Scrap Paper

A Bengali girl living in New York City that listens to South Korean music and watches South Korean dramas (T.V. shows). A mind-boggling statement, isn’t it? However, that statement precisely describes who I am.

I discovered East Asian music and dramas accidentally on January 2007. Blame (or thank) YouTube and its related video suggestions listed on the side of videos. I don’t remember what I was watching, but, on one January day, I decided to click one of the side videos that had “Tokyo Juliet” in the title. Thinking I would be watching a clip of something that portrayed the modern Japanese re-telling of the classic “Romeo and Juliet,” I was surprised to discover that “Tokyo Juliet” was actually the title of a Taiwanese drama. Intrigued, I searched YouTube and found English-subtitled episodes of the show. But after watching a few episodes, I decided I didn’t like it and looked at the related videos to find another drama to watch. Eventually, I abandoned YouTube as my “T.V. source” once I discovered another site online that uploaded only East Asian media (dramas, movies, anime, music videos, music shows, etc.). Thus, my introduction to East Asian music and movies.

During the first six months of 2007 (and the second half of my senior year in high school), I found myself staying up late into the night watching these dramas and movies, and starting to listen to more East Asian music than American music. In a sense, I reached a level of addiction where I could not think of what hobbies I had before January 2007. As the year progressed further along, I discovered there was a large online community of Korean pop culture fans like myself. Once college started, I was suddenly known as the South Asian girl that was “into Asian stuff.”

Years passed by and my interests dwindled down specifically to Korean music and dramas, then shifted more to Korean pop music (Kpop). Through general Kpop news websites, I concluded that when these Kpop groups go on concert tours or fan-meetings outside of South Korea, they were always in specific Southeast and East Asian countries because the management companies felt there were enough fans in those countries to be able to hold such large gatherings. In 2009, there was an influx of Korean celebrities attempting to break into the American entertainment industry. Although BoA and Se7en (pronounced “seven”), two major Kpop solo singers, released an album and single, respectively, their debuts were labeled failures. The Wonder Girls, a Kpop girl group, were the opening act of the Jonas Brothers’ 2009 U.S. tour. Actor Lee Byung Hun played Storm Shadow in “G.I. Joe,” and singer/actor Rain played the lead in “Ninja Assassin.” Yes, I watched “Ninja Assassin” only because Rain was in it. When the Korean-American leader of a boy band left Korea because of negative backlash from Korean fans after translations of his pre-debut English MySpace comments were passed around, there was an uproar in the international fan communities. While fans held flash mobs worldwide and protested company products, I was amazed and fascinated by the strong international reaction. Eventually, last spring, I became obsessed with the idea that I should do my senior thesis on Korean popular culture because how it did suddenly become so influential over social behavior?

For my thesis, I would like to examine the factors that led to South Korean popular culture’s rise and international spread in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the United States in the past decade. This increase in international popularity is often referred to as the “Korean wave” or “Hallyu.” My interest in the topic stemmed from my curiosity as a fan of Korean music and dramas to go beyond the superficial level of being a participant and question the dynamics behind the phenomenon as a social science and Asian Studies major.

Before I examine the rise of the Korean wave, I will discuss the economic growth of South Korea after the end of the Korean War, which will establish an understanding of how different Korean industries were established and how they flourished. In this investigation, I hope to particularly discover how the entertainment industry came about. Then, I will focus on what led to the increasing popularity of music, dramas (T.V. shows), and movies nationally.

Naturally, next I will shift to the international spread of the Korean Wave. In East Asia, I will focus on its fame in China and Japan. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia will be examined. For both East and Southeast Asia, I would really like to look at the effects on the local culture, and questions that arise will be addressed later in the “key questions” area. Lastly, I will consider the connection between the Korean pop industry and the United States, i.e. Asian-Americans relocating to Korea to seek fame, Koreans attempting to enter the American entertainment industry, and collaborations with American choreographers.

My major aspiration for this project is to conduct interviews with those connected to the Korean pop industry. I would like to ask storeowners that sell Korean DVDs, CDs, etc. how customer demographics and merchandise sales have changed in the past ten years. In New York, the Korean Produce Association holds a Chuseok Festival that displays and promotes Korean culture. In Los Angeles, the Annual Korean Music Festival is said to be the largest Korean music festival outside of South Korea. If I am able to interview one of the organizers from these festivals, I would be able to acquire a wealth of knowledge. Although it is unlikely to happen, I would like to interview Asian-Americans that have gone to Korea in search of fame and discover what led them to make that career decision.

Although some of my friends scoff at the idea that I turned my “silly” hobby into my senior thesis, I feel satisfied with my decision. If I am going to spend the next nine or so months immersed in serious research, it should be something I enjoy being buried in. In the end of the course, I hope to produce a paper that will not only inform readers, but also entertain them. To make an initial connection with my readers, I would like to point out things they may have observed during their everyday lives that they were not aware were related to the Korean wave. My ultimate personal goal is make the reader look up a Korean drama, movie, or singer I had mentioned in the paper and watch/listen to it/them.

Key questions:

• How has marketing and promotions changed over the past decade?
• What types of companies use Korean stars to endorse their product? Are they Korea-based or international? If they are Korea-based, were they established during the period of Korea’s economic growth?
• The ministry of tourism has recently started to promote travel to Korea using celebrities. Is it because these celebrities already have international fame and fan base that the government is trying “tap” into?
• In general, how involved is the Korean government in this industry?
• How has the internet contributed to the international factor?
• How are copyright infringements related to illegal uploading/downloading dealt with?
• In Southeast Asian countries, are more people learning Korean now than other languages? Have fashion styles changed?