In Defense of Hallyu backlash
Ladies, feast your eyes...
a picture is worth a thousand words, how could you hate something so beautiful...
Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. The success of Hallyu brings about a backlash from other threatened Asian nations. According to an article in The Korea Times, the Taiwanese government is considering a ban on the broadcast of foreign dramas during prime time as audience ratings of Korean dramas have surpassed those of local dramas: 4-5 Korean dramas are broadcasted nightly on local Taiwanese TV networks. Similarly, “
Kwon Ki-young, a manager of Korea Culture & Content Agency cites the motivation behind the animosity as a defense mechanism to “protect and support local dramas, movie and television industries.”
Kim Tae-won, a managing director of drama production company Olive 9 pointed out that spreading hallyu through unilateral investment rather than a cultural exchange and coalition only sparks animosity from local people toward Korean pop culture.
"The best way to continue hallyu in China and other economies is to pursue its localization, which means producing dramas in China with Chinese staff and supply them directly to the country," said Kim.
"Many Korean production companies in
"Only when Koreans realize the importance of building such a reciprocal and trustful relationship with
Thoughts:
1) Why are Korean dramas such popular forms of mass entertainment and such efficient Hallyu catalysts?
Not only are they entertaining, they are also ridiculously addictive. Subtitles remove the potential problem of a language barrier. Even though certain nuances and a level of sophistication are lost in translation, there is still an innate and intricate appeal of Korean dramas that cause the viewer to be glued to the screen continuously for extended hours. And even though the plots tend to be clichéd and repetitive, they never fail to create pathos with the audience.
As a commercial tool, Korean dramas are an excellent platform for incorporating other elements of popular Korean culture: fashion, music, food, etc. Therefore the visual spectacle that culminates is a cultural product that showcases the multi-facets of Korean culture. (Also, in the case of the drama serial Full House, which was based in a comic book, highlights and glamorizes yet another element of popular Korean culture.)
2) Why does the popularity of Korean dramas supersede those of Chinese dramas?
Personal taste is subjective, so there a myriad of possibilities. Here are my speculations: it could be simply a resistance to local music/tv talent. In
A personal opinion is that Korean actors are simply better looking than Chinese actors. (Granted, the plastic surgery rates are higher in Korea, but in the entertainment industry, an actor is essentially selling his image, it is his JOB to look good, he is PAID to look good.) In the superficial culture of the entertainment industry, looks are everything. The abstract notion of Korean actors being better looking can be solidified by the concept of the “Korean jaw-line”. This is a theory of a friend of mine that Korean men have more defined bone-structure and a stronger jaw-line and are thus better looking than Chinese men. Even amongst Korean actors, the degree of definition (of jaw structure) defines the level of attraction. Take for example Bi and Kim Sung-su in Full House. Bi is considered “cute”, but not “hot” because his face is softer and rounder than Kim Sung-su’s.
I did some research to substantiate this theory and found something interesting on an online medical journal:
High cheekbones and a distinct mandibular (jaw structure) contour characterize the appearance of East Asian persons, especially those of Korean and Japanese descent. In the West, such features are valued, and these areas are frequently enhanced for optimal aesthetic appearance.
3) How legitimate is the claim that Korean production companies should try to localize their dramas (according to the article) and share the “know-how” of creating a successful drama with Chinese directors?
I think the Chinese government is acting extremely immature and over-reacting. Not in the sense that they are putting a limit to Korean dramas—it is after all, a government’s duty to protect the best interests of the nation, but the anti-Hallyu sentiments stemming from insecurity and jealousy. Just because the local entertainment industry is not competent enough to capture the hearts of local viewers, cancelling foreign favorites and demanding to be taught the ‘trick of the trade’ is not the manner to operate. In our capitalist society, cream always rises to the top, the reason Korean dramas are more widely received than Chinese dramas is because they are better. Cancelling a viewer’s favorite program for the sole purpose of protecting one’s economy is an infringement on human rights. There are alternative methods to boosting the local film industry than simply cancelling out the competition. The Chinese film industry should look towards the Korean model as an inspiration, not a threat. The TV industry at its core is all about entertainment, viewers should have the prerogative to pick and choose from a variety of shows that suit their palate, and not have their options limited because the government feels threatened.
Furthermore, demanding that
Just a note about the “cultural exchange” and import/export. A nation would not bother to import a resource that it already has. Therefore, the criticism of Hallyu being a “unilateral investment rather than a cultural exchange” is not a valid argument.
In an attempt to be more objective, I shall explore the other side. What if the Korean film industry actually collaborated with the Chinese entertainment industry to produce an appropriated Chinese but Korean-stylized drama? I actually watched a localized Chinese-genre-Korean-influenced drama. The concept seemed to work in theory and along with the “cultural exchange” concept: a globalized cast drawing actors from
I’m interested to hear your thoughts.
