East Asian popular culture
Popular Culture in East Asia has risen to international prominence since the early 2000's up until recent times. East Asia doesn't have a coherent representation of the region. Differences between the individual countries mean that they all have unique variations to their popular culture. East Asian popular culture has gained universal recognition especially within its music industry after a Korean Wave Convention KCON was held in the United states for the first time in 2012. In the same year, "Gangman Style" by artist PSY topped the charts in over 30 countries. The music video, which won a MTV Music Video Award displayed stylised visuals, entertaining choreography as well as fusing different genres with Western Stylistic features.[1] East Asia has proven itself in the domestic and international market creating a wave of interest particularly for video games, manga, anime, television and popular music.[2]
Development[edit]
Western Features and Adaptions[edit]
The recent globalisation and economic development has resulted in a hybrid popular culture scene fusing Western stylistic features with East Asia's cultural customs and beliefs.[3] The expansion of East Asia's popular culture is due to a new market of 'rock aesthetic' heavily influenced from the U.S.[4] American as well as European folk music and art has had an overwhelming impact on the production of East Asia's entertainment scene.[5]Tom Dixon states that "Pop music is accepted first of all as a foreign influence replacing traditional music, it is then internalized, adapted to the native culture and pushed back into the wider world as a new style of pop which has been culturally filtered."[4] Influences have been stemmed from the American ‘dance-hit’ and the Soviet-Russian ‘Party song’. Both styles heavily present in Chinese and Korean pop music.[5] Western stylistic features have been adapted differently from individual countries, appropriated to fit within their cultural values and beliefs. The cultural and moral interests in East Asia's popular culture are liberal attitudes portrayed within American popular culture.[6] Japan's character creation of Hello Kitty represents a Western Fairytale where also the majority of the series uses Western clothing, minimalist and informal.[7]
The Korean Wave has also brought ‘Broadway-style’ musicals such as The Last Empress, a Korean musical that premiered in 1995. The “Broadway-style” musicals bring forth the Western formats in Korean’s popular culture. American ideas of Hollywood and Broadway are heavily intimidated and the Korean Wave regionalises it to East Asia.[8]
Economic and consumerism growth[edit]
From the early 2000's to now, the region of East Asia has experienced a major boom in its consumerism due to the growth of it economies. The globalisation and economic growth of the region has connected East Asia to the rest of the world creating a multinational notion of popular culture.[9]America's popular culture remains a prominent attraction within the global market of popular culture. Stemming away from America's pattern, East Asian companies and alliances started to introduce a regional market for culture to "provide cultural content to the imagery of the region".[9] East Asia’s urban middle class has helped generate demand for art, fashion and entertainment, supporting the movement of popular culture and spreading common practises and behaviours. They have also been responsible for the rapid urbanisation and consumerism, increasing the demand for the production of goods and cultural streams such as department stores and leisure facilities.[9] Significantly, the majority of East Asian middle class citizens live in the cities, generating employment and having a greater access to things such as entertainment, and health care services.[9] Specifically, Japan's economic development in the 1960s saw a huge boost in cultural exchange to improve Japan's reputation through its media culture. In 1988 the Takeshita government created a discussion panel on international cultural exchange to export their TV programs to other Asian countries. Then in 1991, the MOFA and Ministry of Post and Telecommunications established the Japan Media Communications Centre to ensure developing countries received Japanese TV programs.[10] This has prompted the expansion of its popular culture.
