The Global Influence of the Korean Wave - Case Study Example

The Global Influence of the Korean Wave Introduction In the late 1990s, journalists in China’s Beijing realized that the Chinese were overly developing interest in South Korean cultures. When it became too obvious that the trend was growing and never fading out, they coined the term Hanliu for the phenomenon, meaning “the flow of Korea”. China was however not the only nation that was obsessed by the phenomenon; the entire globe was following China’s way and when Hanliu went international as popular culture, it became referred as The Korean Wave or Hallyu. Ever since, The Korean Wave has become popular culture, attracting scholars and researchers aiming at explaining the reason as to why the culture gained popularity so fast and how it has been influencing the globe. This research paper will analyze the now powerful Korean Wave with regards to its [global] influence of advancing world unity and acceptance of Korean sentiments emanating from its cultural exports through a microeconomic approach which perceives of foreign expansion as part of international trade. South Korean pop, popularly known as K-pop, is one of the most influential aspects of Korean popular culture. As the 21st century set in, K-pop became popular in Asia with artists such as BoA selling above one million copies of her album in Japan, Taiwan, Manila, and other nations in Asia. The scope expanded as the Korean Wave spread to North America Eastern Europe and in most Muslim nations. This time, there were TV drama and series in addition to K-pop. In Europe for instance, the period 2000 to 2009 saw Korean TV screenings attracting abouthalf a million viewers per show. The biggest boost to K-pop however was the onset of Information Technology, which saw social networks and media websites such as YouTube grow.These have been the biggest boosters of South Korean popular culture. Today, the culture has gone viral; extending beyond Asia into Europe, America, the Middle East, and into Africa.As statistics have it, the state hosted over twelve million tourists in 2013 alone. Additionally, researchers estimate that Hallyu has over 10 million fans all over the world (Jin-hai n.p.). Recently, artist Psy’s gangnam style music video hit an all-time viewing record of over 1 billion views on the YouTube channel. The record is attributed to the embracing of K-pop by fans from all over the world. Additionally, Psy’s success has attracted international artists into the Hallyu in that western artists are now more interested than ever in collaborating with K-pop artists. K-pop is meant to target young people, and as such, it has captured youths from all over the world. In this occurrence, it is evident that youth culture is being exchanged. As such, it is sufficient to state that the Korean Wave has contributed to globalization of culture such as youth coulture by attracting more people into sharing its cultures and also adopting theirs. In this way, South Korea is creating new networks the world over (Ryoo 157). These networks enable globalization which is an important tool in global economics. If this positive trend continues, globalization will develop much faster than it currently is, leading to global development. As the growth of the Korean Wave reveals, the nation was once weak and feared competition from external investors in the film industry such as Hollywood. This saw it place sanctions on the distributors of international cinema and was therefore indirectly restricting the exchange of cultures. However, after it was forced by circumstances to lift the ban, South Korea was challenged and sought alternative ways to boost its film industry which was nopt performing well at the time. The move not only saw its film industry go global; it also led to the demand of South Korean cultural exports globally. Prior to this change, South Korea was weak economically and in terms of cultural recognition. It can be said that it relied on other nations to supply its products such as films. Additionally, the tourism sector was poor and was insignificant in terms of attracting revenue. However, the Korean wave seems to have converted this overreliance on external forces for survival in South Korea. Today, the nation has surpassed major powers in terms of film production, music, and technology-based products. The influence that was evidenced in this occurrence is that other nations that still rely on external assistance can, or have learned from South Korea’s wake-up call which has placed it at the international ranking (Kim 37). In short, more nations are likely to follow suit and attain economic might because South Korea has already set the pace for them. Better put, the Korean Wave acts as a source of inspiration to the world at large and the globe is likely to attain better economic stability if the trend is widely adopted. The end of the World Wars saw a turnaround in the ways that nations lobby for their wants or desires. In the ensuing treaties, war