November 21, 2012
The korean wave and Nami island
Hey everyone,
Sorry for the radiosilence the past few days, to be honest, I thought I had uploaded the previous post a long time ago.. But I didn’t have the picture of me and the cats yet.. I hope you enjoyed the pictures ^^. So last Friday, I had dinner with the same person again, and I guess we seem to get along. The day after we met up again and saw a movie this time. After that I went to COEX’s Zara for around 10 minutes, to realize that the prices are not really something I can afford in Korea either. The items I really wanted, started at ₩ 59.000, which is a weeeee bit over my budget.
Sunday I ended up at the cinema again (I’ve really missed going..), but thanks to one of my friends her awesome skills, we took the bus and managed to end up in front of the mall where the cinema was at. It was amazing not having to take the subway and having to transfer, since that would have doubled our travel cost (not that travelling here is expensive, but it’s still nice ^^). Monday during East Asian History, I didn’t get much of the lecture, I do try to pay attention though. This time we’d finally moved on to Korea, which is something I am honestly interested in. I mean, how can a country go from one of the poorest countries in the world during the 1950’s move up to the top of world economies in contemporary society?
The video however, felt a little more like propaganda for Korean awesomeness, than something that was meant to be educational, the only thing missing were K-pop and drama references, since there was not that much on the hallyu wave. But it’s alright, it’s another perspective on the growth that the country has experienced, it also showed how the people on the top layer of the country, the so-called ‘chaebols’ (people who own Samsung, LG and SKT) are in charge of a lot of things. I’ve known about this before coming to Korea, but sometimes their presence can be felt everywhere in the country.
I didn’t know how it would be to live in a country where there would be an oligopoly of companies who are providing services for so many people at the same time. This has been new to me too. Also, the working hours of some Koreans, would scare the hell out of Europeans. In Korea it’s not uncommon to work for 12 or 14 hours straight sometimes. Especially the people who work at Samsung, they might be paid really well (₩4.000.000 per month /€2 880.08) , but per night they might only go home to sleep for 6 hours, before returning to the company to work again.
A lot of company workers live off convenience stores, which provide them with not so nutritious meals. They really have no time for a social life. Also, from time to time, they might have to deal with more stress than they are able to handle; which can result in alcohol abuse (or abuse of loved ones). In other companies there is the same sort of mentality. From what I’ve heard, it shows that you are loyal to the company by staying longer after hours, even if there is not that much to be done anymore, just in order not to leave before the boss does. (Leaving before the boss does, is frowned upon. Also, for the foreigners who work here, taking sick days seems to be something that just.. doesn’t happen. )
On the other hand, it´s helped the country to maintain a steady growth, and also from what I´ve heard from the KBS producer who came to do a guest lecture this morning, the effects of the korean wave are having more impact in Asia than in Europe. Of course, most of us have learned about the song ‘Gangnam style’ by now, but the impact of Korean drama is negligable.
The only TV channel in Europe which airs Korean dramas is in France. There have been no attempts to launch the full scale of the korean wave, when relating to popular culture; in Europe. Only one of the K=pop groups that has a large fanbase in Europe, is Shinee. Even though they sing in Korean, their fanbases in especially the UK and in France are reasonably large ^^. There were even protests by fans to have them perform in European countries.
Furthermore, like with most mass media, the lecturer this morning, explained that right now the producers are interacting with people in a different manner than they were fifteen years ago. At that time, it took a camera, and someone with editing skills. Nowadays, it’s easy to upload a video and to edit the material on your computer by yourself. The contents has changed a little, but the platforms on which the materials are placed have changed. We now have Youtube, TV and Twitter to interact with these people. Back in the day, you could only write a letter or give them a phone call. Now you just have to tweet them, or place a comment on the Youtube page to have your voice heard. (This post is turning out longer than I expected. Sorry!)
Recently I’ve also been part of a google+ hangout where you could directly talk to the K-pop stars on the internet. It was quite fascinating to see them react without anyone else having to tell them what to do or where to look, it gives another ‘vibe’ too. What we need to keep in mind, is that our reactions are public, and that the information given during this hangout will be used for further PR or other activities that the group might be having. If the fans also represent their own countries, it might be nice for the stars to know how far their influence goes, and provide new opportunities for the management team (they will undoubtedly go through the comments too, don’t forget that ^^)
Now for my Tuesday, I went to Nami Island.
This was also mentioned in the lecture this morning. There was a producer who had made a Korean drama, but in Korea; it flopped. Then, they imported this drama to Japan, where it became a MONSTER hit. Japanese tourists are still coming to Nami island because of this drama, to this day (the drama is from 2004) it’s a tangible consequence of the korean wave.
I got to give it to these people, but. I think I will have to come back when it’s actually snowing in Korea.
As you can see on the picture, Nami Island has an ‘immigration’ office. Its kind of interesting to see, since it’s still part of South Korea. The island is named after General Nami, who died at age 26. Furthermore there are little memento’s of the drama which you can find all over the island. We actually managed to walk to the end of the island, and there they have a little sign that also declares that ‘this is the end of Nami Island’ they have their own flag, and it’s also known as the ‘Naminara Republic’ (Nara means ‘land’ though).
Since we are foreigners, it’s only ₩ 8000 to get in, which is not too bad. The island was tranquil, only some of the artsy things really didn’t make sense to me. Maybe I will have to end up watching this drama, and then going back during the snow. Since the trees etc. didn’t look so amazing as they did on some of the pictures that are circulating on the web.
Until the next post!
– Kirti
Experiences in South Korea, 2012 / 2013 