K-POP is a term that almost everyone in this world knows. It is no longer an unfamiliar topic to be talked about. It originates from the South Korean pop culture that is growing rapidly through every corner of the world, especially through the youth in every country. According to Romano (2018), this Korean wave, or in another word “Hallyu” has become a global culture very prominently that you can find it in almost anything. From songs, to drama and lifestyles such as skin care products, fashion and food, name it - Hallyu has it all.
But how did South Korea achieve such a huge phenomenon that captivated the whole world’s attention? What is it that they have that others do not?
Hallyu has been growing bigger for the past 2 decades meanwhile K-POP - Korean pop itself has become progressively visible to the global audiences for the past 5 to 10 years (Romano, 2018).
As mentioned by Shim (2006), The South Korean government initially established the Cultural Industry Bureau within the Ministry of Culture and Sports in 1994, specifically aimed to attract corporate and investment capitals into their local film industry. The Motion Picture Promotion Law was also instituted in their efforts to build a cultural industry, following the American media system with the mantra ‘Learning from Hollywood’. Do you get it? They have an ENTIRE bureau in the cabinet just to promote their culture.
At first, their target was to spread their culture through songs and dramas - so those two were the ones they promoted the most. Starting with H.O.T, g.o.d, S.E.S, Sechs Kies as the first generation, then 2PM, Girl’s Generation, T-ARA, Big Bang, BEAST and followed by the next generations. New groups and artists keep debuting every day. According to Roll (2020), at least 115 K-pop groups are active today, 92 of them debuted in 2010 or later. The Korean Foundation reported that in 2019, there were 89 million hallyu fans and this number will not stop increasing.
If you are a fan of K-Dramas, maybe you will notice a lot of the Korean culture being implemented into them such as the food, their language, how they communicate with the elderly and the norms and values practiced by the Koreans. Some of the first K-Dramas to enter the international market and became a HIT were Winter Sonata and Stairway to Heaven. If you ask your mom, maybe she would know and it could bring her back some memories crying over the drama. From the showcasing of their cultural aspects in the dramas, now the props in the drama are being brought out as a product, just like the drama. Now they sell their food, fashion, skin care products - the whole lifestyle! Better yet, people actually buy these things. There you go, marketing 101.
Other than their very effective strategy, globalization is also one of the factors that contributes to the fame K-Pop owns today. Globalization is understood as an outcome of the workings of modernity (Giddens, 1991 as cited in Shim, 2006) and we totally agree on this! Back then, Korean culture was foreign to most people all over the world due to the lack of exposure. A decade ago, maybe it was slightly known in Asia. However now, K-POP is a multi-billionaire industry and they have fans from all over the world. EXO, BTS and Blackpink are a few of the K-POP groups that have toured all over Europe. They have also done a lot of interviews on America’s top talk shows like Ellen DeGeneres and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. These have directly promoted the South Korean entertainment industry in Europe and America.
According to Bernama (via The Star, 2021), The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea estimated the exports of local content to reach US$11.7bil (RM47.5bil) in 2021, with an increase from US$10.9bil (RM44.1bil) in the previous year, and overall content industry sales to jump from 4.8 trillion won (RM17.3bil) to 128 trillion won (RM463.03bil). They expect to make that much from just their entertainment industry. This benefit comes with a price, of course. The South Korean government also plans to help content producers shift to digital, non-contact platforms, by expanding relevant platforms. The plan includes spending 26.5 billion won (RM95.8mil) to build a K-pop events venue and support the production of K-pop materials. The government is more than willing to venture in this industry - they have all the help they need and this is why they are what they are today.
After all, their global success today is the result of their hard work to market their culture through the media. Undeniably, it was not a smooth run along the way, they started from zero until they got to where they are now. Their efforts are now recognized and adored by the world, which show the effectiveness of their strategy. The world, if not we, should take into consideration to follow their plans in developing their country using their culture. Culture should not hinder anyone from going forward in life, in fact it can come in handy, only if you know how. Take it from South Korea.
Malaysia, let’s step our game up a little bit ;)
Romano, A. (2018). How Kpop became a global phenomenon. Retrieved on April 5th 2021 from https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/2/16/16915672/what-is-kpop-history-explain
Roll, M. (2020). Korean Wave (Hallyu) – The Rise of Korea’s Cultural Economy & Pop Culture. Retrieved on April 5th 2021 from https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/
Shim, D. (2006). Hybridity and the rise of Korean popular culture in Asia. Media, Culture & Society, 28(1), 25–44. doi:10.1177/0163443706059278
The Star. (2021). South Korea to spread hallyu love to travellers and K-pop fans. Retrieved
on April 5th 2021 from https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/travel/2021/03/03/ South-korea-to-spread-hallyu-love-to-travellers-and-k-pop-fans
Proofread by Ilyana Elisa & Illya-Wardina
Published by Aisyah Hanim
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