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nchristi
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Re: The Korean Wave & Domestic News
Variety Asia Online
July 06, 2007
by Darcy Paquet
Are Korean TV exports heading same way as movies?
SEOUL -- South Korean broadcasters exported $50 million worth of content in the first half of 2007, compared to $9.6 million in imports.
While the export total is little changed from the first six months of 2006, the gap shows signs of narrowing, as U.S. TV series made advances with local viewers and the "Korean Wave" lost steam overseas.
A report by the Korean Broadcasting Institute found significant changes underfoot in the composition of imports. Drama series now account for 55% of imports, followed by documentaries (14%), feature films (13%) and game/reality shows (8.4%). In 2006, feature films made up 56% of imports and drama series 24%.
Interest in drama series has been particularly strong in the cable sector, which now accounts for 81% of imports compared to 67% last year. Terrestrial broadcasters, in contrast, have shown steadily declining levels of imports in recent years.
U.S. content accounted for 55% of total imports, compared to 17% for the U.K., 5% for China, 5% for Japan, and 3.9% for Malaysia.
Meanwhile exports were dominated by local TV dramas (76% of total revenues) followed by animated programs (17%). Drama sales were strong in Vietnam and Indonesia but showed signs of decline in key markets Japan, China and Taiwan.
In the case of China, Korean dramas accounted for only 4 of the 28 foreign dramas imported in the first quarter of 2007, compared to an unusually high 7 titles from Japan, 5 from Hong Kong, 4 from Taiwan, 2 from Singapore and 1 from Indonesia. However a string of Korean game/reality shows, many featuring local celebrities, have proven unexpectedly popular since their first broadcast last year.
In Japan, prices paid by buyers are said to be falling in line with an overall cooling towards Korean pop culture. The trend instead is turning towards Japanese remakes of Korean dramas, or Korean stars being cast in Japanese programs.
One bright spot in the export picture is Korean animation, which is mostly financed by cable companies. Animated programs delivered $5.5 million worth of sales in the first half alone, compared to $2.8 million for all of 2006, with the U.S. emerging as a key customer.
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7/10/2007, 11:41 am
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brad6
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Re: The Korean Wave & Domestic News
Off topic...I think.
In the news there is the man who soared aloft in his lawn chair hoisted up by helium balloons. Really not original.
Some months ago I watched an Australian film which I think was called 'DECK CHAIR'. The gist of the story was that a man and his pals blew up scores of ordinary balloons and tied them and him to his deck chair and away he went. He sailed high and far and eventually came down several hundred miles away and he started a new life. Fell in love with a new woman and the whole film was so interesting. It all worked out eventually as his first wife was having an affair with a neighbour in the first place......
The man was played by the actor who was the slightly crazy artist who stayed with his pal Hugh Grant in the film 'NOTTING HILL'
He can do an Australian accent and also in the Hugh Grant film he did a pretty good Welsh accent. I have no idea who he is.
Peggy (told you it was off topic.)
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7/10/2007, 8:27 pm
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nchristi
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Re: The Korean Wave & Domestic News
THE KOREA TIMES
Nation
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
July 19, 2007
Korea Losing Attractiveness in Tourism
A survey showed that 44.4 percent of foreigners visited Korea for travel and 42.7 percent came for business in 2003.
The ratio, however, was reversed in 2005. About 42.3 percent of visitors were tourists and 43.7 percent were businesspeople, the survey conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said.
The change shows that Korea is losing its tourist "appeal,'' indicating the need to develop new attractions, both tangible and intangible.
Tangible Attractions
Korea has no Rocky Mountains, Niagara Falls nor Palace of Versailles. Tourist attractions such as Insa-dong, Myeong-dong and Namdaemun market have remained the same for decades—insufficient to bring repeat visitors.
Building resorts like in Guam or the Philippines are not a viable solution due to Korea's weather that includes a chilly winter, experts say.
"The attractiveness of Korean tourism seems to have been weakened compared to neighboring countries—China is preparing for the Olympic Games, Hong Kong set up Disneyland and Macau is raking in casino money. Asian nations that used to be strict on the entertainment business are becoming more open. Even Singapore will open casinos in 2009,'' Cho Minho, a tourism professor of Hanyang University said.
He welcomes the plan to invite large-scale entertainment facilities such as Disneyland and Universal Studios.