Rise of Regionalism[edit]
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Regional formation in East Asia has had a significant impact on East Asia's media and popular culture. Geographically, East Asia is a large region containing multiple countries of a variety of languages and cultural beliefs. Countries include Mongolia, the Russian Far East, the Korean Peninsula, China, Japan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, plus islands such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.[9] Following the financial crisis of 1997-98 the need to become more politically and economically stable meant that sub-regions within Asia grew closer together moving away from American and Soviet Union political and international power and instead, combining political and economic strength.[11]Regional economic and consumerist activities have grown in the last 20 years increasing intraregional trade, production and independence.[11] This turned East Asia’s artistic innovation into a cultural commodity that can be marketed to a wide span of customers and consumers.[11] Many products that are created from specific places within East Asia such as Japanese Manga Animation and comics have been translated in multiple East Asian languages. This is largely due to the proximity of countries within the region.[12] For example, the Korean Wave's regional appeal is vastly due to because it reflects "intricate connections among different and uneven Asian sensibilities."[13] The Korean Wave has been an important component at establishing East Asia's popular culture scene. "When the Korean Wave is recognised as something more than simple repetitions or a new combination of cultural phenomena, it can contribute to the historicity as well as the multiplicity of East Asian pop culture."[14]
Film and Television[edit]
Film and television in East Asia has been influenced by the Hollywood style blockbuster as well has developing their own style such as Korea’s “gangster comedies", and Japanese horror movies such as The Ring which influenced an array of horror/ghost movies from Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.[6] Hong Kong and Taiwan have dominated areas in the pan ethnic-Chinese genre of East Asian pop-culture.[6] Since, 1950s to late 1980s Hong Kong has produced Chinese movies predominantly in Cantonese and Mandarin. In the early 2000s, Taiwan started to produce young adult romance drama such as Meteor Garden.[6]
Before the mid-1990's the Korean government had restricted the affluence of foreign content.[15] Local film theatres focussed on Hollywood blockbuster films and Hong Kong action films. Between 1971 and 1980 only 5 films from Asian countries were shown in Korean theatre, 3 Japanese, 2 Filipino and 1 Indian. Around the 1990's Media Liberalisation in Asia predicted that region and local film and television productions were collapsing due to the inflow of Western Media. Government representatives of ASEAN called for action to protect Asian values and traditions from Western media influence. From this, Asian governments regulated their media systems by making bans on foreign films.[16] This ban was later lifted due to the 2002 World Cup with Japan. By the end of the 1990's the Korean film industry began producing high-quality films such as the 1999 action film Shiri, which adapted Hollywood style action scenes. [17]
Some Korean films are adaptions of Japanese texts and popular culture such as novels 'Singles' and 'Christmas at Twenty Nine' by Komato Toshio.[18] The beginning of the 21st Century saw the rise of co-production within the film industry especially between Korea and Japan. It relieves the financial burden of film making and increases regional appeal. These partnerships in film production allow for the use of popular actors and stars from foreign countries to increase the films’ overseas and universal appeal.[19] Some of these films include Asako in Ruby Shoes (2000), Soeul (2002), Operation Boss and Fighter in the Wind (2004).[20]
Music[edit]
The music industry from countries such as Korea, Japan and China has become one of the world's largest music platforms. These music genres include C-Pop, Mandopop, Cantopop Hokkien Pop, J-Pop and K-Pop. Since the beginning of the 21st century these industries have been gaining international success, surpassing the United States as the world's largest music market.[1] For the first time in 2012 a Korean Wave Convention, KCON was held in the United States. In the same year, "Gangman Style" by artist PSY topped the charts in over 30 countries. The music video, which won a MTV Music Video Award displayed stylised visuals, entertaining choreography as well as combining different genres and cultures.[1] This style is associated with a lot of music videos and media from the region.