Oh, and who wants to buy me a plane ticket to Korea? :)
posted by sandy @ 3:41 AM
6 Comments:
Hey Sandy, I really liked your entry! And for the "cultural exchange" and how Hallyu is a unilateral investment, I totally agree with you. It is an invalid argument. I mean, the thought of creating a pan-Asian drama is tempting, but like you mentioned, it turned out to be a disaster...Oh well.
Yeah, I agree that the other countries' demands are somewhat ridiculous. I can see them objecting to too many Korean drama imports if, for example, the Korean dramas contain overly nationalistic messages (or like we saw, antagonistic portrayals of the Japanese or others, etc). But it's certainly not Korea's job to teach the rest of Asia how to make great dramas - if they can't figure it out themselves, they're going to have to keep importing them or go without.
I agree as well with your sentiments on cultural exchange. Korean media exports simply have better production value than their counterparts in the importing countries, using popularity as a proxy. The notion that Korea should be obligated to import shows or "share knowledge with locals" (whatever that even means) is bogus. There's no reason a country should import a good that has no demand or is of inferior quality to the home industry.
I think you missed a minor point though about why Korean things are more succesful in China. China is "communist" (if you can even call it that after that bill legalizing property ownership was passed last month), which means the state has their greedy paws in everything, especially media industries. Korean productions therefore have more creative and thematic freedom and (perhaps more importantly) less censorship, which may add to the appeal. That bit near the end of the post about infriging on human rights or protecting local industry is just what communist governments do. I suspect economics has more to do with the heightened reception in China than do higher cheek bones.
Wow. Let me take this moment to proudly say that Sandy is the eptiome of a Hallyu consumer: not only do you consume Kpop products but you have the Hallyu mentality-Korea is #1. Lol. Well yes, let me say i was very impressed with your entry on how much you attriubuted the Hallyu success to the ingenious Koreans who produced them and reproached the Chinese gov't for such weak claims against Hallyu. True, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, however I concur that most beholders of that eye are most pleased when observing a korean male or female. I am very pleased that you, yourself a Chinese-American-Canadian and soon to be Korean would make such a true statement. Ok back to the acaedmic stuff, I am however wary of the Hallyu success in the future. Fortunately the Japanese actors aren't as gorgeous as us koreans; however, i can definitely say they lead the way in fashion and maybe music in the near future. In the articles we read this week, it mentioned that Taiwanese were attracted to Kpop not for the music but more for the fast dance and aesthetic appeal of the half-dressed women. However, i am starting to see a lot of Koreans listening to J Pop music. So, are we koreans/chinese gonna let the japanese superscede us like this again? remember what happened at nanjing!
-deeKoh
Hmm...there are points that I agree with and disagree with in the article. While I do agree that cultural exchange between Korea and China often results in mediocre products (Think Bejing...My Love, *shudder*), there are exceptions to the rule (My Bratty Princess, which has a cliched plot but I liked it anyways because the costumes were cool).
The point is I think that different countries excel in different types of dramas and the view of what excels is in the eye of the viewer. Below are my opinions on Asian dramas.
Contrary to geoff's comment I don't believe that Chinese dramas are less popular because they're less creative. There are good quality Chinese dramas but I think the issue is that most the good ones are the period pieces that may be inaccessible to western audiences due to the historical background needed while the modern ones try to copy Korea and Japan thus turning off the modern audiences because they can just watch the originals. In terms of Chinese dramas, I only like the period pieces and I abhor the modern pieces. Especially cool are the swordfighting kungfu dramas epics based on Jin Yong's novels...tho the quality has gone down recently as there has been more of a focus on special effects than plot and the historical detective/magistrate dramas and emperor biopics.
In terms of both Korean and Japanese dramas, I like the modern trendy dramas while I never really got into the historical ones. While we had to watch Emperor of the Sea and Jewel in the Palace for this class, I found that I enjoyed Goong and Chun-hyang much more. I never could really put my hand on exactly since if I cite the cultural/historical barrier it wouldn't explain the popularity of Jewel in Greater China (HK, Taiwan and the Mainland). Maybe its the costumes, as I'm not really a big fan of the hanbok but I love the Tang era costumes of China and the Qipao I just find sexy, yet I do like the kimonos of Japan so that's probably not a valid reason. Finally between Japanese and Korean dramas, I find that I like them both equally. Between them though, I feel that Korean dramas focus more on love while Japanese dramas focus more on society as a whole, though the lines seem to be blurring recently.
