Since the boom of the Korean Wave (Hallyu) in the early 2000s, Korea has been making tremendous transnational advances of popular culture across Asia with its movies, TV shows, and most significantly, its idols. This growing fervor for Hallyu not only made a large cultural imprint in many Asian countries, rising foreign interests also boost tourism in Korea, resulting in both cultural and economic reverberation, as pointed out by Joo Jeong-suk in “Transnationalization of Korean Popular Culture and the Rise of ‘Pop Nationalism’ in Korea” (2001: 493). Such success has resulted in the Korean government’s appropriation of Hallyu influence within a nationalist discourse. Idols, in particular, become promoters of nationalism due to their influence among the Korean audience, especially among the younger generations. Collaborations between idols and the government aim to foster nationalism in ways such as music videos incorporating Korean traditional elements, or performances of Hallyu idols at nationalistic or diplomatic events. Since the government has funded the development of Hallyu and its transnational influence, which has very much aided Korea’s globalized cultural advances across Asia, artists often have to consider demonstrating nationalism in return. However, dilemmas arise when they try appealing to the Korean consumers and attracting foreign audiences simultaneously, because the two groups’ interests sometimes clash. Such struggle becomes serious if the conflict relates to postcolonial sensibilities in Korea, or its continuous political disagreements with neighboring countries. While the local market requires idols to first be patriots, Hallyu stars are in fact “pledged to global capital”, as Olga Fedorenko explained in his article titled “Korean-Wave Celebrities Between Global Capital and Regional Nationalisms” (2017: 498). This means that their values as celebrities are tied to the diversity and size of their audience, hinting at the importance of attracting as much foreign supporters as possible. In this discussion, I will propose several ways in which Hallyu idols can find balance between nationalistic and foreign demands.
First of all, Hallyu stars should be more sensitive of the existing political tension between Korea and other nations, while they expand their popularity in these countries. This can translate to being selective when accepting offers from production or advertisement agencies. One example of lacking sensitivity would be the advertisement scandal of the stars Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo-hyun. The brand originated from the Changbaishan, or Paektusan in Korean, a mountain chain that has been a century-long territorial dispute between Korea and China, thus the two Hallyu stars were strongly condemned by Korean audiences, despite their increased popularity in China with this advertisement. Korean idols should also maximize artistic input when producing pro-nationalism materials. While their local audience can resonate with the message, foreign supporters can divert their attention towards the artistic value of the work. Diversity and hybridity in their production enables a larger audience to pick and choose what they can enjoy. This is similar to having idol groups with many members; there will always be one for everyone. Despite the necessity to demonstrate nationalism, idols should not feel restricted when it comes to performances and productions, because being able to gain foreign popularity is another manifestation of nationalism. As long as the artists are sensitive about political issues, freedom still exists for them to demonstrate the unique charm of Hallyu in the midst of globalization.
Tong Lin
Korean idols are often demanded by Korean audiences, the government, media companies, and advertisers to appear their nationalistic side and show that they love Korean culture. In order to balance and still attracting international audiences, they can make international audiences feel that they are sharing the culture together, there can be a mixture of Korean and western culture content performance which can improve their relationship and resonance. However, they can also use apps such as Instagram, twitter to reach out to a more international audience group. I think Tong made a good point about how the government has funded the development of Hallyu and its transnational influence in order to boost Korea’s economy and cultural confidence, and as a result, there are more and more tourists coming to Korea because the influence of their favorite artist. They come to experience the culture and go to places that have shown in the music video or TV dramas. It is important that Kpop artists show that they are willing to resonate to audiences from different countries tries , to gain supporters and get to know their personalities and styles. On the other hand, Kpop artists need to be careful of what they say and what they do especially in public or on broadcasted shows. As an artist, you could be a role model for young generations, so being polite and multicultural will leave audiences a good impression, this would help their future personal development. In that case, they need to gain more knowledge on other culture aspects and respect other culture’s norms. For example there were a n artist called Ziyu from the group TWICE from JYP company, there was a huge controversial on being supportive of Taiwan being separate from China, this create a huge debate and Chinese were not happy with it. She had to do a video apologizing, as an artist who has a lot of attention, it is better to avoid those sensitive topic such as political issues. It is not to say that Kpop idols are controlled and stressed , they should also have their own space and own styles to perform.
Agreed, Idol groups should definitely try to avoid commenting on the politically sensitive topics. Most of the time, without a sufficient amount of knowledge, false or biased comments from a publicly influential figure will mislead the public which may cause unnecessary conflict and misunderstanding.