Channel V is the main location for showcasing East Asian music and entertainment. The channel displays international and local pop and rock music. Sony Music Entertainment are creating a pan-Asia music genre.[12] "In 2004 it produced a two-volume pop music collection featuring Japanese, Honk Kong, Taiwanese, and South Korean Artists".[12]
Branding and Advertisement[edit]
The Japanese character creations of Hello Kitty, Poke’mon and Astro Boy have been internationally successful and created a mass-production of merchandise and branding.[12]
Japanese popular culture and media has received mixed reviews from its East Asian neighbours. Korean cultural industries have copied and plagiarised Japanese cultural forms but condemned their liberal expressions of sex and violence.[21] Korean cartoonist have been heavily influenced by Japanese styles and techniques.[22]
Marketing, and promotional content throughout the region is now working from a shared platform rather than individual countries. For example, Singapore streams television shows, movies and music from all parts of East Asia. Singapore television companies are “cooperating in joint ventures with production companies”, engaging with foreign artists from East Asia in local productions to help expand their market. This transnationalism of production and consumerism across different linguistic and cultural aspects is the route of popular culture in East Asia.[23]
Festivals[edit]
East Asia has produced a variety of festivals independent to its region. Festivals include;
Hadaka Matsuri (Japan)[edit]
Over 9000 Japanese men gather to Saidaiji Temple where they are doused in cold water as they look for wooden sticks called a shingi. This festival occurs every third Saturday in February. It is believed that if you perform this ceremony you will be blessed with good fortune for a year.[citation needed]
Naki Sumo: The Crying Baby Festival (Japan)[edit]
For over 400 years, the Nakizumo Festival at the Senoji Temple puts over 100 babies against each other to see which one cries first whilst they are held by sumo athletes. It is believe that whichever baby wins first they will have good health.[citation needed]
Crucifixion Festival (Philippines)[edit]
Devout Catholic Filipinos re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus. The people who partake in the ceremony walk barefoot whipping their backs to relieve their sins.[citation needed]
Phuket Vegetarian Festival (Thailand)[edit]
For nine days, participants honour animals by piercing their faces with knives, swords of umbrellas to promote vegetarianism and good health.[citation needed]
Hungry Ghosts Festival (China)[edit]
According to Daoist tradition, annually on the seventh month of the Lunar calendar, generally around July or August unrestful ghosts descend on the land. To celebrate, China feeds these ghosts during the festival. This is to prevent ghosts haunting families. On the last day of the festival it is believed that the gates of hell close for another year.[24]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wang, Amy X. (2018-08-21). "How K-Pop Conquered the West". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
- ↑ Shamoon, Deborah (2015-07-30). "Regionalizing Culture: The Political Economy of Japanese Popular Culture in Asia by Nissim Kadosh Otmazgin (review)". The Journal of Japanese Studies. 41 (2): 456–461. doi:10.1353/jjs.2015.0047. ISSN 1549-4721.
- ↑ Bergan, Hannah N. (Winter 2011). "Understanding Korean Society through Popular Music" (PDF). Situations. Yonsei University. 5.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dixon, Tom (Aug 17, 2011) [May 2009]. The Journey of Cultural Globalization in Korean Pop Music (paper). ISSN 2053-8626. Retrieved 2020-02-10 – via E-International Relations.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bose, Fritz (1959). "Western Influences in Modern Asian Music". Journal of the International Folk Music Council. 11: 47–50. doi:10.2307/834857. ISSN 0950-7922. JSTOR 834857.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Huat, Chua Beng (2004-08-01). "Conceptualizing an East Asian popular culture". Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. 5 (2): 200–221. doi:10.1080/1464937042000236711. ISSN 1464-9373.
- ↑ Wai-ming Ng, Benjamin. "The Hello Kitty Craze in Singapore: A Cultural and Comparative Analysis" (PDF).