"Setting up such theme parks is an investment and we need to invite both domestic and foreign investment. But Korea's condition for investment is not good due to numerous restrictions and regulations,'' Cho said.
"The government tries to control everything and its late response to investors sometimes spoils the projects. The government needs to create an environment conducive to investment, not trying to tell businesses what to do. The Macau authorities made a bold move to remove regulations to attract tourism investment,'' he said.
Intangible Attractions
There have been signs that "hallyu,'' or the Korean Wave, is waning.
According to the Korean Broadcasting Institute, exports of soap operas topped $102 million in 2005. But they decreased by 15.5 percent to $85.8 million in 2006, with no monumental pieces such as "Winter Sonata'' and "Jewel in the Palace'' being produced.
It is the first time for the figure to drop since 1998 when data collection started—the annual average growth rate of exports was 89.7 percent between 2002 and 2005.
A cultural phenomenon is categorized as a fad, fashion or trend according to the period it lasts, Cho said. "Hallyu seems to have been a fad, which lasts one to two years. Korea failed to foster hallyu as a mega trend,'' he said.
Another problem is that the country does not have unique and new images that represent contemporary Korea.
A recent survey conducted on 1,115 foreign travelers by Seoul City showed that kimchi, a half-century-old item, is the most representative image of Korea in tourism, with more than 20 percent selecting it.
Noting this, the KTO developed the tourism brand "Korea, Sparkling'' in April, which will be used for tourism purposes like India's "Incredible India'' and Japan's "Yokoso Japan.''
Former KTO President Kim Jong-min said that image is an important factor in boosting tourism competitiveness and that a tourism brand should be able to generate an emotional response.
Niche Market
Surveys show 90 percent of foreign tourists visit Seoul, indicating travel to Korea is travel to Seoul. "We should make use of Seoul's resources. We can provide more shopping opportunities to inbound tourists through a tax refund system,'' Cho said.
Seoul City is also coming up with various urban development projects with the aim of attracting 12 million foreigners by 2010. For example, under the Han River Renaissance project, improvement of accessibility and strengthening of tourism infrastructure will help make the area a major tourist attraction.
Cho also said Korea's medical science, which is famous for technical excellence and low prices, could become another tourist attraction.
Last month, 80 Chinese doctors visited Korea to learn plastic surgery skills as many Chinese women come to Korea for double eyelid and nose surgery.
According to KTO's survey in May, 19.9 percent of 207 Korean-Americans in Los Angeles said they visited their motherland for medical treatment, and 46.3 percent said they did so because of low medical fees. They said Korea has competitiveness in implant surgery, plastic surgery and Oriental medicine.
Based on the survey, KTO plans to develop "medical tourism'' programs.
Tourist programs that connect Korea with neighboring nations are being promoted to increase the size of the Asian travel market.
Ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games next year, it is expected that travel agencies will develop packages that combine China and Korea, so the nation should take advantage of increasing the number of visitors to Korea, Cho said.
"But it doesn't need to always be Korea-China-Japan. It can be expanded to other Asian nations, like Korea-Vietnam-Thailand. It could be better to form alliances with countries which are not Korea's competitors,'' Cho said.
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7/18/2007, 12:24 pm
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nchristi
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Re: The Korean Wave & Domestic News
This could be good news for us, as we are continually frustrated by the editing of our favorite K-dramas. The Korea broadcasters have no commercial breaks during their airings. Looks like they're about to! This would mean less program content deleted for us.
November 14, 2007
Broadcast panel under fire over commercial breaks class ul Controversy is mounting over the Korean Broadcasting Commission's decision to permit mid-program TV ads on the country's three major TV stations.
The nine-member commission, which regulates the local broadcasting industry, announced early this month that it will allow the three broadcasters to run commercial breaks because they are having difficulty competing with emerging cable and satellite TV stations. The commission also noted that the three stations need stable sources of revenue to complete the jump to digital broadcasting. The three are the state-run Korea Broadcasting System and two commercial stations -- Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. and Seoul Broadcasting Station.
After the announcement, civic groups including the Media Viewers Rights Association, a confederation of 72 media rights and civic organizations, launched an all-out campaign urging the commission to reverse its decision.
They are criticizing the commission for ignoring the rights of TV viewers, saying they already suffer through a growing number of commercials aired by the TV broadcasters and mid-program advertising disturbs the continuity of TV viewing. They also claim that the commercials will hurt the welfare of TV viewers, pointing out the public role of the country's major broadcasters. KBS is owned by the government and MBC is partially owned by the state.
