Japan, South Korea and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the regional leaders of East Asia are defined by their differing cultures, languages and their exceptionally tumultuous history. These issues are the primary the basis of the separation and tension that exists between the nations. However, with the rise of cultural hybridization due to globalisation, a new bridge in the form of cinema and pop culture is evolving. Ryoo Woongjae suggested that ‘the [success of the] South Korean film ‘Winter Sonata’ did more politically for South Korea and Japan than the co-hosting of the FIFA World Cup (R. Woongjae, 2009)’. With media transcending borders and blurring culture differences in the region, can pop-culture and cinema help to soften the divide between the nations?
Examples of the tension existing within the region today can be seen in the three countries opposing territorial disputes in the South China Sea or the friction caused by the Japanese Occupation of Korea in WWII with Japan even recalling their ambassadors from S. Korea just this year over the dispute (Japan Times, 2017). Traditionally this political strain has carried over to the nations respective media industries with films portraying their neighbours as the antagonists such South Korea’s anti-communist trends (H. Lee, 2000, pp. 48-51) or the anti-Japanese Genre that developed in China post WW2. Until 1998, Japanese performances were even banned in South Korea for fear of the ‘invasion’ of foreign culture (J. Jung, 2015, pp 730-731).
The rise of the internet along with the decline of state censorship and nationalism allowed for greater cultural exchanges through mediums such as online streaming services that provide an unprecedented level of music, film and media content. Last year ‘Your name’, a Japanese Anime feature film became the highest grossing Japanese Film in China when it grossed US$78 Million in the Chinese box office (SBS,2016). This rare screening of a Japanese film in Chinas restricted film industry shows the increasing infiltration of foreign culture through media.
South Korea’s rise to popular culture dominance known as ‘the Korean Wave’ is one of the most successful cultural phenomena’s the world has seen. Aided by the globalisation of media; Koreas film, music and media industries saw a dramatic boom. With cultural similarities to that of Japanese Pop (J-Pop), Korean Pop (K-Pop) swept up South Asia and become a universally known genre. Japanese and Chinese audiences became some of the largest consumers of content that the new founded cultural hub of South Korean was producing (pp 139).
2.9 Billion Views – K-Pop icon PSY’s GANGNAM STYLE
Super Junior, a K-pop boy band which recently gained 117 million views for their song ‘Mr Simple’ (YouTube, 2017), has capitalised on the globalisation of media and success of the Korean Wave. The band consists not only of Korean nations however also of Canadian and Chinese members, a concept that would have been impossible some 20 years ago. Performing in both Mandarin and Korean, the band is an example of cross cultural hybridization through globalisation and the success that can be attributed to it.
With popular culture trends such as K-pop reaching such a large global following, globalisation and the associated cultural hybridization accompanying it can potentially be of massive economic and cultural benefit to the countries of the South Asia Region. Cultural hybridization between the nations opens not only the possibility to strengthen countries cultural status, however, may also prove to improve the tense relations between the region’s populations.
Nelson, K. 2015, China suspends WWII drama after complaints, The Shanghaiist, 22 May, Viewed 20 August 2017, http://shanghaiist.com/2015/05/22/china_suspends_wwii_drama_after_com.php
Hillslearning, 2013, the Korean explosion, viewed 18 August 2017, http://www.hillslearning.com/2013/08/15/the-korean-explosion/
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Jung, J. A Historical Consideration into Two Perspectives on Culture Revealed in the New Korean Wave Discourse, International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, vol. 5, no. 8, pp. 730-731
SBS PopAsia HQ, 2016, ‘Your Name’ is now the all-time No.1 Japanese film in China, viewed 15 August 2017, http://www.sbs.com.au/popasia/blog/2016/12/21/your-name-now-all-time-no1-japanese-film-china
Wall Paper Cave, PSY Wallpapers, Viewed 20 August 2017, http://wallpapercave.com/psy-wallpapers
Web-Japan, 1998, BREAKING THE ICE: South Korea Lifts Ban on Japanese Culture, viewed 19 August 2017, http://web-japan.org/trends98/honbun/ntj981207.html
Woongjae, R. 2009, ‘Globalization, or the logic of cultural hybridization: the case of the Korean wave’, Asian journal of communication, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 137-151