Analysis of Hallyu-K-pop Culture - Coursework Example

Hallyu-K-pop Introduction Hallyu is a popular culture in South Korea. Also known as the Korean wave, Hallyu just any other culturespread rapidly throughout the world owing to the concerted effort of the numerous people who stood to benefit from its global reach. Celebrity musicians develop the k pop while creators of films developed K drama both of which are cultural products that did not only enhance the spread of the culture but also had immense financial benefits to the concerned parties. The government of South Korea on the other hand invested in the spread of the culture owing to the potential of its soft power1. Cultural values endear to people thereby enhancing the adoption of such new ideas. The media provided an effective platform for the spread of the cultural values since enhances interaction among people throughout the world as the discussion below portrays. The industrial growth of hallyu had some commercial connotations. As discussed earlier, culture is always a product that capitalists create and sell thereby gaining financial benefits. The creators of culture and cultural trends in the contemporary society are celebrities in different fields. The same was the case in the rapid industrial growth of hallyu, which portrayed the effectiveness of the marketing strategies of those who fronted the cultural movement. The spread of the Korean wave began through the k-dramas. Such were short televisions programs televised globally thus enhancing the spread of the cultural wave. Additionally, the wave went from being a regional culture limited to South Korea and became a global cultural outfit owing to the popularity of K pop. K dramas and K pop were two integral cultural products that enhanced the industrial growth of the Korean wave throughout the world. YouTube, which was the most efficient media that enhanced the spread of the popularity of K pop, sustained the growth of the culture. K pop is an interesting genre of music that encompasses hip-hop, ballad, rock, dance pop and R&B among others. The main feature of the music is the existence of a wide variety of both audio and visual elements infused in the structure of the songs. The videos endeared to the target audience of the songs thereby increasing the popularity on YouTube. K dramas on the other hand created a market of their own thus enhancing the industrial growth of the culture to different parts of the world. China’s CCTV for example showed Jealousy, a k drama in 1993. In 1997, What is love was a major success for the same television channel2. The growth of Hallyu relied on the effects of the mass media. The mainstream media adopted numerous films and music from South Korea a feature that enhanced the industrial spread of the culture. Below is a list of K drama films that aired in numerous television channels in Iran. The culture penetrated even the conservative Islamic societies. Year of broadcast TV series TV channel Episodes 2006-07 Dae Jang Geum Channel 3 54 2007-08 Emperor of the sea Channel 3 51 2008-09 Jumong Channel 3 81 2012-13 Dong yi Channel 3 60 The industrial growth of the culture was beneficial to most business people in South Korea. Besides the celebrities who produced K pop and K dramas, numerous other businesspeople benefited from the spread of the culture throughout the world. Both the drams and the music videos showed South Korean apparels, shopping patterns and household activities among many others. This enticed the target audience to purchase such Korean products as smart phones, games, cuisine, cosmetic products and apparels among others. This shows the role culture plays in creating market for products. Culture creates a market for products, Hallyu created such a market thus providing various players with an opportunity to enhance the industrial growth of the culture. Various manufacturers who benefited from the spread of the culture thus created appropriate adverts in which they related their products to the culture. Mass media played an integral role in the industrial growth of the Korean wave. You tube was a perfect platform for musicians to sell their music and videos to the global audience. K pop became popular on you tube thereby creating a desirable reputation for the unique musical genre. You tube is a form of new media that is not only cost effective but also global. The conventional media on the other hand localized the culture and its intricate products. Televisions and radios have a local audience. However, they are effective influencing the cultural features owing to the closeness and attachment they create with their target audience. The local South Korean media initiated the cultural wave before other regional media did the same3. The culture spread to such neighboring countries as China and Taiwan as the local media in the countries adopted both K drams and k pop. Adverts of products and services on the same media played an equally vital role in the industrial growth of the culture. Manufacturers sought to capitalize on the growing rapidly spreading culture by developing products and services that would endear to the section of the population appreciated the culture. Advertisers used the media to convey the persuasive messages about both their products and the culture. They presented their products and the culture favorably on the media with the view to enhancing the profitability of the same. In doing this, the manufacturers used the media in advancing the industrial growth of the culture throughout the world. The South Korean government recognized the magnitude of the Hallyu power as it rapidly