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Comment by La Via della Seta on February 22, 2024 at 7:01am

Hallyu and the Creative Industry – Can ASEAN Replicate South Korea’s Success?

South Korea owes a portion of its robust soft power to the careful cultivation and development of its creative industries, which brought about the worldwide phenomenon Korean Wave or Hallyu. Can ASEAN learn from South Korea’s creative industries to boost its own soft power?

BY FARLINA SAID, PUTERI NOR ARIANE YASMIN AND MUHAMMAD SINATRA

모든 게 궁금해 how’s your day [I’m curious about you, how’s your day]
Oh tell me (oh yeah oh yeah, ah yeh ah yeh)
뭐가 널 행복하게 하는지 [What makes you happy?]
Oh text me (oh yeah oh yeah, ah yeh ah yeh)

The simplicity of the above lyrics by the boyband BTS belies the extreme popularity that the group enjoys. The video clip of this song, entitled “Boy With Luv”, became the most watched video on YouTube within 24 hours upon release. The song also played heavily in Malaysia’s airwaves and inspired a series of advertisements in Bahasa Indonesia, starring the K-pop idols themselves. BTS recorded over US$500 million in revenue last year, while its members became millionaires after the group’s parent company entered into an initial public offering (IPO) in September 2020. Their secret weapon: a massive ecosystem of loyal fans who not only generate revenue from the purchase of music, concert tickets and merchandise, but also render services to promote the band’s image and a wide array of products.

（Hallyu and the Creative Industry – Can ASEAN Replicate South Korea’s Success? by Farlina Said, Puteri Nor Ariane Yasmin and Muhammad Sinatra；they are Analysts in Foreign Policy and Security Studies (FPSS), ISIS Malaysia，Source: https://www.isis.org.my ）

Comment by La Via della Seta on February 21, 2024 at 7:26am

As part of the larger Korean Wave or Hallyu scene, BTS and other such phenomena as Crash Landing on You, Parasite and Pengsoo have generated great following in many parts of the world, including Southeast Asia.

The impact of Hallyu extends beyond the creative industry. The total of Hallyu-related exports amassed to US$12.3 billion in 2019, involving sales of such consumer goods as tour programmes, cosmetics and groceries. In the same year, tourists seeking K-pop or the Hallyu experience accounted for 23.3% of tourists visiting South Korea.

These prove that Hallyu carries more than just entertainment value. It is a testament of South Korea’s soft power, economic might and confidence to engage the rest of the world.

Acknowledging the size and success of South Korea’s creative industry, can the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an organisation learn from the former in projecting soft power?

To answer this question, we need to understand that South Korea’s ability to consolidate the creative industry and national identity is not accidental, but by design of the national government.

The creative industry was consistently a feature in the policies of multiple administrations. First and foremost, it grew on the back of globalisation under the framework set by Kim Young-sam. The 1994 Presidential Advisory Board on Science and Technology then focused on the impact of the total revenue made by the film Jurassic Park, which was equivalent to 1.5 million Hyundai cars at the time. This spurred the interest to promote the creative industry.

However, it would be Kim Dae-jung’s pursuit of the self-proclaimed “President of Culture” title that actually set policy objectives in motion. This was further enhanced by the Lee Myung-bak administration’s “Global Korea” campaign on cultural diplomacy, which aimed to promote South Korea’s national brand abroad. The creative industry has since served as the basis of maintaining a strong national identity, tying cultural exports to economic gains and soft power projections.

This formula appears to be resilient, as the COVID-19 pandemic seems to enhance demand for South Korean content. One projection even estimates a 3.3% increase in export volume by the end of 2020 – if true, the pandemic’s effects appear to be bearable. Nevertheless, the resilience of the creative industry has been evident over the past 13 years, with creative goods recording 7% of growth in the midst of a downturn in global trade.

Comment by La Via della Seta on February 20, 2024 at 8:14am

The significance of South Korea’s success lies in the amalgamation of national identity and entrepreneurship. The Korean creative industry covers a wide range of sectors, including games, animation, broadcasting and others, aside from just music and movies. In each of these, the promotion of national identity, whether it is traditions, values, language or culture, is inherent in all content.

For instance, SuperM has released songs in English that also contain Korean words. Moreover, K-drama episodes regularly project an image of a developed, modern, traditional yet technologically advanced South Korea. Additionally, the games industry was promoted from a desire to develop Korea as a high-tech knowledge-based nation.

Creative industries have also proliferated in ASEAN Member States (AMS). The Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, for example, have established frameworks or agencies aimed at promoting their national creative industry, drawing from a number of such cultural products as food, services and music, among others.

The question, then, is whether there is a foundation for an ASEAN attempt at replicating the South Korean model of creative industries to promote a region-wide identity and support the industries of each AMS.

Three challenges immediately arise.

One, South Korea’s approach builds on a nation-identifying and nation-building strategy that is aimed at both a domestic and international audience. This may not be convenient for ASEAN, which comprise 10 multicultural countries. Such a strategy is easier to achieve in a more homogenous environment such as South Korea.

