Korean Wave in Music - "Promote Korean Culture First!"
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"Only after Korean culture has become popular in foreign markets can Korean cultural content gain competitiveness. To perpetuate Korean Wave and extend its success in the music field, we should focus on promoting Korean culture right now".
Kim, Jae-Beom, Professor at Sungkyunkwan University, whose presentation at the fifth Music Industry Forum held on Dec. 19 compared the system of the Korean music industry with that of the classical evolutionary model of "survival of the fittest", arguing that in order to consolidate the Korean music industry's competitiveness in foreign markets, "promotion of Korean culture should precede".
What is most familiar among local consumers is either what they have contacted culturally or their own culture, said Kim. It means that only after the cultural foundation has been established can the cultural product be sold. The current Korean music Wave, therefore, may continue to endure its limitations.
Kim went on to say that the Korean Wave that centered on Southeast Asia was stimulated not by Korean culture or music but by Korean culture's similarities with that of Japan, China, and several Southeast Asian countries. For example, the huge popularity of Korean Wave in Vietnam has been in large part due to the fact that the Vietnamese culture has something in common with the Korean culture, that is, a recent war and a political divide.
Singers Rain and Boa made a huge success by singing American or Japanese songs because of the thorough analysis of local trends and successful localization. Such localization is part of the plan to enhance Korean content's competitive edge. However, the Korean culture must be preceded in countries whose culture contrasts that of Korea if Korean music's long-term success and further advancements in foreign markets is to be ensured.
"The export of cultural goods should follow a certain order; only after the Korean culture is promoted to a target market then should cultural goods advance into the market to consistently maintain its competitiveness in the said cultural region", said Kim. He stressed that just like the Japanese government, who promoted the Japanese culture in the initial stage of its cultural industry, Korea should promote the policy that involves comprehensive promotion of overall aspects of Korean culture in the target market before specific cultural goods can make any inroad into the said market.
What should come first is "the promotion of Korean culture" in order for the Korean government to export Korean music and to continue extending the Korean Wave in the music industry. Kim argued that popularizing Korean culture, not the immediate export of cultural content, is the best means to sustain the Korean Wave.
The Source : Koreacontent News Team
Kim, Jae-Beom, Professor at Sungkyunkwan University, whose presentation at the fifth Music Industry Forum held on Dec. 19 compared the system of the Korean music industry with that of the classical evolutionary model of "survival of the fittest", arguing that in order to consolidate the Korean music industry's competitiveness in foreign markets, "promotion of Korean culture should precede".
What is most familiar among local consumers is either what they have contacted culturally or their own culture, said Kim. It means that only after the cultural foundation has been established can the cultural product be sold. The current Korean music Wave, therefore, may continue to endure its limitations.
Kim went on to say that the Korean Wave that centered on Southeast Asia was stimulated not by Korean culture or music but by Korean culture's similarities with that of Japan, China, and several Southeast Asian countries. For example, the huge popularity of Korean Wave in Vietnam has been in large part due to the fact that the Vietnamese culture has something in common with the Korean culture, that is, a recent war and a political divide.
Singers Rain and Boa made a huge success by singing American or Japanese songs because of the thorough analysis of local trends and successful localization. Such localization is part of the plan to enhance Korean content's competitive edge. However, the Korean culture must be preceded in countries whose culture contrasts that of Korea if Korean music's long-term success and further advancements in foreign markets is to be ensured.
"The export of cultural goods should follow a certain order; only after the Korean culture is promoted to a target market then should cultural goods advance into the market to consistently maintain its competitiveness in the said cultural region", said Kim. He stressed that just like the Japanese government, who promoted the Japanese culture in the initial stage of its cultural industry, Korea should promote the policy that involves comprehensive promotion of overall aspects of Korean culture in the target market before specific cultural goods can make any inroad into the said market.
What should come first is "the promotion of Korean culture" in order for the Korean government to export Korean music and to continue extending the Korean Wave in the music industry. Kim argued that popularizing Korean culture, not the immediate export of cultural content, is the best means to sustain the Korean Wave.
The Source : Koreacontent News Team
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