achieved global acceptance. As such, the government of South Korea began using the culture’s soft power to enhance its influence in the world. The government adopted the culture with the view to using it as a tool in enhancing bidirectional movement of both culture and cultural products. The spread of the Korean wave portrayed the potential of South Korean products accessing the global market. As such, the government hoped that the same would happen as foreign cultures and cultural products penetrated the region. This way, the culture would help prevent discrimination of South Koreans and stereotypical statements that are anti-Korean. Additionally, the South Korean government hoped that the culture would reunite South Koreans and contribute to creating world peace. The South Korean government therefore strived to create a conducive for the industrial growth of the culture both locally and internationally. Governments play integral role in the creation of a culture. While governments are creations of culture, they always have both the authority and resources to enhance the spread of a particular culture. Such was the case in South Korea. The government did not only support the culture but also sought to use it as a sift power. The government therefore invested its resources in enhancing the industrial growth of the culture thus creating a conducive environment in which the culture grew. The South Korean did this by encouraging its youths to take up the various arts fronted by the culture4. Among the ways in which the government of South Korea strived to promote the culture was through the provision of loans and grants to musicians and film developers. In 2013 for example, Export-Import Bank of Korea gave out US$917 million. The money went to the entertainment sector in the country not only because of its economic viability but also as the government’s surest way of enhancing the spread of the culture. The ministry of culture, sports and tourism in South Korea carried out a survey on the spread of the culture throughout the world. Obtaining such statistics by the government was vital since it informed the government on the culture’s reach and influence. The table below demonstrates the spread of the Hullya culture globally by 2013 as established by the survey. Year Country Number of fans 2012 Belarus 1000 2012 Peru 8000 2012 Chile 20,000 2012 Mexico 60,000 2012 Turkey >100,000 2011 France >100,000 Globally Year Fun Clubs Membership 2011 182 3.3Million 2012 830 6.0 Million The table above shows a progressive growth of the culture as its spread to different parts of the world. The culture spread systematically from South Korea to Europe where it enjoyed immense following from the Europeans. The European market is always potential and consisting of an elite consumer group. The fact that the culture endeared to the group proves the elite nature of the hallyu culture and its intricate products. The culture gained prominence owing to the values it fronted. The cultural values appeal to a particular section of the society, which in turn enhances the spread of the culture. Among the features of the Korean wave that facilitated its rapid industrial growth was the use of cultural technology. Technology is a vital aspect of the modern society. The western society for example adopts various technologies that enhance the quality of life. The Korean wave appreciated the use of technology coupled with the use of the social media in marketing the cultural product. Social media is a vital aspect of the modern society that enhances interactions among people. Successful use of the social media enhanced the rapid spread of the culture and its values since the media are not only cost effective but also have structures that overcome the traditional geographical barriers of both communication and interactions. As such, trending products and features of the culture enjoyed international audience since they readily went viral on the social media. The use of the internet facilitated the rapid industrial growth of the culture. The internet has unique features that facilitated the global acceptance of the culture and the consumption of its products. Crowdsourcing for example helped market the products thus enhancing their global acceptance. The translation websites on the internet such as Viki helped avail the media contents appropriate languages for the billions of the people who appreciated the cultural products5. The position and role of technology especially the internet in the modern society enhanced the rapid growth of the culture the efficient modes of communication ensured that people shared the cultural products spontaneously thus facilitating the rapid growth of the culture. Additionally, the culture appealed to a youthful population. The youths are always the majority in any society. They therefore influence the cultural development of a society. Furthermore, the youth always appreciate technological inventions. The youth in the modern society use such convenient media as you tube to share videos. As explained earlier, you tube played a vital role in the spread of the culture since it created an effective platform for people to share music videos thus spreading the cultural products. The youthful target audience appreciated the technology, which they used to share music videos and k dramas. Advertisers on the other hand used the same media concurrently owing to the significance of the media in facilitating the spread of the culture. They placed their adverts strategically alongside the various dramas ad music videos thus compelling the audiences of the music videos to view the