The broadcasting panel is being particularly criticized for allowing state-run KBS to make more money. Critics point out the failure of keeping to the function of the public channel, noting that there is no country in the world that permits mid-program commercials for public broadcasters. KBS has also been accused of trying to collect more subscription fees without making any efforts to cut costs through managerial restructuring. In July, the broadcaster decided to raise its monthly subscription fee by 60 percent from the present 2,500 won ($2) to 4,000 won.
Experts predict that the three TV stations could rake in a combined 530 billion won in additional revenues from mid-program ads.
Cable TV stations and newspapers are also worried that their revenue from commercials might decline as more advertisers are expected to prefer commercial breaks on TV. Cable and satellite TV stations are currently allowed to put commercial breaks in the middle of programs.
Some even raised the possibility that the commission is trying to win the favor of the three TV stations by easing the advertising rules before the Dec. 19 presidential election.
Under growing pressure from civic groups and related businesses -- newspapers and cable TV stations -- the commission held a public hearing yesterday afternoon in an effort to diffuse the controversy. The commission said it would hear the opinions of civic groups and industry insiders.
The panel stuck to its decision to permit mid-program TV ads at the hearing, but said it will only partially allow the airing of mid-program ads, offering a list of restrictions.
The commission said it will ban TV stations from dividing lengthy programs like movies into two separate parts and putting commercial breaks in each part. It put the issue of the maximum length of the mid-program TV ads and the number of such breaks in each program up for discussion in the open forum.
The commission again claimed that commercial breaks are needed to help the nation's three major broadcasters improve their quality of service and strengthen their competitiveness before market opening. The free trade agreement between Korea and the United States concerning broadcasting and audiovisual services is expected to bring substantial changes to the market environment, pressuring the local industry to become more competitive in securing viewers.
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldm.com)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/
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11/23/2007, 1:54 pm
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nchristi
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Re: The Korean Wave & Domestic News
KBS GLOBAL
Entertainment News
February 22, 2008
Singers Unite for Namdaemun Restoration class ul After the recent fire which destroyed Namdaemun (South Gate), Korean musicians are rolling up their sleeves for the restoration of Korea's national treasure number one.
The Korea Singers Association and the Korea Entertainment Producers' Association (KEPA) are attempting to bolster the interest of citizens in the restoration of Sungnyemun (i.e. Namdaemun), and the importance of protecting Korea's cultural heritage. The two associations are sponsoring a festival tentatively set for March 29th, where many top singers will be in attendance for benefit concerts and bazaars.
This is the first event of the 'Safeguarding Cultural Heritage - We Love You, Korea' campaign.
Singers of all genres and generations, such as Nam Jin, Jung Hoon-hee, Insooni, SS501, and Kara, will be coming together for this event.
A KEPA representative announced that the Korea Singers Association and KEPA will establish 'Safeguarding Cultural Heritage' to protect the nation's treasures. He also added, "We will hold charity events and take business measures all over the country to safeguard our cultural heritage."
Last edited by nchristi, 3/2/2008, 4:58 pm
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3/2/2008, 4:52 pm
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nchristi
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Re: The Korean Wave & Domestic News
KBS GLOBAL
Entertainment News
February 21, 2008
Park Jin-young to Create Asian Music Festival in the U.S.
 class ul Singer and producer Park Jin-young says he plans to expand 'The JYP Tour,' which will begin in New York, into an Asian music festival.
Park said it was his dream to expand 'The JYP Tour' into a large-scale music festival that Asian musicians can take part in and one which even Americans can enjoy.
The concert will begin at the Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York, and go on to the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles and continue on in Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Park said he has been preparing to hit the U.S. music market for the past four years by training singers Min, J Lim and G-Soul.
He recently donated 10,000 dollars to the Harlem Boys' Choir with G-Soul, who is currently working to debut in the U.S.
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3/2/2008, 4:57 pm
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nchristi
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Re: The Korean Wave & Domestic News
February 26, 2008
THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE
The Korean Wave: Shining star or black hole?
In the last few years, Korean films, TV dramas and pop music have become immensely popular abroad, a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave. This is the 15th in a series of essays by a select group of foreign scholars and journalists looking at the spread of Korean pop culture in Southeast Asian countries and beyond. - Ed. class ul Not only to my friends but to most people, working as a foreigner making dramas in Korea's entertainment industry sounds like a dream come true.
