A. If K-pop is the face of Korea, and related to nationalism, how does cultural appropriation fit into the picture?
As we learned in the past section, early Korean music was influenced by Japan during the colonization period before the influences from American military at World War II. Based on the development of globalization, K-pop has enjoyed a huge success around the world by mixing West and East cultural music, which sometimes causes cultural appropriation, like appropriating English lyrics and group names, while globalization also has a profound impact on a country’s cultural identity. In order to keep balance between nationalism and hybridization of culture,which is the main feature of K-pop, the first step is emphasizing the importance of originality. Since the social media has become the main agent of communicating culture, K-pop blends the diverse culture through social media and it changes to a structure with centering on the culture creativity (Jin and Ryoo 2014, 122). In this process, Korean government took a series of actions to encourage the local culture in different areas, for instance, protection of traditional cultural heritage, increasing the fundamental cultural facilities and cultivating specialized artists. However, the progress of originality and creativity is hindered to some extent by commercialization due to the major impetus of K-pop–the local entertainments and producers. ‘While contemporary K-Pop has advanced hybrid culture, it is less likely that the Korean music industry is developing a creative form of hybridization which works towards maintaining local identities in the global context’ (Jin and Ryoo 2014, 126). Therefore, it is crucial that focusing on Korean own creation to develop the unique culture of K-pop.
Secondly, cultural appropriation inevitably occurs during the mixing diverse cultures by generalizing incorrectly and one-sidedly. For example, CL has been accused of cultural appropriation of American street hip-hop representing with color people smoking and drinking in ‘Lifted’ music video and being regarded offensive to Muslim in her ‘MTBD’ album. Consequently, specific, strict and detailed audit and inspection are required in K-pop to avoid unsuitable cultural appropriation. Furthermore, it is the time for K-pop producers and entertainments to reexamine what K-pop want to show in their music video and correctly represent the other culture value they borrowed. In particular, producers can concentrate more on case-study research through national or local media about different culture based on the historical and unique local environment and analyze the best way to transfer them into a new form in K-pop (Jin and Ryoo 2014, 116).
To sum up, cultural appropriation in K-pop is inevitable under globalization. What Korean could do is not only keeping K-pop’s traditional and global cultural features but also correct cognition and representation of other cultures.
Reference
Jin, Dal Yong, and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical interpretation of hybrid K-pop: The global-local paradigm of English mixing in lyrics.” Popular Music and Society 37, no. 2 (2014): 113-131.
Keer Feng (33305160)
Hi Keer,
Your essay statement is very clear and supported by the evidence. It’s great that your supporting points have depth and are all from research and academic literature. Your essay is well-structured and still stay within the word count.
I agree with you that Korean popular music is greatly influenced by Japan and America, and it is a mixing of West and East popular music. And it is unavoidable that cultural appropriation might occur when different culture and concepts about popular music encounter.
In my opinion, in order to avoid cultural appropriation, the first thing to do is to do a lot of background research before making music or shooting a music video and truly respect the culture of other countries. As we know from a recent news that Dolce & Gabbana has cancelled its Shanghai fashion show amid accusations of racism over its latest ad campaign. In the ad video, we can see an Asian girl is eating some traditional Italian food like pizza and pasta with a pair of chopsticks. In the whole video she’s smiling weirdly and it is really awkward to see her eating those food with chopsticks. And the Chinese narration is even worse. As a Chinese myself, I feel really offensive after watching these video. After the video was posted, someone who has the same feeling as me messaged the designer of D&G and asked him why they directed the video like that. The designer replied that China is just a country of shit and something like that. Although after this he claimed that his instagram was hacked but I think no one will believe that bullshit. It said the campaign had been criticized for “trivialising China’s centuries-old culture and depicting Chinese women in a stereotypical and even racist way” by users on social media. The use of split-up chopsticks was also criticised for being improper and disrespectful. From this we know that if you don’t respect the culture from another country and only focus on marketing and making money, things could go really wrong and cultural appropriation may occur.
Hi Keer!
I read your essay, and I think you have some very good points. I agree that K-pop should show their nationalism in having originality and being creative. Which means, culture appropriation is not a good way of doing their music. As K-pop is being known by more and more people, it became a great tool for Korea to advertise themselves. Therefore, their music content should be acceptable for not only domestic audience, but also their potential international audience. Having culture appropriation included in their music may offend people from that culture, and would probably be interpreted as disrespectful.