adverts. Such aggressive types of advertising ensured that the products and services sold concurrently with the rapidly spreading culture. The use of social media in trading the cultural values was yet another efficient strategy responsible for the rapid spread of the Korean wave. Social media is a part of the new media. It offers a unique yet efficient platform for interactions as people from different parts of the world share information spontaneously. The youthful population uses the various social media platforms to interact with their peers. Sharing the cultural products such as the k pop and the k drama on the social media provides them with a potential of achieving a global outreach. Such social networking sites as Facebook and twitter provide users with the ability to create and share viral posts. A viral post is one that goes global as numerous other users of the media access the media. Korean celebrities created appropriate Facebook pages and twitter accounts where they interacted with their target audience thereby communicating their desires and feelings about the prevailing culture. The youthful nature of the culture’s target group coupled with its large population was an enticement to the thousands of manufacturers who produced numerous products. As such, the manufacturers decided to use the social media as well in marketing their products and services. Most companies and service providers created appropriate social media accounts where they interacted with their target market thereby selling their products. This created an efficient structure as the marketers accessed their target market easily thereby selling their wares. This did not only enhance the profitability of such manufactures but also enhanced the spread of the culture throughout the world6. Manufacturers of such products as shoes, trousers, jewelries and appeals among many others were vital in the industrial spread of the culture. The group created unique products, which they marketed thus, making the culture unique and endearing to its youthful target throughout the world. The manufacturers used the social media owing to the significance and prominence of the type of media. This did not only enhance the spread of their wares but also spread the cultural values throughout the world. The introduction and widespread acceptance of K pop was a significant mark in the history of both the musical genre and the hallyu. Seo Taiji & Boys created a unique piece in which they borrowed foreign instruments thereby creating a unique type of music that would later evolve to become the modern day popular k pop. The success of the music created by the group marked the infusion of foreign instruments in the composition of the local Korean music. This opened up the local South Korean society to the outside world. The systematic fusion of the local creation with the foreign instruments expanded the target audience of the songs. The music thus began appealing to the external society especially in the west. Numerous other South Korean artists appreciated the type of music thereby adopting the infusion of the foreign instruments in their creations. The result was the rapid spread of k pop, which in turn enhanced the spread of hayllu. Musicians are always aggressive in their quest for fame and success. South Korea musicians enhanced the spread of K pop as they carried out extensive tours of the region as they sold their music. The new type of music endeared to a large target audience. Various South Korean musicians set out in tours of the regions as they built popularities for their respective albums. The music genre entered the region systematically beginning with the East Asian countries that neared South Korea. Sequentially the music genre spread to Japan and into Europe. As the genre of the music spread so did the hallyu culture7. In their tours, the musicians dressed systematically and talked in a particular manner. Such basic features as attires, cuisine, body posture and even tonal variations marked the new culture as the global audience began adopting the same. The fans of the various musicians began dressing as their stars did. This resulted in the systematic yet rapid spread of the South Korean wave throughout the world. In retrospect, hallyu is a popular South Korean culture that spread throughout the world thereby influencing the lives of billions of people globally. The rapid spread of the culture throughout the world and even to some of the most conservative territories such as the Islamic state was because of the effort of the various individuals who benefited from the spread. They carried out dedicated campaigns by developing appropriate media content that sold out in millions thereby enhancing the spread throughout the world. The rapid spread of the culture portrays the importance and efficiency of the media in spreading cultural features. Bibliography Howard, K. (2006). Korean pop music: Riding the wave. Folkestone, Kent: Global Oriental. In Kim, J. (2014). Reading Asian television drama: Crossing borders and breaking boundaries. Jung, S. (2011). Korean masculinities and transcultural consumption: Yonsama, Rain, Oldboy, K-Pop idols. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Kim, D. ., & Kim, M.-S. (2011). Hallyu: Influence of Korean popular culture in Asia and Beyond. Seoul: Seoul National University Press. Nam, K. C. (2012). K-pop: Roots and blossoming of Korean popular music. Elizabeth, N.J: Hollym. Roll, M. (2006). Asian brand strategy: How Asia builds strong brands. Basingstoke [England: Palgrave Macmillan. Russell, M. J. (2014). K-pop now!: The Korean music revolution. Read More