The idea of meeting celebrities and basking in the light of fame is attractive to most of us. However, the other side of the coin is not that bright. Looking to the future, I worry about the Korean Wave, also known as "Hallyu."
Apparently it has spread further, to reached new shores recently, including the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. But to realize the weakening of its source in Korea, and the critical decline in its major markets in Southeast Asia, you do not need to be a genius. Attentive observation of domestic and international markets reveals its current state.
I do not agree with those who say the Korean Wave is a passing fad, and is already fading away. Anybody who knows the basics of economics will admit that the global economy generally shows a transition from a knowledge-based economy to a content-based one.
In the 1970s, the global economy was based on manufacturing and production. In the 80s, it took a form based on know-how and information. In the 90s, communication and networks were the traction engines of the world economy.
Peter Drucker, a legendary political economist of the 20th century, who was often called the world's most influential business consultant, said: "The success and failure of each country will be decided by the cultural industries in the 21st century. The final battleground is the cultural industry."
He also added, "The best way to predict the future is to create it." No doubt Korea is aware of these facts, and its giant economy will continue to produce quality cultural content.
Still, questions remain regarding the Korean Wave and its source. If we say it is generated by the Korean cultural industry, we need a definition for that industry.
It can take different names. In the U.S. the cultural industry is referred to as the "entertainment industry," and consists of basic elements with extra fields, such as sports management.
The U.K. calls it the "creative industry." Here, in addition to basic elements, architecture is also included in the category.
What about Korean content provided by the Korean Wave? Most people, including foreigners, perceive it to be limited to Korean dramas, movies and popular music. Usually, sectors such as the gaming industry, animation, mobile content and the character business - a merchandising industry which uses mascots such as Hello Kitty or Miffy - are overlooked.
As a close observer, I still do not know whether advertising, print media or even fashion is included in the definition of the Korean Wave. This shallow perception is one of the most important reasons why the Korean Wave is faltering. This can be prevented only by organizational and formal administration.
In the United States, entertainment industries are supported by the central or district governments. In the United Kingdom, creative industries are looked after by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. But in Korea, regulations and promotion policies are almost non-existent. Individual organizations cannot provide precise data and statistics. On the contrary, foreign statistics show the importance of concrete strategies.
According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Global Entertainment and Media Outlook report, released in 2006, the worldwide market for cultural content is worth $1.6 trillion. Korea spends only $32 billion, which is a tiny 2.2 percent of the global market share. U.S. enjoys 44 percent alone. The Korean Wave might be still expanding, but statistics show its growth rate has dropped from 88 percent in 2004 to 30 percent in 2005. The Korean film industry's growth rate fell from 7.3 percent in 2004 to 1.8 percent in 2005. The music industry plunged to 1.2 percent in 2005 from 3.4 percent in 2004.
Surfing the internet, one can scarcely find news about Korean online game exports or the character business.
Instead you can find tons of news - hundreds of articles -about exported TV dramas and movies. In a country with a fashion-obsessed and celebrity-based media, you might predict that the Korean Wave consists of only TV dramas, movies and popular music.
However, according to PWC 2006 figures, the worldwide broadcasting business has growth of only 7 percent, and cinema has just 3 percent growth, whereas the internet and online game industries show growth of 17 percent.
In 2006, the online game industry had a global market worth of $74 billion. Korea had a 38 percent market share - $28 billion, ranking first in the world. This is almost 20 times larger than Korea's share in the global cultural content market.
The total cultural content Korea exported through the Korean Wave in 2006 was valued at $1.2 billion. Online game exports for the same year were $564 million - 47 percent of Korea's entire cultural exports.
In the case of Europe, although 10 percent of Korean movies are exported into the continent, there is almost nothing to talk about, as regards Korean dramas. However, the character business sends 25 percent of their exports to Europe and the animation industry sends 12 percent of its exports there.
These numbers show that there should be a shift in Korea's strategy regarding the Korean Wave and its inner elements. Focus, promotion policies, support and regulation should change drastically. This vital and inevitable change should be made as soon as possible to keep the Korean Wave alive.
Turkey as a case study
In general, experts say the Korean Wave started in the 1990's.
In the case of Turkey, it is a totally different story. The first Korean Wave hit Turkey centuries ago.
