ideal in South Korean society, perfectly in-sync choreography, strong vocal talent, and exceptionally attractive visuals. This puts increasing pressure on youth who look up to these idols as role models and strive to achieve a similar level of physical beauty. In 2013, SBS’ Dateline published a story about the rising popularity of plastic surgery among the younger generation in South Korea. “According to The Economist, South Korea has the highest rate of cosmetic procedures per capita in the world”, and this figure can be seen in the Gangnam district of Seoul where hundreds of plastic surgery clinics are open for business (SBS). Having large eyes, high nose bridges, and a slim jawline personified by these celebrities are considered the ideal facial features for many South Koreans (SBS). According to Dr. Rhee Se Whan at Gangnam’s Grand Plastic Surgery clinic, “’K-Pop stars and Korean celebrities have influenced the younger generation [to get plastic surgery]. For example, if you look at the before and after photos of K-pop stars you’ll see they have gotten prettier. When people see this change, they want to be pretty as well, they want to look as good as them;” (SBS).
South Korean society is described to be “obsessed with looks” according to plastic surgeons and Korean nationals (SBS). “Beauty and image play a critical role in Korean society (you must include a headshot on your resume for example) and everyone — and I mean everyone I interviewed — believed the prettier you are, the more likely you are to succeed, be that at pop stardom or otherwise” (SBS). These social norms have indoctrinated the importance of physical beauty on one’s self-worth and ability to succeed in one’s personal or professional life. Through the Hallyu wave, these ideals have also been spreading to other Asian countries as medical tourism in South Korea is becoming more popular due to its relatively more affordable prices and high standard of medical technology and expertise (Baer). Hospitals and other medical clinics have amped up their marketing strategies to recruit international patients through special pricing, improved translation services, tie-ins with local hotels, and complimentary airport pick-up (asianplasticsurgeryguide). According to the article, “Plastic Surgery Tourism Brings Chinese to South Korea” by Alexandra Stevenson, “The South Korean government is setting aside as much as $4 million a year to help promote the medical tourism industry, which is dominated by plastic surgeons. It expects one million medical tourists a year by 2020, up from 211,218 last year, with Chinese travellers representing the largest segment”. Aside from government subsidies, many tourists, particularly the Chinese are heavily influenced by Korean popular culture and often bring photos of their favourite Korean celebrities to their consultations (Stevenson). This demonstrates the powerful influence of Korean popular culture in Asian countries and its ability to boost consumer activity in the South Korean economy through their affection for Korean stars.
Political Woes
However, tensions between South Korea and China has been escalating due to the involvement of an American missile defense system where South Korea has agreed to host America’s Terminal High Altitude Defense (THAAD), to protect Korean and US forces from North Korean military aggression (Smith). As a result, K-pop and Korean entertainment has taken a dramatic loss in profits due to the restriction of Korean stars to promote in the China (Smith). “Entertainers from the colourful Korean music scene, K-pop, have been mysteriously barred from entering China to perform, Korean TV shows and films have been blocked, and actors replaced by Chinese stars in advertising campaigns, say local press reports” (Smith). Moreover, with the immense popularity of the Hallyu wave in China, this political dispute puts Korean entertainment at risk of economic decline, losing access to 1 of the largest markets in the world (Smith). These effects have already reflected on the stock market as the fall in stock price for South Korea’s largest entertainment agencies have dropped significantly since the political crisis (Smith). The use of Korean celebrities as promotional models and brand ambassadors play a significant role in creating buzz around a particular product and improving brand awareness in foreign markets. Hence, a ban of Korean entertainment in China can produce negative spillover effects to other industries such as consumer goods, automobiles, and telecommunications as the relations between the 2 countries worsen.
K-pop stars and their immense following are borderless thanks to the power of social media and other platforms for these celebrities to interact with their fans. As a commodity, the influence of these celebrities on popular culture allow for entertainment companies and other commercial businesses to thrive in the domestic and international market. Through the government’s unwavering support, these cultural exports continue to grow year after year, bringing in immense profits for the nation. These stars are a symbol of Korean national pride, economic success, and has made K-pop relevant in the vast music industry usually unwelcoming to non English-speaking artists.
Work Cited:
Beyond Hallyu. (2013, August 30). Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://beyondhallyu.com/k-pop/just-pretty-picture-kpop-fandom-fansite-culture/
Cain, G. (2013, November 30). How Korean bureaucrats turned K-pop into a national symbol . PRI, Retrieved from https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-30/how-korean-bureaucrats-turned-k-pop-national-symbol
Chow, V. (2016, December 2). Korean music acts tout global ambitions and Hong Kong links at region’s biggest K-pop awards show. South China Morning Post. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2051285/korean-music-acts-tout-global-ambitions-and-hong
Gabrielle. (2013, November 27). English in K-pop: Helping or Hurting [Web log post]. Retrieved from Seoul Beats : http://seoulbeats.com/2013/11/english-k-pop-helping-hurting/Gidwani , K. n.d. Korean and Asian Financial Crisis . Retrieved from https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/trade_environment/global/hkorea.html
Gidwani , K. n.d. Korean and Asian Financial Crisis . Retrieved from https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/trade_environment/global/hkorea.html
Jiménez, G. Lecture 4: MPB Nationalism and /as Sport in Brazil
N.p. (n.d. ). Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://www.korea.net/Government/Current-Affairs/Korean-Wave?affairId=471
N. p. (2013, August 26). The K-Pop effect: South Korea’s obsession with beauty. SBS . Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/03/19/k-pop-effect-south-koreas-obsession-beauty
N.p. (n.d.) Medical Tourism to South Korea. Asian Plastic Surgery . Retrieved from http://www.asianplasticsurgeryguide.com/korea/medicaltourism.html
Oh, I. (2013). The Globalization of K-pop: Korea’s Place in the Global Music Industry . Korea Observer, 44(3), 389–409. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/4732546/The_Globalization_of_K-pop_Koreas_Place_in_the_Global_Music_Industry
Smith, N. (2016, December 4). South Korea’s ‘K-pop’ stars caught in the crossfire of diplomatic spat with China. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/04/south-koreas-k-pop-stars-caught-crossfire-diplomatic-spat-china/
Stevenson, A. (2014, December 23). Plastic Surgery Tourism Brings Chinese to South Korea . New York Times . Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/business/international/plastic-surgery-tourism-brings-chinese-to-south-korea.html?_r=0
Wikipedia . (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2017, from https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=wikipedia+nationalism&*