Korean idols can balance the need to be nationalistic and also attracting international audiences by having concert tours all over the world. It gives a chance for more international audiences to know them. Once they get famous and successful, the Korean can be very supportive because it proves that Korean popular music artists are very impactful and idols spread the Korean culture to the rest of the world, which can be seemed to be nationalistic. They can also integrate into the international cultures, such as learning different languages so that Korean idols can get closer to international audiences, and then it is more likely for audiences to know and like Korean idols. For example, when BIGBANG came to China to have their fans meetings, members introduced themselves and said hello to fans in Mandarin. Another example, when TVXQ came to China to have their concert, Changmin, one of the team members, sang a Chinese song to fans and everyone sang along with him. In addition, having members from different countries in Korean groups can also balance the need to be nationalistic and attracting international audience. For example, Super Junior, EXO, Blackpink, they all have non-Korean members in their group. It is easier to attract the international audience and get the support from them because people are more willing to know members from their countries and then to know the whole group and to know the Korean culture. Once there are more international audiences, they may consume more Korean products, which can contribute to the Korean economy. Fans will buy albums that Korean companies made, buy clothes that the idol wears, and eat Korean food that their idols like to eat. On the other hand, I also agree with Tong’s opinion that Korean idols should be promoters of nationalism first and then to be globalized. As we discussed in our class, one of the member in AOA did not recognize the famous person who made the great contribution to Korea, then she has to apologize to the public. If the idol does not get support from people in their own country, he or she cannot get foreign people’s support.
I totally agree that idols have already become promoters of nationalism due to their influence among the Korean audience, especially among the younger generations. Compared to the stars of other countries, Hallyu idols do have more sense of mission and responsibility to carry forward Korean national culture. Therefore, Korean idols usually choose to give priority to nationalism in order to get the support of the Korean government and people. Music is not only a form of entertainment for them but also a diplomatic means. Through music, they can transmit Korean culture and nationalism to more people in other countries, and thus complete the cultural export. At the same time, some Korean entertainment companies will also choose to recruit foreign trainees and package them as qualified Hallyu idols. Take EXO as an example. Undoubtedly, in the early days of EXO, the participation of four Chinese members did greatly increase the attention of Chinese audiences, thus broadening the Chinese market. The experience has proved that it is very successful of the Korean market to expand entertainment market of other countries in this way.
On the other hand, for nationalism, most Korean male artists are required to perform military service. This kind of conscription system makes the male artist have a blank period of no exposure for two years, which is almost devastating. The Korean entertainment industry is highly competitive. Many artists are trained from an early age and strive to be famous at the earliest possible age. Because Korean audiences pursue young and fresh appearances and expressions, many artists must ensure a certain degree of popularity in the entertainment industry at the age of 15, 16 years, so that they can accumulate to the golden age of adulthood or the age of 20 years. After the age of 20, the national obligation to serve in the military has become a cruel test for male artists. They have to live a life of almost no exposure for two years. In the pursuit of a fresh entertainment circle, it is easy to be squeezed by the young and glamorous newcomers and also be forgotten by the audience. There are a lot of Korean male artists who are quickly becoming popular with young and beautiful appearances. However, after two years of military service, they cannot still restore the glory of their previous career. I think this is also a cruel question.
Yes, I believed this question become more serious from the international aspect. When pursing a Korean idol, Korean fans must have more information and accessibility to their idols compared with the ones overseas. They are much easier to find or even form ‘support groups’ waiting the blank period. But fans overseas face more critical problems, for examples, economical and emotional. Thus, they are much more vulnerable to give up. However, since the military service is mandatory, I think it is very hard for Korean idols to solve this problem.
The essay reminds me of an incident happened between China and Korea in 2016. In 2016 July, South Korea accepted the assistance from the US military to deploy THAAD within the border of South Korea. To protest against the deployment of THAAD, People’s Republic of China introduced all sorts policies to limit the economic activities between China and South Korea, including a temporary limitation on the promotion of Hallyu within China. Korean idol groups were not allowed to perform and participate in any commercial activities in China at that moment. Many groups were having a “cold winter” if a large percentage of their revenue was from the Chinese market.
Moreover, Chinese nationalism is considerably strong, nationalist in China cannot tolerate any negative comment about China from the outside. Also, Chinese nationalism is similar to the South Korea nationalism; if a foreign public figure shows a positive attitude towards Chinese culture, then it is more likely for him/her to succeed in the Chinese market. However, sometimes when the nationalists of both countries are having a conflict of interest in case of a political or culture collision, the idol groups may face a dilemma of choosing the sides to stand on; no matter what decisions they make, they will always lose support from one side.