Turks and Koreans lived as neighbors in the past and Koreans still remember Turkish people as the "Dongol nation." Both Korean and the Turkish language belong to the same Ural-Altaic language family. Even after their migration to their current land, the Turkish people remained interested in their old brother nation.
In Istanbul, if you visit the magnificent Suleymania Mosque and its ancient library, you will find books, hundreds of years old, about Korean culture, hanbok fashion in the early Joseon Dynasty (1392 - 1910), or Korean cuisine.
A Turkey expert, my life-long teacher Prof. Lee Hee-soo from Hanyang University, once told me that in those times, it took only a couple of months for Korean hanbok and its other fashion trends to reach Turkey via the amazing Silk Road.
He added, laughing, "Cultural exchange through the Korean Wave in the past was much greater and way faster than it is now."
The second Korean Wave hit Turkey right after the Korean War. In addition to the wartime efforts, Turkey regularly sent troops to the Korean peninsula on peacekeeping missions. A total of 15,000 troops visited Korea during this long period.
About 720 soldiers died here during the war but the rest took away their memories of Korea. Almost everyone around my age in Turkey has heard thousands of stories about Korea from their grandfathers. Even in the most remote countryside of Turkey, you may come upon a town grocery with a signboard reading "Koreli" which means "Korean." Most Korean War veterans are called by their nickname, "Koreli." You may guess how many times they tell stories about Korea.
In the capital of Turkey, Ankara, a memorial in the shape of a Korean Pagoda was erected for the soldiers of Korean War. The U.N. cemetery in Busan brings all Turks to tears. This, then is concrete evidence of the second Korean Wave.
The third wave hit Turkey in 1988. The Seoul Olympics drew enormous attention from the Turkish people because a Turkish athlete, Naim Suleymanoglu, one of the most distinguished lifters in the history of weightlifting, broke six world records in Seoul and became a hero in Turkey. After Korea, the 150 cm-Olympic- champion was called the "Pocket Hercules." We can say the modern picture of Korea was formed in the minds of Turkish people during the Seoul Olympics. Most of us erased the postwar images of Korea from our minds.
The fourth Korean Wave hit Turkey with a soccer ball. During the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the semi-final match between Korea and Turkey transfixed both Koreans and Turks. 45 million here, 75 million there, all glued to TV screens; both nations watched a 90 minute advertisement for each country. Those scenes had a cultural marketing effect worth billions of dollars. When people saw their players with the other country's flags in their hands, everybody was transfixed. That day, Turkish flags waved in tune with the Korean Wave.
In 2005, then-president Roh Moo-hyun's visit to Turkey sparked more cultural exchange between Turkey and Korea. Arirang TV signed an agreement with Turkish state television station TRT, and Korean dramas began to be aired in Turkey.
The first Korean drama shown in Turkey was the "Emperor of the Sea." It was followed by "All In," which was recently telecast in TRT. It has a popular website and the leading actress Lee Young-ae has many fans already.
Unfortunately, Korean dramas are far from successful in the Turkish market. All of them have stayed out of the limelight. "Emperor of the Sea" received only 1.4 percent viewer ratings. After receiving viewer ratings of 70 percent in neighboring Iran, "Jewel in the Palace" entered the market ambitiously but the result thus far is disappointing. It recorded tiny ratings of 1.2 percent - even smaller than that of "Emperor of the Sea."
Korean dramas are usually aired during off-peak times, around 1:30 in the afternoon. There is no proper advertisement, and it seems TRT is using the dramas as fill-in programs.
Exported to more than 50 countries, for sure, "Jewel in the Palace" deserves more. But Turkish entertainment experts do not credit Korean dramas with much chance.
STV News Channel CEO Ahmet Boken says, "Although the picture quality and stories are way better, Korean soap operas are similar to Mexican dramas in their style. Turkish people are fed up with Cinderella stories. There is too much superficiality and overacting. In almost every episode, somebody dies, or at least gets terminally ill; good-looking girls get slapped in the face, and tears flow in rivers, and their good-looking partners cheat on them."
Unlike the stuttering dramas, Korean online games are the most successful representatives of the Korean Wave in Turkey. Public relations manager of Korean online game company K2 Network, Jeannie Hong says, "Turkey, with 5 million users, is our greatest market. In 2008 we are preparing to provide the market with games in Turkish as the second language choice after English."
After successfully obtaining 30 percent of the Turkish game market, K2 Network immediately opened an office in Turkey.
