Hallyu Becoming Global Cultural Icon
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By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Hallyu, the Korean wave, is the 21st century version of the Silk Road which once served as a conduit for trade and cultural exchanges between the East and the West, a journalist-turned-culture specialist said Wednesday.
Prof. Park Jung-sook of the Institute of International Education at Kyung Hee University forecast that hallyu will "no longer be a uniquely Korean phenomenon", indicating it could become a global cultural icon.
"Spurred by advanced information technology, particularly Web 2.0, hallyu, which used to be a tiny bud, has finally become a flower in full bloom in the post-Cold War era", she emphasized in a presentation during the Cultural Dialogue for a Multilateral Society session of the World Civic Forum 2009 at COEX in southern Seoul.
The four-day forum, a joint initiative of Kyung Hee University in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, aims to explore the possibility of forging public and private partnerships for just societies. The event ends tomorrow.
Wednesday's forum had morning and afternoon sessions, and participants of the morning session exchanged their views on fostering humanitarian culture through children.
Joining the morning session were Wakako Hironaka, member of the House of Councilors of Japan; Rep. Hong Jung-wook of the governing Grand National Party (GNP); Janice Lyn Marshall, representative of UNHCR Korea Office; and June Kunugi, director of UNICEF Tokyo. GNP lawmaker Lee Hye-hoon chaired the session.
During the afternoon session, policymakers, academics and civic group leaders explored the way how "cultural sharing" works in connecting the world with the topic of cultural dialogue for multilateral society. Kim Jung-sup, dean of the university's Institute of International Education, chaired the session, and Michelle M.S. Kim, also from the university, served as a moderator.
Park, one of four panelists, presented the so-called "organic power" that she coined to refer to the unique Korean wave as a cultural phenomenon.
A former broadcast journalist, Park insisted people living in different countries and continents came to "recognize each other's cultural tastes in a free and organic fashion based on their own preferences".
Also joining the afternoon session were Lee Chan-buom, director general of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding; Kolleen Park, president and artistic director of Kyyk Musical; and Park Ki-tae, director of the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea.
Park, who concurrently serves as goodwill ambassador of The Korea Times, characterized organic power as a bottom-up approach in an effort to highlight the major difference between her terminology and soft power, which was coined by Prof. Joseph S. Nye Jr. of Harvard University.
Nye defined soft power as the ability to obtain what you want through attraction that includes culture.
Park argued soft power is a top-down-based approach, and there is a major difference between organic power and soft power.
"There are countless stories indicating the role that hallyu played in changing the way foreigners perceive Korea", Park noted.
Empirical studies backed the positive effect of the Korean wave on foreigners' perceptions of Korea.
A local polling agency Net Intelligence & Research conducted two public opinion surveys of Chinese people in 2004 and 2006, respectively to see if there had been any change in their perceptions of Korea before and after their exposure to Korean soap operas.
In 2004, 68 percent of Chinese answered they had ever watched Korean TV dramas, and the rate two years later found an increase of 24 percentage points, standing at 92.2 percent.
The surveys found approximately 60 percent of Chinese who had been exposed to Korean dramas came to have a positive image of the country.
The same agency also conducted polls twice during the same period in Japan, and found a similar trend had occurred in the country as well.
In 2004, about 61 percent of Japanese said they had watched Korean dramas and the rate in two years rose to 67.7 percent.
About 42.5 percent of Japanese said their perception and impression of Korea has changed in a positive manner after they watched Korean dramas.
The Korean wave started in mid-1990s mainly in China and Japan, then gradually went to other Asian countries and further on to other continents.
Over the past decade, policymakers have sought the role of government to link the cultural boom to trade, but their efforts have produced few tangible outcomes.
Park said, "The government should not be overly interventionist because of possible negative fallouts on an essentially creative process where private sector players, such as artists and businesspeople, are involved in.
"Also, the role of government should not be overt because injecting too much nationalism into a non-political, consumer-driven process will eventually draw a backlash from people living in other continents".
Despite the complexity, Park asserted that there is certainly a way that can help avoid the backlash.
She demonstrated how the alternative scheme that she had in mind worked by presenting UCC featuring a poem titled "Flowers", one of Koreans' favorite poems written by Kim Chun-soo, with background music and visual elements.
By connecting Internet to a storytelling device, her presentation suggested a new opportunity for hallyu as a global cultural product, through which suppliers and consumers can meet and interact with each other.
_____________________
Professor Park Jung-sook, left, listens to a presentation during a session of the World Civic Forum 2009 at COEX in southern Seoul, Wednesday. The four-day forum, organized by Kyung Hee University in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, is to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the university. Next to her is Park Ki-tae, director of the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, and Kolleen Park, president and artistic director of Kyyk Musical.