Furthermore, AMS have also traditionally been nationalistic and the issue of culture often struck sensitive nerves, resulting in tension among them. With the countries potentially becoming more inward-looking and protectionist during and after the pandemic, AMS might have reservations towards opening up their creative industries with each other.

Two, there are different market types and sizes in ASEAN, which then impact the various levels of development of creative industries in the region. Will a single strategy to boost ASEAN’s creative economy suffice if all AMS have diverse markets and are experiencing various levels of development?

Therefore, despite there being elements of the South Korean strategy that could assist ASEAN in projecting a region-wide identity and soft power better, whose identity and soft power will it be? Will an ASEAN strategy project soft power according to each individual member state, or will it project a cohesive, regional ASEAN soft power?

There are ways for ASEAN to navigate around these challenges.

It is not necessary for ASEAN to decide between homogeneity or multiculturalism. A balance can be struck between the two. On the one hand, the bloc could use a common language as a unifying factor, particularly for gaming and broadcasting products. Given multiple ASEAN languages and the lack of a language policy in the region, English is a natural choice.

On the other hand, the strategy for an ASEAN creative industry could also celebrate its multiculturalism. Instead of it being a limitation, ASEAN’s diversity could be seen as an asset that can be used to mobilise multi-dimensional cultural content across its multiple audiences. Technology and digitalisation can also support this. For example, the format of the singing competition Asia Bagus could be revived in the digital space during this pandemic, showcasing talents from multiple AMS to anyone plugged to the Internet.

Comment by La Via della Seta on February 19, 2024 at 5:33pm

Moreover, establishing a digital single market in ASEAN could also work in favour of the creative industries. The framework adopted by the European Union in 2015 allows creators to produce, distribute and be recompensed for their content while also resolving arising intellectual property rights issues. ASEAN should consider this option if creative industries were to flourish here.

Like everything else in ASEAN, perhaps it is easier to focus on available low-hanging fruits in this context. Several specific lessons from South Korea’s creative industries should be considered, especially with the pandemic in the backdrop.

First, the South Korean example shows that creative industries are resilient in times of crisis, as evidenced by acts or performers moving their concerts online or games providing an escapism outlet.

There is an opportunity to be harnessed as the “new normal” setting pushes many human activities to the digital space. With 400 million Internet users in the region, the digitalisation of industries has become a new source of economic growth in the ASEAN region, for example, telecommuting, telemedicine and e-commerce among others.

Officials responsible for the Culture and Arts sector under the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) must wrest this momentum to push AMS’ creative industries further to the digital space, not only in the interest of promoting content, but also to ensure the economic survival of performers, producers and other industry players during this harsh climate.

Second, South Korea understands the potential of youths, with creative industries constantly producing contents targeting them.

AMS seem to also understand this as evidenced by developments to include youths in creative industries. In Malaysia, for example, millennials appear to be driving the boom for the eSports industry – at the helm of which was a millennial then-Minister of Youth and Sports who fought for budget allocation to this industry.

The pandemic should be a wake-up call to further consider the potential of ASEAN youths in creative industries. There are nearly 220 million youths in ASEAN and a recent survey by the World Economic Forum found that they are resilient individuals who are able to adapt to the post-pandemic world.

Furthermore, 87% of youths recorded an increase in the usage of digital tools during the pandemic. Linked to the previous point, it seems that moving towards digitalisation is a safe bet for creative industries, considering the available talent and pool of demand that the youths can provide.

The fanfare that Southeast Asians threw when Parasite won the Oscar this year was a clear testament of the potent soft power that South Korea has. Despite it being the sole achievement of South Korea’s creative industry, the people of this region also shared the shock, excitement and incredulity from this momentous achievement. Although it might be difficult for ASEAN to fully replicate the South Korean model of combining national identity and entrepreneurship, there are other lessons that ASEAN could learn to promote its creative industries. The Parasite dream might be distant, but a fellow Asian country demonstrates that it is not impossible.

（Hallyu and the Creative Industry – Can ASEAN Replicate South Korea’s Success? by Farlina Said, Puteri Nor Ariane Yasmin and Muhammad Sinatra；they are Analysts in Foreign Policy and Security Studies (FPSS), ISIS Malaysia，Source: https://www.isis.org.my）

Comment by La Via della Seta on August 8, 2023 at 10:43pm

别讓文化負資產軋了招牌

愛墾評註：評刀郎的歌不具“審美價值”的人，不懂算是什麽美學修養？說刀郎的歌讓中國流行音樂“倒退十五年”的人，這回倒是結結實實把浙江衛視苦苦經营了多年的招牌軋了。最新一季《中國好聲音》導師不見“又鸟”和“马户”，算是製作單位災難管理最好的一招了。否則，后果更不堪設想。害惨贊助商安慕希。