A Korean game, Silk Road Online, gathered 500,000 Turkish game fans, creating incredible turnover, charging $8.90 to $24.90 for each game package.
Another success story for the Korean Wave in Turkey is Korean cinema. In fact, extreme movies draw enormous attention in the Turkish market. Korean director Kim Ki-duk is maybe the best-known celebrity in whole of Turkey. Turkish people love his movies. Few people took notice of his movie "3-iron" in Korea, but it took Turkey by storm. It was heralded the best foreign movie in Turkey in 2005. People follow Kim and watch all of his work.
"Samaria" pulled thousands to the box office and Kim Ki-duk fans are now waiting for his latest work "Breath." Every year he is invited as an honorary guest to the largest international film festival in Turkey, the Antalya Film Festival.
Another talented director, Park Chan-wook, has a large fan base among Turkish movie-lovers. His movies with revenge themes in the background, such as "Old Boy" and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance," were very successful in Turkey.
Once, the heart of every Turkish lover of Eastern movies belonged to Akira Kurosawa, a famous Japanese director. But nowadays Kim Ki-duk, Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho, the director of "The Host," have stolen them from Kurosawa.
Extreme stories, unexpected endings, and mixed genres thrill Turkish viewers, and they love Korean movies. Recently, at the forum held for Korean Cinema, well-known movie critic Mithat Alan said, "Visual impact, black humor, mysticism, absurdity, and violence are all stunning ingredients present in Korean cinema, and it is exactly the right antidote for Turkish movie patients fed up with boring, dull movies."
After all, bright days are still ahead for the Korean Wave in Turkey.
As a brother from a fraternal country, I believe it is an obligation for us to do our best to facilitate ever more cultural exchange, and realize tangible results between the two countries in the near future. It is more than just lip service to swear to be brothers.By Veyis Neo Toprak
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/
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3/3/2008, 12:48 pm
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nchristi
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Re: The Korean Wave & Domestic News
February 27, 2008
[THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE(16)]
Korean Wave a washout on Australian shores
In the last few years, Korean films, TV dramas and pop music have become immensely popular abroad, a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave. This is the 16th in a series of essays by a select group of foreign scholars and journalists looking at the spread of Korean pop culture in Southeast Asian countries and beyond. -- Ed. class ul Across Asia, and especially in Japan, the Korean Wave seems formidable. Korean popular culture has flooded international markets. The Korean Wave was so-named because of this widespread influence. In Australia, however, this influence didn't have the same impact. Instead of flooding mainstream Australian culture, the Korean Wave adopted an alter-ego as kitsch, niche and underground.
The risk of assessing the Korean Wave in Australia is that it lends itself to overstatement. With the proliferation of Samsung mobile phones and zippy Hyundai cars, it is hard to tell where mindless material consumption ends and the conscious adoption of Korean culture begins.
Although not infiltrating the mainstream, the Korean Wave has not been without a home since crossing the Pacific Ocean to Australia. Communities of ethnic Koreans living in Australia have clutched at the veneer of their homeland. For these Korean-Australian diaspora communities, Hallyu is the proof that Korea is developing into a global and prosperous country, and it is enjoying the ride.
The greatest obstacle for Korea's cultural dispersion in Australia is, in crude terms, 8,000 kilometers. This plight of proximity is particularly Australian, as the country has no land borders for cultural osmosis. Different cultural and historical backgrounds compound with language barriers and geography to obstruct the reception of the Korean Wave in Australia.
K-pop: A long way to the top
Lecturer Dr. Hee-Eun Lee tells a story about a student in a media studies class he taught at the University of Iowa. A student was in the torment of trying to decide what topic to research for her final class assignment. She decided to write about MTV Asia. Lee suggested that this may be a good way to look at how indigenous music interacts with global repertoires.
The student, puzzled, paused for a while then with an air of innocence asked, "But is there any indigenous popular music, rather than traditional music in Asia?" "Well," he replied, "I have shown you some video clips from Asia, don't you remember?" Hesitantly she nodded. "I do. But wasn't that just a local performance of global music, I mean, American music?"
There are a number of troubling aspects to this story. More than ever, music is not what Lee calls a "single primary text" but a marriage of sound, words and images. This is particularly true of music television such as MTV. MTV Asia is somewhat of a Trojan horse that provides a very Euro-American keyhole through which cultural products are packaged and viewed.