/ Korea Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Staff Reporter
Hallyu, the Korean wave, is the 21st century version of the Silk Road which once served as a conduit for trade and cultural exchanges between the East and the West, a journalist-turned-culture specialist said Wednesday.
Prof. Park Jung-sook of the Institute of International Education at Kyung Hee University forecast that hallyu will "no longer be a uniquely Korean phenomenon", indicating it could become a global cultural icon.
"Spurred by advanced information technology, particularly Web 2.0, hallyu, which used to be a tiny bud, has finally become a flower in full bloom in the post-Cold War era", she emphasized in a presentation during the Cultural Dialogue for a Multilateral Society session of the World Civic Forum 2009 at COEX in southern Seoul.
The four-day forum, a joint initiative of Kyung Hee University in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, aims to explore the possibility of forging public and private partnerships for just societies. The event ends tomorrow.
Wednesday's forum had morning and afternoon sessions, and participants of the morning session exchanged their views on fostering humanitarian culture through children.
Joining the morning session were Wakako Hironaka, member of the House of Councilors of Japan; Rep. Hong Jung-wook of the governing Grand National Party (GNP); Janice Lyn Marshall, representative of UNHCR Korea Office; and June Kunugi, director of UNICEF Tokyo. GNP lawmaker Lee Hye-hoon chaired the session.
During the afternoon session, policymakers, academics and civic group leaders explored the way how "cultural sharing" works in connecting the world with the topic of cultural dialogue for multilateral society. Kim Jung-sup, dean of the university's Institute of International Education, chaired the session, and Michelle M.S. Kim, also from the university, served as a moderator.
Park, one of four panelists, presented the so-called "organic power" that she coined to refer to the unique Korean wave as a cultural phenomenon.
A former broadcast journalist, Park insisted people living in different countries and continents came to "recognize each other's cultural tastes in a free and organic fashion based on their own preferences".
Also joining the afternoon session were Lee Chan-buom, director general of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding; Kolleen Park, president and artistic director of Kyyk Musical; and Park Ki-tae, director of the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea.
Park, who concurrently serves as goodwill ambassador of The Korea Times, characterized organic power as a bottom-up approach in an effort to highlight the major difference between her terminology and soft power, which was coined by Prof. Joseph S. Nye Jr. of Harvard University.
Nye defined soft power as the ability to obtain what you want through attraction that includes culture.
Park argued soft power is a top-down-based approach, and there is a major difference between organic power and soft power.
"There are countless stories indicating the role that hallyu played in changing the way foreigners perceive Korea", Park noted.
Empirical studies backed the positive effect of the Korean wave on foreigners' perceptions of Korea.
A local polling agency Net Intelligence & Research conducted two public opinion surveys of Chinese people in 2004 and 2006, respectively to see if there had been any change in their perceptions of Korea before and after their exposure to Korean soap operas.
In 2004, 68 percent of Chinese answered they had ever watched Korean TV dramas, and the rate two years later found an increase of 24 percentage points, standing at 92.2 percent.
The surveys found approximately 60 percent of Chinese who had been exposed to Korean dramas came to have a positive image of the country.
The same agency also conducted polls twice during the same period in Japan, and found a similar trend had occurred in the country as well.
In 2004, about 61 percent of Japanese said they had watched Korean dramas and the rate in two years rose to 67.7 percent.
About 42.5 percent of Japanese said their perception and impression of Korea has changed in a positive manner after they watched Korean dramas.
The Korean wave started in mid-1990s mainly in China and Japan, then gradually went to other Asian countries and further on to other continents.
Over the past decade, policymakers have sought the role of government to link the cultural boom to trade, but their efforts have produced few tangible outcomes.
Park said, "The government should not be overly interventionist because of possible negative fallouts on an essentially creative process where private sector players, such as artists and businesspeople, are involved in.
"Also, the role of government should not be overt because injecting too much nationalism into a non-political, consumer-driven process will eventually draw a backlash from people living in other continents".
Despite the complexity, Park asserted that there is certainly a way that can help avoid the backlash.
She demonstrated how the alternative scheme that she had in mind worked by presenting UCC featuring a poem titled "Flowers", one of Koreans' favorite poems written by Kim Chun-soo, with background music and visual elements.
By connecting Internet to a storytelling device, her presentation suggested a new opportunity for hallyu as a global cultural product, through which suppliers and consumers can meet and interact with each other.
_____________________
Professor Park Jung-sook, left, listens to a presentation during a session of the World Civic Forum 2009 at COEX in southern Seoul, Wednesday. The four-day forum, organized by Kyung Hee University in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, is to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the university. Next to her is Park Ki-tae, director of the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, and Kolleen Park, president and artistic director of Kyyk Musical.
/ Korea Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul
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