Closing thoughts on kpc

As my motivation for taking a class on Korean popular culture was to learn about Korean popular culture, I am satisfied after these three months. I have gotten exposure to all sorts of mediums and exotic audiovisuals I would otherwise never have experienced (drama, k-pop, etc). I found some brutal tunes for my playlists while doing research on Korean alternative, and I joined the Lee Young-ae fan club. I began watching more Starcraft tournaments and gained a new respect for that cultural and culinary phenomenon of a dish called budae cchigae. I have become attuned to spot the inescapable influence of history in popular culture and hummed the tune of Arirang in an elevator. The very fact that we are all reading this means that we have each found something intrinsically appealing in Korean pop culture.

Hallyu has indeed been an interesting topic to study. Reading different dramas or songs through the lens of the culture theorists was challenging (if not painful) at times, but has given me a useful vocabulary to discuss popular culture and its relevant issues and industries. As an expert on the subject, I will be interested in watching how the permittivity and prevalence of Korean media expand or change in the future.

My favorite section was definitely the music section. My opinions and views on music tend to be somewhat polarized. I found some groups such as Drunken Tiger or the ballads in general painful to listen to, but that was counterbalanced by some of the fresh riffs and grinding vocals from some of the alternative bands I encountered.

As the course ends, I reiterate something we spoke about in class last week: it’s really about enjoyment and pleasure in the end. The phenomenon of hallyu may be some unique confluence of economics, politics and creativity, but discourse of that nature obscures the fact that Koreans are simply making more media that is enjoyable to consume. In that sense, hallyu has been effective in expanding the audience and increasing the amount of regional and global exposure of the many, talented Korean artists. Thus are my final thoughts. Korean popular culture has a little bit of something for everyone.