If MTV were a mathematician, it would be infamous, a genius even, renowned for producing some of the most successful cultural formulas of the 21st century. Successful, yes. Original, authentic, progressive? Perhaps not. Not anymore anyway. These formulas represent a culture that spits out new products designed to imitate products that were successful in the past. Perhaps the academic Gitlin got it right with his claim that "the safest, easiest formula is that nothing succeeds like success."
In this sense, it is easy to understand the confusion of Dr. Lee's student.
Australian audiences, though not by any means a unified entity, are that student in many ways. The "lucky country's" cultural gaze is firmly set upon our colonizer, Britain, but more significantly the United States. Australians acutely and critically view Korean cultural products through these Euro-American frames.
Korean-Australian Jenny Lee, a Korean pop fan, identifies this as the main reason the wave simply hasn't impacted Australia in the way that it has its Asian neighbors.
"The reason they (Korean artists) haven't appealed to Westerners is because their style, mostly hip-hop and RNB influenced, is similar to singers already existing in American pop," she said.
This was never more apparent than upon Rain's successful Rain's Coming world tour last year. Rain declared a war of attrition on Korea's neighbors and on both American and Australia as well.
Yes, it "RAINed" in drought-stricken Australia last year. The Korean pop heartthrob arrived at Sydney's international airport to 150 screaming fans.
At his Sydney press conference at the Stamford Plaza Hotel, Rain stood in front of a patchwork quit of logos and looked glamorous next to a live koala. A media monkey holding a live koala, it made the whole press conference look more like a zoo.
This aside, 23-year-old Australian Senah Han was in the audience for his much-anticipated performance at Acer Arena in Sydney. He warmed the crowd with schooled English and provided a light show that made the aurora appear amateurish.
"The concert was more performance-based. They used a lot of special stage effects such as lights, smoke, water and I know lots of people were very impressed by that," she said. But Han wasn't convinced. "I can't say that I really got into it," she continues. "But everyone in the audience was very mildly entertained, including myself."
Han wasn't the only one "mildly entertained." The Western press likened Rain to a Michael Jackson mimic in both style and costume. The New York Times conceded, "Rain seems like a nice guy, but he doesn't have the tormented charisma of Jackson." He simply did not generate any new trend that could upstage American performances.
"Seeing him onstage was like watching old MTV videos dubbed into Korean," the New York Times continued. It didn't end there. They drove the knife in with: "Rain sounded like a nostalgia act," a criticism targeting the absence of originality in his music style.
At the heart of such criticism is something inherent to rock scholarship, that music is political, subversive and in the eyes of some, endangers moral order. Many of these ideas are born from that great German, Theodor M. Adorno, who made a distinction between good popular music that is authentic to "a person, an idea, a feeling, a shared experience," and bad popular music that is unauthentic. "It expresses nothing," Adorno claims.
These notions of authenticity are deeply entrenched in Australian music culture. The Australian popular music scene still fails to escape the mythology of live music that reached its peak in the 1980s.
These mythologies require that the auditory experience is authenticated by live performance. The louder, wilder and bloodier the live show, the more authentic the group. For the author Martin Stokes, such an event "evokes and organizes collective memories and present experiences of place with an intensity, power and simplicity unmatched by any other social activity."
There is a lot of nostalgia concerning these mythologies of live music, particularly when conversing with any scruffy, long-haired, leathery skinned, has-been from the 1980s who likens the pub circuits to more of a battlefield. AC/DC, Midnight Oil and Cold Chisel, the darlings of the Australian pub rock scene, are the first to testify to this.
An Adelaide hotel, The Largs Pier, was the battlefield where Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes cut his teeth with his band Cold Chisel. Stripper and bourbon references aside, Barnes claims, "It was like a wild west town. That was where we started, the crowd sort of adopted us, and the ones who made it through the night without getting killed came back the next night and brought their mates for protection."
In analyzing such phenomena, Dr. Shane Homan, an academic and drummer, argues that the live pub remained "the cornerstone of, and it was believed, the reason for, global attention and a source of national pride."
Although the nature of this live music mythology has amalgamated from its 1980s heyday, the main hangover of pub scene, and no doubt there were many, is a remaining sentiment requiring groups to prove, and indeed earn their worth, authenticity, and credibility. In some scenes this remains a precursor to global success.