However, K-pop do have reasons for having culture appropriation problem under the circumstance of globalization. First, since K-pop just took off in the western market, culture appropriation is not a familiar thing for them, as it exists pretty widely in other Asian countries as well. They may only see it as a way of showing diversity, and a way to get close to audience from that culture background. Considering the future development of Korean music industry in global market, this circumstance need to be paid attention to and taken action of changing. Instead of directly using elements from other country, they can do this in a better way, in a way that not offending anyone. It would be better if they show their appreciation by studying other culture and showing respect in a way that nobody interpret it as disrespectful.
In terms of nationalism, K-pop stars are being criticized under camera by everything they do or say. In addition, they are encouraged to sing songs introducing Korean culture, or film videos about Korea to attract foreign audience. In this picture, culture appropriation may fit in as an expression of nationalism. Their nationalism require them to be protective and extremely respectful of their own culture. However, it is not that strictly serious towards other countries’. Their inappropriate use of other culture elements may only represent that they didn’t value them as much as value their own. However, for music that goes to the world, the problem of culture appropriation needs paying attention to.
Hi Keer! Your essay presents coherent points to support your answer to the questions on how cultural appropriation fits in relation to nationalism and K-pop. I agree with your point on the importance of originality and the influence social media has in the diverse blend K-pop displays. Also i strongly agree with “Since the social media has become the main agent of communicating culture, K-pop blends the diverse culture through social media and it changes to a structure with centering on the culture creativity” as social media has become a powerful medium to distribute K-pop and allows entertainment companies to release music videos that display their unique creativity and distinct styles.Furthermore, as you stated, the originality of k-pop can be hindered by the commercialization by the producers and entertainment companies. Additionally, cultural appropriation will often times be prevalent when a group or idol decides to embrace another ones culture. For instance, Cl’s music video displays an attempt to a create a replication of American Hip-Hop culture, and ultimately fails. Failing as a result of the clothing style, use of foreign actors/dancers, choreography that tries to emulate Western Hip-hop but never really getting it right, mainly because of the different culture of K-pop and distinct difference between Hip-Hop and K-Pop. K-pop must stay within its own genre to be successful and avoid attempting to assimilate different cultures, or face the possibility of cultural appropriation. I also agree that cultural appropriation is inevitable for K-pop, and that idols need to have “correct cognition and representation of other cultures”. Since K-pop is the face of the nationalism in Korea, K-pop must take the role of expanding/globalizing to other areas in the world, and to restate, it is almost certain that K-Pop will display some hint of cultural appropriation, mainly as a result of the attempt to break into Western music. In order for K-pop to be accepted globally, K-pop idols must be extremely cautious in representing another culture, as even a small minority of people accusing one of cultural appropriation can hurt an idols image. Your essay displays many great points on the role cultural appropriation has on the nationalistic medium of K-pop in South Korea. Great work!
Hi keer I agree with your point on the importance of originality and the influence social media has in the diverse blend K-pop displays K-Pop’s clear western style of music and dance, the effect that Korean pop and American pop have had on one another is significant. The genre incorporates elements of American pop, hip-hop, and R&B along with synchronized dances. The growth of K-Pop popularity in the United States is commonly known as the “Hallyu wave,” which translates to the Korean wave, referencing the increasing popularity and international spread of South Korean culture since the 1990s. This cultural influence includes the introduction of Korean food, language, and entertainment, in the United States ever since South Korea entered into diplomatic relations with China in 1992. Additionally, K-pop’s use of synchronized dances, single gender groups, and matching outfits, are elements seen in America in the 1990s with boy bands such as the Backstreet Boys.The K-Pop industry appeals to a variety of audiences, with groups characterized by a variety of qualities, ranging from cutesy to cool to sultry. K-Pop is also memorable due to its inclusion of “point dance,” or simple dances that become trademarked with their songs. The inclusion of repetitive movements makes it easier for fans to follow along and enjoy performances even more. Notable point dances include Seventeen’s “popping” in “Mansae,” Psy’s horse style dance in “Gangnam Style,” Girls Generation’s crab leg dance in “Gee,” and Twice’s “TT,” in their song of the same name. Your essay has many great points on how cultural appropriation fit into the picture.