The trick to a National Aesthetic is keeping it nuanced. Both Korea had the benefits of being the first mover in Asia to break into the entertainment industry on the same scale as America--but they're already facing a kick back to the Korean Wave in Vietnam, China, Japan, and Taiwan (Joo). Similar to America's industry that is in decline, Korea's trouble will be keeping K-pop nuanced.
The difficulty is that entertainment and popculture will go through cycles: (1) music, (2) movies & TV, (3) theme packs--all things that America has gone and been through, and that Korea will go through. Right now, America is having difficulty within the in-flow and out-flow of influence / pop culture, soon Korea will have those issues too.
On another note--the first mover advantage can be seen in other industries as well, like coffee. Timor Leste recently gained independence from Indonesia, and Starbucks has claimed a huge portion of its coffee exports. As of now, Timor Leste has the higher exports by value--which may sound good for Timor Leste, isn't. This is because the price that is being paid for the coffee maybe at most 16% of the retail price being paid for beans. First moved advantage (jumping on a new coffee producing country) good for starbucks, bad for people. (http://world.time.com/2013/10/25/the-east-timorese-are-selling-tons-of-great-organic-coffee-but-they-still-starve/)
What can Vietnam do to keep its aesthetic timless? how can it be exported and re-exported over and over?
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