was written off from the list of strategies that could be used by any nation to gain advantage over another. South Korea again emerges as one of the first nations to apply an overly peaceful and mutual strategy of gaining without draining another nation. This strategy is simply through the use of soft power. Soft power is simply the ability to use attraction to gain rather than apply force or coercion. As the research earlier revealed, the tourism sector in South Korea is booming, its music and screenplay is on demand globally, and its culture has collectively become an import for multiple nations all over the world. Evidently, there has never been one instance where conflict was applied in achieving all these. In fact, the move to lift the cinema sanctions was a show of humility by South Korea. The achievements by the nation simply grew from its witty sculpturing of policies, cultural exchanges, good relations, and international cooperation (Kuwahara 93). In turn, these factors portrayed South Korea as an attractive hub where investors and tourists could receive warm receptions. The biggest gains of course go to South Korea as has been shown by its fashion, K-pop, technology, and film industries. The influence in this show is that other nations in the world will turn to the application of soft power as a way of getting what they want rather than use coercion. Soft power fits into the microeconomic approach in that by use of soft power, all the parties involved gain from the relationship. For example, the United States can assist financially-weak states to conduct mining activities. In this way, both nations benefit from the activity. In this way, the world will rise uniformly towards economic development and sustence. Korean series and dramas are one of the most instrumental elements that define the success of the Korean Wave. As is the case with film, one of its main characteristics is that it influences people (in good or bad ways). Korean films remain popular for their regulation in terms of violence, sexuality, and substance use. In the event that these are portrayed in Korean films, it is always for the good of society. One of the most popular TV series is Dae Jang Geum which features an orphan girl living in a King’s palace. Apart from furthering morality, the series showcases Korean food, fashion, and ethical cultures. Similarly, and as Jang and Paik (198) state, different people in the world perceive Korean films differently. For instance; people in the Middle East enjoy the films which have moderated (acceptable) levels of romance and sex. The Americans find the Korean films cheerful and relaxing. The Europeans find the films pleasing as they are romantic and simple. All these are comparisons to the mainstream films, which are mostly violent, explicit, and with no moral lessons transferred. The challenge thrown by these qualities is that the world should realize that it has gone too far with the depictions on film and that it needs to slow down and do some more moderation. In short, rather than broadcast violence, explicit sexuality, drug abuse and the likes, the world is being challenged to go for films that depict more acceptable values in society such as peace and diplomacy, or which further positivity. The microeconomic approach fits into this situation in that if the dramas and series broadcasted worldwide were acceptable in almost all the regions, then this would boost their sales. In this way, the producers and consumers of the same would attract better economic returns than is the case today. Conclusion Popular culture is one of the most influential tools that can move masses with or without their knowledge. As is shown by the Korean Wave, it has achieved global recognition, prompting anyone and everyone who hears about it to dig more into it.In as much as it originated majorly from controversy, the Korean Wave has grown to a global trend, and has been influencing the world in majorly positive ways. Globalization has increased;the world is being encouraged to change for the better, lesser states are being encouraged to become independent, and there is more admiration for soft power. Collectively,these cultural trade aspects of the Korean Wave point at it as a factor of international tradeand economic development. In a nutshell, the Korean Wave is tool of international trade that is fostering economic development globally. Works Cited Jang, Gunjoo, & Paik, Won. “Korean Wave as Tool for Korea’s New Cultural Diplomacy”. Advances in Applied Sociology,2012. 2(3): 196-202. Jin-hai, Park. “Hallyu fans swell to 10 million”. The Korea Times, 2014. Web.26 Feb. 2015. Kim, Youna. The Korean Wave: Korean Media Go Global. Routledge, 2013. Print. Ryoo, Woongjae. “Globalization, or the logic of cultural hybridization: the case of the Korean Wave”. Asian Journal of Communication, 2009. 19(2):137-151. The Economist. “The King, the clown and the quota”. The Economist.com, 2006. Web.26 Feb. 2015. 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