Just a couple of K-pop-related brain farts

Since my last post I’ve seen and heard excellent comments online and off on the topic of Sousuke Takaoka and his remarks about the Hallyu Wave in Japan. A notion that has come up more than once was that of K-pop’s “over-hype”, its ”aggressive marketing” and the potential “borderline nationalism” that underlies it; and the more people I talked to, the more mentally obsessed I became. In keeping up with my own thoughts I had to consume dozen amounts of sugar over the past few days (I’m looking forward to the imminent crash), but even as I write this post I’m on the fence with many issues (if not all); and I still have a lot of questions waiting to be answered.

“The Paradox of Korean Globalization” by Shin Gi-Wook (Stanford University, 2003) is a very interesting article I read concerning the co-existence of nationalism and globalization in today’s world, and how it applies to the context of modern South Korea. Here are a few of its core points:

• Much of the literature about globalization and nationalism to date assert that both forces are incompatible. Shin, however, argues the opposite: that the more globalized the world becomes, the stronger national or ethnic identity gets. The latter is seen as a reaction to the former; a reaction to the “threats and opportunities” globalization poses.
• In particular, the opportunities globalization offers can be appropriated for nationalist goals, motivated by two factors: social Darwinism (competition, survival of the fittest through means of adapting as times change), and “an organic/collectivistic notion of nation/society.”
• Segyehwa, or “Korean globalization”, is an idea that was first announced by the Kim Young Sam government in 1994, and adapted by current president Kim Dae Jung. In Kim’s words (the second one, presumably): 

Koreans cannot become global citizens without a good understanding of their own culture and tradition… Koreans should march out into the world on the strength of their unique culture and traditional values. Only when the national identity is maintained and intrinsic national spirit upheld will Koreans be able to successfully globalize. 

As I was reading in my head I was trying to make this connection with K-media and that way it’s being marketed beyond the borders of South Korea. Surely the segyehwa sentiment that has fueled the desire to preserve and strengthen Korean culture is somewhat the same driving force behind the ‘aggression’ of the Hallyu Wave, right? However, it’s gone beyond promoting Korean culture among Koreans to promoting it among foreigners as well.

Secondly, we have the discussion peripheral to the topic of Takaoka: K-pop’s ‘over-hype’ or ‘exaggerated popularity’, especially in Japan. Like I’ve argued before, one shouldn’t begin to deny K-pop’s popularity and the attention it has attracted — from fans and non-fans alike. It has a degree of international appeal (K-pop has established fanbases from various countries outside Korea, and it has garnered quite impressive rankings from different charts and networks), and it has gotten people talking, especially outside Korea (according to a coverage by Monocle, the top three K-pop news portals in English generate more web traffic than portals in Korean in Korea. Now that should count for something). But that doesn’t mean we should treat it like it’s this ultimate heaven-sent solution for all our problems. There ARE people who don’t like it, and won’t like it even if they tried. To believe otherwise is where I think the over-hype stems from. 

It’s been said that K-pop in Japan is being force-fed down people’s throats — it’s basically ‘everywhere’. (I also heard from some that it’s not that bad, but maybe they’re just able tolerate its supposedly overwhelming exposure.) Here are some questions that has irked me about the Hallyu in Japan: Is it right that so many K-pop idols are garnering more attention than their Japanese counterparts, but more easily as well? Has it reached the point where you see K-pop rookies making appearances on Japanese television, whereas a J-pop celebrity would be required to work his ass off for a single slot on a show? There’s also that Music Bank - Tokyo Dome incident — is it fair that while Japanese idols would’ve had to wait until the pinnacle of their careers to perform on such a revered stage, K-pop rookies were given an easy pass, and without having done much promotions at that? Given this is the case (not sure about the counter-argument — would love it if someone were to enlighten me), it does seem quite unfair. 

Music Bank in Tokyo Dome attracted thousands back in July (image source)

This is my gut feeling: many K-pop rookies who debut in Japan are ripping off the success of the actual Wave. K-pop is popular and in demand, but does that mean that every single K-pop group or idol needs to head over the Japan and expect to do well? Just because BIGBANG’s doing well does that mean 2NE1 will triumph as well? (Evidently not, unfortunately.) Does that mean Rania or Block B is destined do just as good as BEAST or Kara?

(In addition, another problem with over-hype is that it poses potential threats to domestic interests. Hallyu in Japan is fueled by not only (possibly) nationalism, but by business… true, Japanese networks and agencies make their share as well, but what does it mean when they’re making big bucks off foreign images and not local? It threatens domestic interests, but not only in the economic sense — in a nationalist one as well.) 

Then again, who exactly are the idols making those excessive appearances on Japanese television? Is Japan being force-fed SNSD, Kara, TVXQ, or BIGBANG, or everything K-pop? 

On the other hand, I’m still of course stubbornly attached to the intermingling of cultures and global products. I mean, it’s not right to argue against the acceptance and tolerance of cultures other than your own (and I sure hope every single one of you agree…) The question now is what the heck we’re suppose to make out of this integrative force’s co-existence, with, well, nationalism… funny enough, it boils down to the exact same question Shin had asked himself. 

So many uncertainties, therefore so many questions. To end, here’s several more: Is the industry marketing K-pop or Korea? Is it an over-hype around K-pop or Korea? I think it’s utilizing the latter to, at the very least, help promote the former… (one example of proof is this YouTube channel, the Seoul Dream Series, dedicated to the promotion of Seoul, and notice how they mostly feature K-Pop and K-personalities.) But how should we make of it? I mean, we shouldn’t reject it, but maybe we shouldn’t let it completely take over… then again, is it right to, dare I say, appropriate from it? 

Moreover, does this mean we need to look at Korea through the lens of K-entertainment? What if I liked the culture but didn’t care to engage myself deep in its entertainment? How about the flip-side — is it right to enjoy the music but not have to want to learn the language; or want to visit Jeju Island; or want to call each other “noona” and “oppa”? (What would be ideal is to love Korea as much as you can, and appreciate and acknowledge all it has to offer, but not to the point where you begin to assert its superiority over other cultures, even your own.)

Is K-pop therefore truly ‘cross-cultural’? Also, consider the cases in which we now have foreign idols in the industry… but they’re considered to be rather ‘Korean’ themselves. 

And finally, to quote a good friend I had a very deep K-pop heart-to-heart talk with a few months ago: “Does this all even matter? Who cares about the language barrier? Who cares about the backstage politics? Music is music — if it’s fun, it’s fun.” If only it were that easy though.   

Like I said, all questions. Just questions. Don’t know if they’re rather extreme or even appropriate. But that may be the least of my worries right now — the sugar crash I’m anticipating feels like it’s just around the corner…

(BTW, if any of you are interested in reading Shin’s article yourself, you can shoot me an email (Yes, I have an official email now LOL) and I’ll send you a PDF copy: angrykpopfan@gmail.com)