- ↑ Cho, Younghan (May 2011). "DESPERATELY SEEKING EAST ASIA AMIDST THE POPULARITY OF SOUTH KOREAN POP CULTURE IN ASIA". Cultural Studies. 25 (3): 383–404. doi:10.1080/09502386.2010.545424. ISSN 0950-2386.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Otmazgin, Nissim Kadosh (2014). Regionalizing Culture: The Political Economy of Japanese Popular Culture in Asia. University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3694-8. JSTOR j.ctt6wqw63. Search this book on
- ↑ Iwabuchi, Koichi (2015-08-08). "Pop-culture diplomacy in Japan: soft power, nation branding and the question of 'international cultural exchange'". International Journal of Cultural Policy. 21 (4): 419–432. doi:10.1080/10286632.2015.1042469. ISSN 1028-6632.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Otmazgin, Nissim Kadosh (2005). "Cultural Commodities and Regionalization in East Asia". Contemporary Southeast Asia. 27 (3): 499–523. ISSN 0129-797X. JSTOR 25798755.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Otmazgin, Nissim Kadosh (March 2007). "Japanese Popular Culture in East and Southeast Asia: Time for a Regional Paradigm?". Culture and Literature. Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia. No. 8–9. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
- ↑ Cho, Younghan (May 2011). "DESPERATELY SEEKING EAST ASIA AMIDST THE POPULARITY OF SOUTH KOREAN POP CULTURE IN ASIA". Cultural Studies. 25 (3): 383–404. doi:10.1080/09502386.2010.545424. ISSN 0950-2386.
- ↑ Shim, Doobo (2008-02-01), "The Growth of Korean Cultural Industries and the Korean Wave", East Asian Pop Culture, Hong Kong University Press, pp. 14–31, ISBN 978-962-209-892-3, retrieved 2020-02-21
- ↑ Shim, Doobo, "Korean Cinema Industry and Cinema Regionalization in East Asia", Popular Culture Co-Productions and Collaborations in East and Southeast Asia, NUS Press, pp. 52–67, ISBN 978-9971-69-625-2, retrieved 2020-02-21
- ↑ Shim, Doobo, "Korean Cinema Industry and Cinema Regionalization in East Asia", Popular Culture Co-Productions and Collaborations in East and Southeast Asia, NUS Press, pp. 52–67, ISBN 978-9971-69-625-2, retrieved 2020-02-21
- ↑ Shim, Doobo, "Korean Cinema Industry and Cinema Regionalization in East Asia", Popular Culture Co-Productions and Collaborations in East and Southeast Asia, NUS Press, pp. 52–67, ISBN 978-9971-69-625-2, retrieved 2020-02-21
- ↑ Shim, Doobo, "Korean Cinema Industry and Cinema Regionalization in East Asia", Popular Culture Co-Productions and Collaborations in East and Southeast Asia, NUS Press, pp. 52–67, ISBN 978-9971-69-625-2, retrieved 2020-02-21
- ↑ Shim, Doobo, "Korean Cinema Industry and Cinema Regionalization in East Asia", Popular Culture Co-Productions and Collaborations in East and Southeast Asia, NUS Press, pp. 52–67, ISBN 978-9971-69-625-2, retrieved 2020-02-21
- ↑ Shim, Doobo, "Korean Cinema Industry and Cinema Regionalization in East Asia", Popular Culture Co-Productions and Collaborations in East and Southeast Asia, NUS Press, pp. 52–67, ISBN 978-9971-69-625-2, retrieved 2020-02-21
- ↑ Huat, Chua Beng (August 2004). "Conceptualizing an East Asian popular culture". Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. 5 (2): 200–221. doi:10.1080/1464937042000236711. ISSN 1464-9373.
- ↑ Huat, Chua Beng (August 2004). "Conceptualizing an East Asian popular culture". Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. 5 (2): 200–221. doi:10.1080/1464937042000236711. ISSN 1464-9373.
- ↑ Huat, Chua Beng (August 2004). "Conceptualizing an East Asian popular culture". Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. 5 (2): 200–221. doi:10.1080/1464937042000236711. ISSN 1464-9373.
- ↑ Thomas, Jeannie Banks, "Gender and Ghosts", Haunting Experiences, Utah State University Press, pp. 81–110, ISBN 978-0-87421-681-3, retrieved 2020-02-14
Category: East Asia Category: Popular cultureCategory:Japan Category:Korea Category:China Category: globalization
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