《好聲音》這一知名音樂選秀節目，曾是衆多觀衆喜愛的看點。然而，從節目組發佈的開播信息被網友瘋狂吐槽到關閉評論，這其中的變故值得我們深入分析。

首先，如今的《好聲音》與其曾經的輝煌形成了鮮明的對比。這樣的轉變，究竟是什麼原因呢？直觀上，評論的關閉與節目組發文悼念李玟時的尷尬情況似有雷同。

而這背後的核心問題，卻是刀郎。這位沉寂多年的歌手，因其《羅剎海市》中的歌詞直指那英、楊坤、汪峰三大導師，並嘲諷導師爲學員轉身的場景，成爲了輿論的焦點。

這一曲風之下，無疑是對《好聲音》的巨大衝擊。在社交網絡上，有人質疑這是否是一個公關策略？刀郎的這次復出，是否有備而來，利用《好聲音》爲自己助力？

更爲尷尬的是，《好聲音》今年的四大導師。他們作爲新晉導師，第一次亮相就攤上這種事，對他們而言無疑是巨大的打擊。而其中，" 未曾開言先轉腚 " 的歌詞，很可能成爲針對《好聲音》的網絡梗，使得這檔節目徹底淪爲笑話。 

《中國好聲音》作爲中國熱門音樂選秀節目，自開播以來就吸引了無數觀衆的眼球。憑藉其獨特的轉身機制、頂級導師陣容和優秀的參賽者，這檔節目收視率屢創新高。然而，在其輝煌背後，總是伴隨着一些關於 " 節目黑幕 " 的傳聞和質疑。這使得我們不得不思考：《中國好聲音》真的存在黑幕嗎？

首先，所有的真人秀節目，爲了提高節目的吸引力和觀賞性，都會進行一定的後期剪輯。這種剪輯可能導致觀衆對於某一事件的看法與實際發生的情境有所出入。這並不是特定於《中國好聲音》的現象，而是普遍存在於所有電視真人秀節目中。 

其次，關於參賽選手背景的質疑。有些觀衆質疑節目組會事先了解選手的背景，並基於此爲某些選手 " 定製 " 故事線。不過，從節目製作的角度來看，了解選手背景是爲了更好地展現選手的個性和經歷，這也是爲了讓觀衆更加了解和喜歡這位選手。 

再者，關於導師轉身的選擇。一些觀衆認爲，導師轉身的時機和選擇可能被節目組所控製。但實際上，導師們的轉身選擇大多基於他們自己的音樂審美和對選手的喜好。導師們都是業界的專家，他們的判斷和選擇更多基於專業性，而非外界所猜測的 " 後台操作 "。不過隨着更多幕後黑料被爆出，轉身機製是否存在內幕，我們不得而知。 

今年的四位導師，分別是周華健，薛之謙，劉憲華，潘瑋柏。此外，以往的導師，如周傑倫、李健、謝霆鋒、庾澄慶等，或許已經預見到了節目的這種走向。他們的不再回歸，是否是看透了節目的內幕，或是不想涉入其中的風波？ 

幸運的是，周傑倫並沒有選擇回歸，否則他也很可能因此成爲笑柄。而對於那英、汪峰、楊坤這三位導師，他們的不回歸，無疑是爲自己規避了風險，否則他們也可能會因節目遭受諸多嘲諷。 

這檔節目的未來走向如何，目前仍是未知數。但不得不説，今年的《好聲音》總冠軍的價值似乎已經大打折扣，甚至可能成爲 " 擺設 "。而參賽學員們，可能也不再看重這一稱號。 

最後，結合現有的情況，我們不禁要思考，這是否會是《好聲音》的最後一季？未來，還會有歌手願意參與這檔節目嗎？（原題《中國好聲音》2023-07-29開播，評論區被罵到關閉；文章來源: 香粽綜藝；2023-07-30新聞取自各大新聞媒體，新聞內容並不代表本平台立場！ ）

Comment by La Via della Seta on April 11, 2021 at 12:16am

陳明發博士《文化資本存在形式》

根據特納的總結，布爾迪厄的文化資本所指的是: 那些非正式的人際交往技巧、習慣、態度、語言風格、教育素質、品位與生活方式。存在形式有三：

1 文化能力 (the ability of culture)：以精神和身體持久“性情”形成的具體狀態；

2 文化產品 (the product of culture) ：由書籍、圖片、工具、機器與詞典等文化商品形成的客觀狀態；具體顯現某種理論或其痕跡，包括對這些理論問題的批判；

3 文化制度 (the system of culture) ：以一種客觀化形式實現的體制狀態；就像正規教育保障著一個社會的日常操作一樣，文化制度庇護著這個社會的文化資本(參考:吳啟焰和王兆傑，2011，布爾迪厄的文化資本理論在旅遊規劃中的應用，《人文地理》2011年第1 期，總第117 期) )

（韓國名劇《大長今》劇照。影視作品是文化資本，因爲它受到版權等制度的保護；各種大大小小的文創實踐，包括文化傳播、電影教育、影展、與旅遊消費文化等制度，使到參與者能從中獲益，這便是文化制度的初步解釋。Source：https://thecinemaholic.com）

Comment by La Via della Seta on January 28, 2021 at 5:39pm

韓國“創造經濟”：以文化創意為內驅力

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