Next are Taiwan dramas which I find in general are just pretty bad (even though my parents are from there) and the accent just grates on my ears (even though I speak with that accent) as they tend to be modern and trendy but use actors/actresses with all looks and no skills. Think Meteor Garden *cringe*
Finally, we get to HK dramas, of which I like both the modern and the period pieces (TVB is awesome!!!). Though granted the period pieces tend to be lower budget than the ones done in the mainland, both tend to be very witty and contain many funny references. HK comedies have a sense of humor that hasn't been replicated elsewhere. For those who have watched the older Stephen Chow and Jackie Chan movies, you will know what I'm talking about.
The point is I don't necessarily believe the products of one Asian culture is superior to the next. Each has its own characteristics and strengths. The reason that one is more popular than others doesn't necessarily reflect superiority rather its is just the themes are more universally accepted. Many quality mainland historical dramas I feel will be boring to the non-Chinese audience because of the idioms, poetry, historical references and language they use. Granted some historical Korean dramas are popular but I feel they are popular because of the Korean wave that was spurred by the modern trendy dramas that invoked an interest into the Korean culture.
Finally, I agree with the above sentiment that that fusion products, while good theoretically are not viable in practice since you usually end up with a product that lacks the originality of the original. The reason I feel that I like My Bratty Princess is because it kept all the characteristics of a classic Chinese drama and only used a Korean actress, Jang Nara, for fusion. Same with The Myth which has a Korean actress Kim Hee-Sun which while it incorporated a plotline similar to Indiana Jones was still very typical Jackie Chan with all his usual jokes and stunts. Thus I don't really feel that the lack of sharing is a valid barrier to Hallyu. More likely I feel is the need to protect domestic industries. Markets like Taiwan are especially vulnerable because of the type of drama they produce, the modern trendy ones can't compete with the higher quality imports from Japan and Korea while the historical drama market is monopolized by mainland dramas. While the Taiwanese can limit Korean dramas, the likelihood of the entertainment industry limiting imports from the mainland is unlikely because the mainland is a large market for Taiwanese entertainers so repercussions by China can be deadly, while the entertainers have little appeal in Korea and Japan so limitations come at rather low cost.
This post is generating such a good discussion. Yay! A response to your responses:
Jackie—I’m glad you enjoyed reading my blog entry, I had a lot of fun writing it =) A lot of concepts/ideas sound good in theory, (i.e a collaborated Chinese-Korean drama) but in all practicality, do not always work out as envisioned.
Samantha—I’m glad you agree with me about the ludicrous demands of the Chinese government, you say it quite succinctly: “it's certainly not Korea's job to teach the rest of Asia how to make great dramas.”
Totally different context, but Truman said that “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”. The media/entertainment industry is extremely competitive, especially on the international scene; spoon-feeding is certainly not an option.
Geoff-- I completely agree with you, the success of Korean dramas in China is definitely correlated with the added “creative and thematic freedoms” (its unique political situation cannot be undermined); however, here is the key difference between our assertions--we’re writing from two different perspectives. You’re analyzing the social-political-economic motivations behind the popularity of Korean dramas in China, I’m writing from the perspective of the entertainment industry.
From the marketing producers/distributors perspective: all they care about are the viewers’ ratings, because it is the ratings that determine the success of the station. If a consumer likes a product, he/she is willing to invest time and money in it, and the result would be a lucrative venture for the director of the drama. Therefore, the consumer’s preferences are a top priority.
As a consumer of a popular culture product, you would want to consume something that is entertaining and aesthetically pleasing. You definitely would not bother to watch a drama with ugly actors. Let’s just say, theoretically speaking, if you were to watch a Jessica Biel movie, I’m sure her physical attractiveness would be at the forefront of your mind as opposed to the political economy of China. Korea aside, think about all the A-list celebrities/models/actors in Hollywood today: there is a definite trend between physical beauty and vocational success. The world of entertainment is an industry that prizes and rewards beauty.
We’re talking about popular culture here: it’s supposed to be fun, entertaining, frivolous if you may. When you’re endorsing a Korean drama cultural product you have the following on your mind: entertainment, escape from reality, creative/imaginative outlet, and yes, high cheek bones.
David—I know you take your KP very seriously, so I’m flattered. I guess after a whole semester of Korean Popular Culture and learning about how wonderful Korea is, it’s hard not to adopt a pro-Korean bias.
Teresa—Thanks for your extremely detailed overview about the Chinese film industry, you’ve shared some really interesting comparison and contrast of cross-cultural dramas. You’ve emphasized a really important point, that “each [Asian culture/drama] has its own characteristics and strengths”, and that in some cases, a historical context/background is needed to fully appreciate the work. Furthermore, the varying personal taste of each consumer makes it difficult to compare the different dramas on a level playing field.
Subjectivity aside, statistics speak for themselves, and I agree with you that it may not be fair to assert that Korean dramas are superior in terms of artistic creativity, quality of film, etc; but from a production/marketing standpoint, consumers’ choice and ratings are everything, thus in that context, the popularity of Korean dramas its superiority.
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