Although it is good to use nationalism as a tool to win consumer attention, the idol groups should still try to avoid making any negative comment regarding the political incident and conflicts. Also, the Idol groups should do thorough research regarding the issue that they are commenting on to avoid any misleading and biased comment. Overall, it is essential for the idol groups with strong public influences to actively participate in tasks that will lead to harmony and peaceful communication between nations, so they can continuously enjoy the benefit from having a long-term, sustainable consumer group.
Good example Stephen. Talking about potential dislike of foreigner towards nationalism that Korean idols show, we are usually considering fans and audiences in individual perspective. But you point out the K-pop as mainstay industry in Korea, are associated tightly with political and international relationships. Sometimes it is not like that if the idol him/her self wants to avoid get involved in political contractions, he/she can do so. Idols are representatives and an important source of national income for Korea so they must hold the same standpoint with their nation and people. The THAAD is really a good example that shows Korean idol industry can be very negatively influenced by political decisions made by the authority and become the victim of sanction between counties. At this circumstances, no matter for China or Korea fans, nationalism usually overweigh favor for idols. This can be a very tough decision emotionally for both idols and fans to see their motherland are politically opposite.
Tong’s essay gives us good review and suggestions of how Korean idols balance their nationalistic and international elements to attract both domestic and international audiences.
Tong mentioned that diversity and hybridity of different elements works better in satisfying audience with different cultural background. This is a highly competitive strategy to enlarge popularity by developing overseas market. This remind me of EXO’s great success in both Korea and Chinese market before three Chinese members quitted the group in excuse of health problems, limited personal development and even slight discrimination. The quitting of these idols took away a great portion of Chinese fans and resources from Chinese advertisers. Right now, the last Chinese member in EXO, Lay, has his own studio in China and is absent from many group activities. In my perspective, entertainment companies should make more effort in balancing resources and welfare and avoid internal tension among group members. Being impartial for domestic and international idols may reduce fans’ complaint and thus make fans more supportive for concerts, fan-meeting and other profitable group-related products. To sum up, being diverse is a good strategy, but need the brokerage firm to pay more attention to maintain good relationship between members, broker and fans.
I believed Lin tong has pointed out a key factor that Korean idol should concern from the aspect of balancing the need. She pointed out the ‘political sensitivity’ which Korean idol should have in public, thus, I want to dig a little more about what they should concern behind the screen. Since Hallyu was so succeeded in attracting both nationalism and international audiences, recruiting by Korean agency companies has becoming many trannies’ dream, even the ones who are not Korean. To attract more international attention, some Korean agencies did very gladly, to have some foreign members in the group. However, sometimes, this intention does not always come out good. For a negative instance, Chinese members in EXO and their agency company SM. To open mainland market, EXO was consisting of 2 smaller groups, EXO-M and EXO-K. They were in fever once they made the debut, but the team leader of EXO-M—Wu Yifan suddenly announced his withdraw right before their concert tour. This news made Chinese entertainment industries bloomed out. Despite of any declaration or explanation made by Wu Yifan or his agency company, and who’s fault was that, there were numerous guesses that— SM was mean to Chinese members resulting Yifan’s withdraw becoming the leading one. Many mainland people started to criticize the agency on the internet thinking of discrimination. Although there was nothing to do with the Korean idols in the team of EXO-K, regarding the bad fame of SM, their attention and popularity in mainland sharply went down. Learn form EXO-K’s experience, I believe it is very important for Korean idols to adjust the triangle relationships between them, agency and foreign members in the team. I also believe this is not easy to do. Thus, Korean idols might have think critically when considering join group consisting of both Korean and foreigners — it must be double-sided.
Without a bibliographic entry corresponding to the in-text citation, you’ve missed a very important step. Please do not include titles of articles in a short essay. It’s not normal to include article titles in academic writing (it’s more normal to include the titles of very famous books). If a paragraph says “First of all” I want to see another that says “Second” or “Next.” Esp. when you say you will propose “several ways” — so it felt like you didn’t follow up on a promise you’d made the reader. An essay should have a concluding paragraph. Otherwise this is solid work.
Your introduction does a very good job establishing the background of this discussion topic, engaging many academic voices. I find it interesting that you are placing actors/actresses on the same pedestal and level of expectation as K-pop idols- the example you used was very engaging, but I wonder how you could use it to draw back to discussing the traits of the K- pop industry that cater specifically to balancing nationalism and international attention. This is supplied by the comments in this discussion that bring about many relevant examples from K-pop to illustrate your points! Good job 🙂