Indeed there is a sort of trench ideology at play too; that is, the bigger the sacrifice the bigger the glory. This is at the heart of the quintessential Aussie battler ideal, a fair go for all, and an authenticity that comes from being the underdog that is still deeply embedded in the Australian social psyche.
Undoubtedly, this accounts for a deep cynicism within some Australian audiences in the reception of high-production super shows by Korean stars such as Rain.
For now, it seems, Australia prefers the drought.
Hallyu at home in some young Aussie hearts
Although the Korean Wave hasn't had the reaction in Australia that it has experienced on a large scale from its Asian neighbors, it has found homes in the hearts some young Australians. Senah Han, 23, has always called Sydney home, and in many ways she is the quintessential Aussie youth. But in many ways she isn't.
Before graduating from high school in 2002, Han enjoyed movies, music and television dramas with a Korean flavor.
"I was always up to date and in with Korean pop culture but not as much anymore. I think it has to do with the people I hang around," Han said. "The school I went to had many international Korean students. I got to learn from them."
It seems the Korean Wave entered the psyche of Australian youth hidden in the suitcases of international students. However, Han worries that Korean students can't spread the culture on their own since the Korean communities she grew up near tend to keep their national culture to themselves.
Strathfield, in the inner-west of Sydney, has a concentrated community of Koreans. Han went to school in Strathfield and still lives near the area. "Strathfield is a hotspot for Koreans, like a Korea Town. Strathfield has Korean grocers, video stores, hairdressers, music stores, book stores, comic books, PC rooms and more. It's hard to miss (Korean culture) if you're there," she said.
A self-confessed lover of Korean popular culture, Han has observed a gradual proliferation of the Korean Wave in Australia. But is the wave gaining momentum in Australia?
"I think it is, the World Cup really helped. I think that the process is much slower than it should be because the Korean businesspeople in Australia only tend to target Korean groups," Han said.
Han has made it her mission to spread the word. "I have many friends and colleagues that were introduced to Korean food and movies by me and were surprised with how much they enjoyed Korean culture," she said.
"There are many non-Koreans that have really become educated about Korean pop culture but many still don't have a clue what it's all about."
The conventional channels through which culture filters into Australia do not run directly from Korea. There is no Korean television content on Australian TVs. "Winter Sonata," the 2002 KBS drama series heralded as the love child of Hallyu, is virtually unheard of in Australia.
Language is the most obvious barrier between Australian and Korean television sets. But there are obstacles that subtitles or dubbing cannot overcome. The Confucian relationships between characters, the hierarchies and themes of filial piety do not easily translate for an Australian audience as with other nations in the region.
Take a quick look at Australia's most successful long-term television export, "Neighbours," and the disparity is clear. Characters run away from home, discuss sex and contraception, ignore parental expectations, engage in homosexual relationships from time to time and true love is almost never forever. The British love "Neighbours" as if it is their own, but it is doubtful it would be a success in Korea.
There is no Australian equivalent of "Winter Sonata" with its soft hues and melodramatic soundtrack. Australian narratives are not delivered with the sentimentality and romance found in Korean drama.
Dr. Marc Brennan, a lecturer on media and communications at the University of Sydney, is less hasty to blame cultural difference for the absence of Korean dramas on Australian television.
"Our historical alignment with the U.K. and the U.S. doesn't so much mean that we aren't interested in Asian culture, just that there aren't as many opportunities for it to permeate into our media. The U.S. television industry, for example, has a strong hold on the networks here (in Australia)," Brennan said.
The question of space for international content on Australian television sets is pertinent. American content is imported in "bundles." One show is chosen for purchase and sold as a package of 10, crowding the airtime with American content.
"This impinges on the possibility of importing content from other nations," Brennan said.
But missing out on "Winter Sonata" in Australia hasn't dampened Han's enthusiasm for Korean pop culture. Since graduating from high school she still enjoys some Korean pop culture.
"I am aware of the new popular music through karaoke and occasionally I rent DVDs from the Korean DVD place. I watch either scary or funny Korean movies," she said. Maybe onetime she'll rent the DVD box set of "Winter Sonata."By Caddie Brain and Elizabeth Moorhead
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/
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3/3/2008, 12:58 pm
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class ul Actor Song Il Gook and his fiancée have had a 5 day trip to Bali Island in mid-February for their wedding photos. Although it was like a pre-honeymoon, Song Il Gook and his fiancée stayed in separate rooms.
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